Page 73 of Forged in Flames (Made of Steel 2)

"I saw her today. She dyed her hair red and put in blue contacts. She looks just like my mom."

"And now you want to learn how to fight her? That's probably the opposite of what they wanted."

I had all afternoon to think about Sadie Davis. I didn't give a shit that she was related to me. For nine years I had desperately needed a home. And she had ignored my existence. She definitely wasn't my family. I had no family. "That woman is not related to me."

"She shared a large number of genes..."

"Blood has nothing to do with it. She's not on our side. She's on his."

He walked over to me, his eyes scanning my body. "You're not ready, Sadie."

"Of course I'm ready. I need to know how to protect myself. Teach me how to shoot a gun."

"I'm not going to hand a gun to someone who isn't stable." His words were cold.

"Stable? Are you shitting me?"

"You just found out you have a blood relative and you want to learn how to use a gun. You should be trying to figure out a way to talk to her, not practicing to kill her."

"I need to kill her before she kills me."

"That's not true. I told you I'd keep you safe."

"And Eli said you were all lying to me! She's not counting down to some crazy event. She's counting down to my death." I poked him in the center of the chest. "Just like I said." I poked him again. "And you want me to trust you when all you do is lie through your teeth."

He grabbed my hand before I could poke him again and pulled me against his chest.

"You're the unstable one, not me," I said. I was so pissed at him. All I wanted to do was slap the smug look off of his face.

"I'm a reflection of you. And if you don't like it, why do you keep coming back to me?"

"I'm not coming back to you." I pushed him off of me. My chest rose and fell in angry bursts.

"Take off your clothes," his voice rumbled.

"What? I'm not having sex with you. You're out of your mind." Fuck, why do I want to have sex with him right now?

"Take them off."

I swallowed hard. "Take them off yourself."

We both stepped forward at the same time and his lips collided with mine. And for the first time all day it felt like I could breathe. I grabbed his strong shoulders as he lifted me up and set me down on the edge of the glass table.

I didn't care that we were going to leave smudges on the glass.

I didn't care that I couldn't see him.

I didn't care that I didn't know his real name.

All that mattered was that we were both broken. And somehow doing this made us feel whole for a moment in time. A moment of borrowed time. I was just as unstable as he claimed. And he was right about himself. I saw that reflected in him.

I hitched my legs around his waist and pulled him closer as he tore off my shirt and bra.

"Tell me you don't want this," he groaned into my mouth as his hands found my breasts.

I didn't say a word.

"Tell me you think I'm a disaster." He unbuttoned my jeans.

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