Page 43 of Ravage
“Kell…” Raegan starts.
Her voice snaps me back to the present like whiplash, and I scowl at her. “The fuck are you doing here?”
There’s a flash of some emotion in her clear blue eyes before it’s quickly covered up by a nose scrunch. She used to do that when she was annoyed, but not angry. Little did she know that we adored that cute gesture and would annoy the fuck out of her to see it again.
Seeing it on her now, all grown up and more beautiful than I could have ever imagined she’d be, wakes the beast in me. No one else has ever compared to the memory of her.
Even in the harsh headlights that illuminate the lot, she’s perfect.
Long, blonde hair that looks soft to touch and begs me to slide my fingers through it. Vibrant, wild blue eyes lined by dark lashes. Full, pink lips that I’ve imagined running my tongue across too many times to count.
She continues, unaware of the unwanted effect she has on me. “I didn't know you were going to be here,” she answers defensively.
I snort and shake my head, then gulp the hard liquor from the bottle. That’s hard for me to believe. I already told her I own this city. And she would know best that would include any of its illegal activities. The question is why she would seek me out. The time for talking has passed. I know now that I meant nothing to her. Not as much as this promise of hers. It sounded like there was nothing more to say after that, and she moved on.
Then I find out earlier today while working on my ride that Dane disappeared. Jackson was nowhere to be found either, as usual, so it was down to Aiden and I to orchestrate a full-on man-hunt for Dane to make sure GE hadn’t gotten ahold of him.
They’ve been hunting him ever since we left the island. Any time he went out, they would show up within days or even hours. They almost snatched him one time when he was out alone. We killed the guys who had him before they could get far, and now we’ve kept him under house arrest ever since.
His disappearance from the Loft was a red alert, all hands on deck situation.
But no. He was safe.
He’d just tracked Raegan down and pulled a gun on her.
And Jackson had gotten between them and dragged Dane back to the Loft, where Aiden has him back under house arrest.
It’s been a fucking day, and she wants to act like everything’s fine?
“I heard there was racing happening here tonight.” She crosses her arms over her chest, but I can see the vulnerability she’s trying to hide behind. “Are you going to let me stay? For old times’ sake?”
I know exactly what this is about. She’s looking for danger and something fun to take her mind off it all and, even with the years and bullshit between us, she came right back to me.
Something stirs in me at that realization, but I shut it down. I’m not her backup partner only when she needs it. That’s not a partnership. She’s already moved on, right?
I cross my arms to mirror hers and raise an incredulous eyebrow. “For old times, huh? I thought we’ve already moved on, beautiful. At least, that’s what you told me. So, how about you fuck off to wherever you’ve moved on to? This is my turf, and you’re not welcome.”
Her nickname rolls off my tongue uninvited, but it’s too ingrained in me when I see her to stop. Her face flushes at the memory, probably out of anger, and I kinda like seeing that.
My mouth stretches to a devilish grin at her expression. Her lips thin to a flat line, and then when I think she’s about to turn and walk away, she jumps at me instead. I catch her wrist before she can grab my arm like she seemed to aim for.
I yank her up against me, wrapping my arm with the bottle around her lower back to keep her trapped. She feels so small and fragile in my arms, and my body tightens on impulse, like I’m about to protect her from everything around us. It’s what I did so often as a dumb young kid—wrap her up in my arms and she could just let go.
But we aren’t those kids anymore. And I won’t be fooled by her this time.
I lean down to her ear and lower my voice. “Nice try, but we both know you won’t use that with all of these people around. And it wouldn’t hurt me anyway.”
She tilts her face up to look at me, and her eyes are lit with a determination that should worry me, but I feel a hit of adrenaline instead. She should be scared of being at my mercy like this. She knows what I can do. And she knows what she can’t do to me. And yet she’s looking at me like she’s won this little game, and I don’t even know it yet.
It’s hot as hell.
“You’re wrong,” she replies with a smirk of her own. And fuck, if that look on her face doesn’t get me hotter than any alcohol ever could. “People will make up anything to avoid acknowledging weird shit happening before their eyes if it’s done right. And second, it does hurt you before your gift takes over. Tell me…”
Something moves at my thigh and then her hand grabs my dick through my jeans. My hard, interested dick.
Fuck.
I know it’s a threat. I know it would hurt like a motherfucker before my gift kicks in to heal whatever damage she gets in. I know I should be pissed or worried, but…
