Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37638 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37638 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
“You can’t command me to stop thinking and expect me to comply. It’s impossible.” I felt compelled to point that out.
“I can in this instance, because there’s no need for it.”
“You have no idea what I’m thinking,” I snapped. Finally, I’d found my backbone. I tried to push away from him, but he didn’t budge.
“I’m bettin’ it has something to do with that woman you saw me with at the party.”
I froze. It was one thing to suspect he knew how I felt about him. Quite another to have those suspicions confirmed.
“That’s what I thought, little warrior. Now. You ran from me. You ain’t runnin’ this time. You’re gonna hear me out, and we’re gonna move forward. Together.”
“What if I don’t want to be with you?”
“You do. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have gotten upset or been hurt. So we’re gonna address some things and clear the air between us. From now on, we talk to each other.”
“We don’t do a lot of talking,” I whispered. “It’s mostly you pulling me out of one nightmare or another. Real and imaginary.”
He sighed. “There’s nothing for you to worry about with the guy on the bus. Sting is making sure it’s taken care of, and Wylde has the guy’s ID and social security number. He’ll find out everything there is to know about the bastard. Then we’ll work on finding the man he said he was taking you to.”
“Let’s get this over with, Brick. I can’t take much more without some alone time.”
“Stop it.” His voice was menacing as he frowned down at me. “You’re never going to be alone again. You have me. You have your sister. If you need them, you have the ol’ ladies and other friends you made at Black Reign. Much as I hate to throw it out there, you’ve even got that bastard Rycks if you need him. But I plan on making it so you only need me and your sister until you make more friends at Iron Tzars. Get me?”
I froze, not wanting to read more into his words than were really there. “No. I don’t understand.”
“Then I’ll spell it out for you. We’re together. You and me. I’m yours. You’re mine.”
I shook my head, jerking like he’d slapped me. “You’re lying!” I spat the words at him, shoving away but not getting far. Brick held me in a vise-like grip, keeping me firmly against him. The infuriating bastard didn’t even grunt.
“Am not. Want me to explain?”
“The woman with you at that party was explanation enough!”
“Serelda, I didn’t think you wanted a man in your life. Especially not one like me.” He plowed on like I hadn’t even spoken. “Not like that anyway. I knew you had your uses for me, but you’d even told me straight out you had no intention of ever letting a man touch you again. I knew you cared for me. I was your protector, and someone you felt safe with. Probably because I’m a big bastard and made you feel like I’d keep anyone and everyone away from you.” He had a point. “But somewhere in there, over those last few weeks, I started to feel more for you. There was no way I was going to let you find that out and push me away out of fear. So I felt sorry for myself and got drunk. When I got drunk, I let my guard down around the club girls. I hadn’t been with any of them in a while. Longer than normal. One of them approached me. I might have flirted with her out of habit, but I didn’t want her or any other woman. Honestly, Serelda. I was so drunk that night, there was no way anything was happening anyway. And you have no idea how much it pains me to tell you that.”
I lay still against Brick, not even wanting to breathe as I considered his words. Did I believe him? Did it matter? Yes. It mattered. As to whether I believed him, I wasn’t sure. I wanted to believe him, but nothing seemed to make sense to me.
“I don’t -- I don’t under -- understand.” Try as I might, my voice broke. I was so near shattering it wasn’t even funny. Brick was right. He was my safe place. The one person I knew was capable of keeping me safe no matter what, even more so than my sister. Had he not come for me when I’d run? Killed for me when I’d been in danger? Sure, other people had been affected, but I knew the second I told Brick the man had a knife on me, Brick would kill the bastard.
Brick took a breath, seeming unsure exactly what he was going to do. Then he pulled me fully on top of him so I straddled his hips. I gasped, bracing myself on his wide chest. When I would have pushed off him, he wrapped those muscled arms around me and melted away any resistance.