Page 39 of Dark OZ

“First of all, there isn’t an us.” Another lie, but she didn’t need to know that. None of them did. There was so, so much more going on here than I was ready to admit. Instead, I fell back into what I knew—callous indifference.

She scoffed.

“Second of all, you don’t have a choice in the matter. I’m not taking you with me. And before you say it, yes, I can make you stay here. And yes, I have no issues in demonstrating it.” I slapped the last bit of tape on.

She hissed in pain but spun instantly to face me. Apparently, her outrage outpaced her pain.

I put a finger to her lips, silencing her outburst. “You’re too valuable of an asset to take into a high-fire situation. You’ll be secure here. Getting out of tight situations is what we do. Waiting here for me to return is what you can do.”

“Asset. Are you kidding me right now?” Dorothy fumed. She cocked her arm back to swing at me again, but I caught it in the air. “Fuck you, asshole. I can’t believe I let you kiss me.”

“Check your facts, Princess. That wasyourwicked tongue waging war against mine.”

Dorothy struggled against my grip, raising her other hand, which I caught just as easily. She roared with frustration. Before she could try to knee me, I spun us and pinned her hard against the door of the fridge.

With one hand around her wrists, I pinned them over her head. Her face contorted from the pain. Good. Maybe it would make her wake up and smell the reality.

“You’re no better than Em,” she hissed through gritted teeth.

I released her like she’d burned me. Crowe was right. Dorothy was exactly like a firecracker, and I was dumb enough to try and hold her.

“When you look at me, all you see is a dollar sign. I’m not a person to you.”

My phone buzzed again. A bright yellow alert flashed over the screen. “Fucking hell. One quiet, uneventful night. That was all I wanted.”

I slammed my phone down, pushing open a panel on the wall beside Dorothy and pulling a gun from it. I scanned my eyes from her exposed chest to her navel and back up again. It should be illegal to cover such perfect tits, but we were about to have a lot of unwanted company. “You’re going to want to put a shirt on. Unless you were planning on letting a third man get a handful tonight.”

“Fuck you.” She put her hands on her hips, thrusting her chest forward in defiance. “Maybe I will.”

I moved in, my hand circling her throat. “Say it again, slower this time.”

“Fuck. You.Dandy.”

I smiled at the challenge in her eyes. Dorothy smiled right back. Yes, she was most definitely my worst and most damaged parts reflected right back at me. Albeit in a much sexier package.

“I love the way your mouth looks when you say fuck.” I squeezed tighter and moved my lips over hers. “Youreallyneed a good lesson on speaking with respect. Especially toward the man that’s about to save your ass.” I pulled her from the wall and gave her a push toward where her shirt had been discarded on the floor. “Now get dressed.”

“I hate you.” She snatched the shirt off the ground.

“Get in line, Princess.” I pulled out bags from the closet and tossed them at her feet. Dorothy’s clothing order had been delivered hours ago, but I hadn’t cared to give it to her until now. I thumbed open my security feed. Systems were triggering all over the outer borders and a full breach at the northern fence of the compound. Fucking perfect.

Dorothy crossed her arms, a scathing look on her face sharp enough to cut. She’d thrown on a black pair of jeans with frayed holes strategically torn across her thighs and knees, a light grey t-shirt and tall black boots. I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Splayed across her chest in big pink rhinestones it said, “Spoiled”, with a tiny heart dotting the I.

She plucked at the edges of the shirt, pouting at the lettering. “This isn’t what I picked out.”

“Yeah, but it felt appropriate. So, I made a few changes.”

“And these?” She reached into the bag and pulled out a pair of underwear that were little more than a series of elastic bands and rhinestones.

“Purely for my entertainment.”

“There is literally nothing to cover any part of the body that matters.”

“Pretty sure that’s the point.”

Dorothy threw the garment, and I ducked letting it hit the cabinets behind me.

“You don’t have to wear them.” I added with pure amusement. Fuck, Dorothy was sexy when she was pissed. “I’m perfectly comfortable with you foregoing under garments all together.”

---