Page 113 of Like Grim Death: Part One
“You wanna see my girl naked, Atlas?” I ask quietly.
Ella freezes, her fingertips pressing into the back of my neck.
She pulls back, her hair drifting over my arms as she says,“No.”
Atlas just grins at me.
I hear the door slam closed, then Brooklin’s voice asks, “What the fuck are you doing?” I don’t even know who she’s talking to.
Sid sighs beside me. “Welcome to the shit show.”
Ezra laughs, and Atlas and I just stare at each other.
“Answer me, prick,” I hiss, pressing Ella closer by my grip on her ass.
“Maverick—” she starts, but I drag one hand up her spine and tangle my fingers in her hair, yanking her back so she’s staring at me.
“Don’t,” I warn her, my fingertips grazing her scalp with as much of her hair as I’ve got in my fist. I cut my gaze back to Atlas. “You wanna watch me fuck her, huh?”
He tilts his head, his eyes going to her ass.
Anger snarls inside my veins, and I jerk Ella’s head back, so her throat is exposed. Her fingers slide from my neck, her nails digging into my chest as she calls my name out again.
“As long as you’re just gonna keep treating her like a fuck doll. Like you have no respect for her at all.” He shrugs, dimples flashing as he smiles. “Then yeah, I wanna watch you fuck her.”
“Maverick, what thefuck?”Brooklin’s words. I know she’s staring at me. I know Sid is too. And Ezra.
I know Ella is blushing without even having to look at her. Her knees tighten around me with tension, her grip fierce in my shirt. I know she’s embarrassed. I know I’m making a fucking ass out of myself, but I don’t care.
Everyone needs to know what’s up.
She’s fucking mine.
“You mean how you treated my sister?” I counter. “How you ruined her fucking life? You want me to do that to Ella?” I glance at my girl, the tendons in her pale throat. “Take your shirt off, pretty girl.” I loosen my grip in her hair, then wrap my hand around her neck as she dips her chin, her eyes livid and her skin pink. “Let’s show Atlas everything since he can’t seem to keep his fucking eyes off you.”
She tries to push away from me, but I grab her ass harder and a cry leaves her lips. I press my thumb over the hollow of her throat as I arch a brow.
“You want me to strip you for him, huh?” My heart is slamming inside my chest, but I can’t leave this alone now. “I’ll hold you down if I have to. You’re gonna do what the fuck I said.” I drop my hand down her chest, grabbing her breast and squeezing hard. “Take your fucking shirt off.”
“Ez.” Brooklin’s voice, cracking a little. “Let’s go.”
“He’s not fucking leaving,” I snarl.
“I didn’t ask you,” she snaps back.
I twist around to glare at Brook, dressed in a mini skirt and a corset like she just came from a fucking sex club. “Yeah? Well I’mtelling you.”
Brooklin’s eyes, so similar to mine, grow darker. She has her hands fisted at her sides, a crossbody bag over her chest, her corset so low I can see nearly every fucking curve she has and I want to puke. I like to believe women can wear whatever they want, but knowing what happened to her and maybe because of my father’s tainted blood in my veins, I’m having a bit of a fucking hard time with that thought right now.
“You don’t run shit around here, Maverick,” she snarls. “You fucking disgust me.”
Those words cut deeper than she knows, but I don’t react.
Ella takes the opportunity to push away from me again, scrambling off my lap but I grab the back of her neck and pull her into me as I turn toward her.“Don’t.”
Her fingers are knotted in my shirt, her eyes wide and chest heaving. “Don’t do this,” she whispers, staring at me like I’m the only person in the room.
That look, the vulnerability, it does something to me. I’ve got one hand on her hip and I pull her closer, so our chests are nearly flush. “Why?” I ask her quietly, the rest of the room silent. “You didn’t try to run when I touched you with Ezra.”
