Page 18 of Straight to Me

He unknowingly signs his death warrant with that sentence.

VP lunges, crashing him into another wall. He holds the smiler with one hand as the other pulls a terrifying knife from some hidden contraption on his back. He hovers the knife over the smiler’s throat, gritting his teeth in a terrifying smile.

Suddenly coming to my senses, I scream for him to stop so loudly, VP jumps and looks back at me confused. The smiler has tears in his eyes as he looks over VP’s shoulder to me.

“Stop, for fuck’s sake just stop! What are you doing!?”

“Teaching this prick a lesson, what does it look like?” His eyes show a mix of pleading and anger, like he needs me to understand that he’s doing this for me.

“Don’t hurt him anymore, he’s not worth it,” I say, cradling my now aching hand.

VP’s jaw clenches before he retracts the frightening looking knife. After a moment, he places it back in its hidden holster. The smiler sees his opportunity for escape and runs out the door which slams behind him. VP stands in front of me, running his hand over his exasperated, stubbly face. Neither one of us says a word as we stand there looking at each other.

My eyes dart between both of his and I want nothing more than to kiss his soft lips again, but another emotion wins the battle. “Why did you use me?” I say quietly.

VP shifts on his feet, before grabbing the sides of my arms, making me jolt unexpectedly. “I didn’t fucking use you, Mads!” His breath is faded. He pauses, eyes locked on mine as I stand before him. “I admit, I intended to, but after watching you the other night, seeing you… I dunno, I couldn’t leave you alone.”

“But the barbecue, I heard those men. They said—”

“You heard two of my brothers talking out of turn. I invited you, not because I was told to have you there. Because I wanted you there.”

“Did you know the police would show up? You seemed like you did, but no one was doing anything wrong.” My heart is racing. I want answers and I get the feeling he’ll give them to me now that we’re alone.

“We knew,” he breathes.

“How?”

“We just did,” he says, too blasé for my liking.

“Oh you ‘just did’, did you? Fuck off VP. Leave me alone.”

I’m sick of being lied to. I couldn’t do anything about Chris’s lies, but I won’t put up with them from VP. I start towards the door, but he grabs my arm, stopping me in my tracks.

“Look, we came here to sort business, the kind of business that’s got nothing to do with you. Leave it be.”

I look into his eyes again. He wants me to stay, but I can’t. I’m grateful he came, but I can’t do this anymore. I’m exhausted, the pain in my hand’s now excruciating. I need to go home and ice it.

I pull away from him and make for the door again. This time he grabs my waist from behind, holding me tightly to his body. For the second time in ten minutes, I’m at the mercy of a man.

This man however is gentle, he’s forceful, but gentle. I feel safe with him. Despite all the evidence to suggest otherwise, I know I’m safe with him.

His warm breath caresses my neck as he places a chaste kiss near my ear. “I love it when you call me VP,” he whispers.

And just like that, I’m his.

My head rolls back into his shoulder, a soft moan escaping my lips as my arms travel up his neck. One of his hands crosses my stomach as the other cups each one of my breasts in turn. My nipples are visible through my bra and he works one tenderly through my t-shirt, before moving his hand to the other.

My body arches and twists against him, making him moan deeply in my ear. His hand moves slowly south towards the fly on my jeans and I can feel the heat between my legs. My body wants more of him.

He turns me quickly, keeping me close. My hands hold his strong arms to steady myself as the sudden movement reminds my body it contains a whole bottle of wine. “Is this what you want?” he asks, those green eyes searching intently for the answer I sense he needs.

“When do you ride home?”

His brow creases, and his eyes focus on mine. “Tonight.”

My heart stops. I can’t help but feel grief-stricken as I look down away from his eyes. It’s unfair that we have no time left. This moment could bethelast moment we’ll share together.

He lifts my chin with the tip of his finger, forcing me to look at him. “How did you know the police would show up yesterday?” I ask again, possibly ruining the moment. I can’t help but ask. I need to know; I don’t want any more lies.

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