Page 16 of Slay Me

“Yesterday, you had me,” he reminds me. “Where did you go?”

“Coffee,” I reply. “We went for coffee.”

“Coffee.”

He’s already wearing his black performance pants and boots though his white shirt is partially unbuttoned. Which means he left in a hurry. Did Valentina send him? Did he hear the fight?

“Yes, since our outing went so well, I decided to go for coffee this morning.”

He doesn’t respond right away. Gaze unreadable, he continues to watch me until I want to squirm beneath the weight of it. “Yesterday, you left withme,” he repeats then takes a step closer. “So I could protect you.”

“I wasn’t alone today,” I insist. “I had Fiona and Apoll—”

“They are not me!” he bellows, his anger palpable. After a moment, he closes his eyes and then opens them again. “You are not to leave again.”

Something inside of me snaps. Whether it’s the pounding in my head that causes it or the crusted blood on my scalp, I’m not sure. Hell, maybe it’s the adrenaline still coursing through my veins. Whatever it is makes me stalk forward and jab my finger against the fabric of his shirt. “Do you think I want to be captured again? Do you have any fucking idea what Ernesto did to me last time?”

A muscle in his jaw twitches, but he doesn’t respond.

“Well, let me assure you that is quite literally the last thing I want. He tormented me,D.Made me feel worthless. And that’s when the fucker didn’t encase me in stone.” I sniffle and jab him again, trying not to enjoy the way his hard chest feels beneath my finger. “Do not think for even a second that I want to suffer through that pain again? But I also do not want to live my life terrified of everything. I’ve already done that long enough.”

The bastard cocks his head to the side and studies me. “You are not to leave without me again. Do I make myself clear? You want to go out? Fine, you come get me. Not the berserker, not the djinn, and certainly not the fucking gryffin. Do I make myself clear?”

“Why? Why the hell does it matter so much to you?”

He steps in so close I can feel the power that radiates off him despite us not having any real idea what he is. I stare up at his copper eyes, noting the flecks of green within their depths. Warmth pools in my body, something akin to lust dancing in my stomach.

“Because you belong tome.Or have you so quickly forgotten what I did for you?”

“How could I?” I sneer. “You never fail to remind me.”

He grins. The smile is blinding, showing off perfectly straight white teeth. I’m struck speechless. I’ve never seen him show any emotion aside from anger. “Then it should be easy to remember. You will remain on these grounds unless I am with you. Am I clear?”

“And the others?”

“Can come and go as they please. As long as they always return.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Can’t I? Ernesto runs most of our corner of No Man’s Land. He also happens to still be hunting for a way to get you back—as you were reminded of today. And if he does that, I have lost my property.” He leans in. “No one steals from me, Fury. And you’re not going to give him the opportunity to break that streak.” With one final sneer, he gestures toward the door.

“You can’t hold me hostage,” I nearly whisper it as I stare at him, remaining exactly where I am.

His glare turns molten. “I can do whatever the fuck I want with you.”

Chapter5

Dante

The moment her scent fades from my lungs, I can think rationally again. Liv brings out the beast in me, makes me want to tear this entire fucking place apart if only to ease the weight of the pain she carries.

She’s a weakness I can’t afford.

A light I cannot live without.

Seeing her walk out this morning beside the berserker…will never happen again. That fucking cocksucker Ernesto has been trying to get his hands on her ever since I brought her in. As of today, my men and I have killed nearly four dozen men he’s sent in after her. Whether they lurk in the crowd or just outside of the ring, waiting for the right moment.

Fuckers. I slam my fist into the nearest wall, and sheetrock dusts down onto my arm. I barely feel the bite of pain.

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