Page 35 of Their Deviant Love
Levi bounces around the mat, his hands up and ready to block my blows. I don’t start with throwing fists, though. Nope, I swipe my right leg behind his knees, forcing him to fall on his back. Then I stand over him, smile, and hold out a hand.
“Did you trip?” I ask.
Levi shoves my hand aside and jumps to his feet. “That was a lucky shot, Little V,” he says.
Lucky, my ass.He underestimated me. But after this session, he won’t make that mistake again.
Chapter Sixteen
When I finally get home, I go in search of Aurora. I’ve been gone too fucking long, and I need to see her. I need to touch her. I know she gets anxious when we’re apart. That’s why I had Aisling come over, to try to distract her from her own thoughts. I didn’t expect my cousin to bring Levi with her, but Aurora seemed genuinely happy to see him.
Where the fuck is she?
I’ve walked through most of the first floor and haven’t heard a single thing yet. Just as I’m about to walk up the stairs, Levi and Aisling are coming down it.
“Where is she?” I ask them.
“In your room,” Aisling says. “She’s fine.”
“What the fuck happened to you?” I look to Levi, who is sporting a bruised eye and a split lip.
“Your girlfriend is crazy,” he grunts.
Taking a deep breath, I control my urge to shoot the fucker. “You think she’s crazy? Call her that again and I’ll show you the real definition of crazy.”
I brush past both of them and head straight for my old bedroom. I don’t see her, so I walk into the bathroom. She’s not there either.
Where the fuck is she?
I pull out my phone and call her number. A ringing sound comes from the closet before it’s shut off. Drawing the pistol from behind my back, I walk over and open the closet door to the last thing I ever expected to find.
“Aurora? What happened?” I drop my gun onto the floor and kneel in front of her, ignoring the fact she’s pointing the barrel of that gold gun I bought her at me. I grab the top and lower that too. But I don’t move it out of her hand. “What’s going on, Aurora?”
She’s staring at me, but also not. Her eyes are blank, like she’s stuck somewhere else. My fingers pinch her chin, forcing her head to tilt backwards.
“Aurora, what happened?” I repeat.
“Connor? You were gone,” she says, her voice sad, low, quiet.
“I’m right here.” I sit down in front of her, pick up her free hand, and bring it to my mouth. Kissing the underside of her wrist. “Wanna tell me what happened?”
“I… I might have freaked out a little. I couldn’t breathe,” she says.
“What did you freak out about?”
“You not being here.”
“You should have called me. I would have come home earlier. You know I’ll always be your oxygen,” I remind her.
“Last time I told you I needed oxygen, I kidnapped you.” She casts her eyes to the floor. Eyes that are filled with unshed tears.
This is a sight I hate seeing. It breaks my fucking heart. Aurora is tough, strong, until she isn’t. And when she isn’t… it’s just so fucking wrong. I want to build walls around her. I want to be the bullet-proof vest she wears to protect herself.
“Aurora, listen to me carefully, because this needs to sink in and never be a fucking question in your mind.” I wait until she’s looking at me again. “I will always be your oxygen when you need it. I will always come for you, no matter where I am or what I’m doing. I will drop anything and everything to come and help you breathe.”
“I don’t like this, Connor,” Aurora whispers. “I hate it. This isn’t me. I’m not scared of things that go bump in the night. I’m not.” She shakes her head from side to side.
“Babe, we are the things that go bump in the night,” I tell her, my fingers stroking the hair away from her face. “You don’t have anything to fear. Because you and me, we can be scarier than anything else that’s out there. Together. You really think anyone is a match for the two of us?”
