Page 44 of Chaos Bound
“What?” Naiya shrieked and jumped up so quickly her stool toppled over. “I am getting on that bus, and you are not coming with me.”
“You’d better have that drink.” Michael pushed the glass over to Holt, his silver ring tapping on the glass. Something twigged at the back of Holt’s mind. A memory. Faint. Something about that ring. Many rings. But he couldn’t place it. He took a grateful sip of the drink. Although not a fan of girly drinks, right now any kind of alcohol was good.
“Appreciated.” Holt stood and gave Michael an apologetic shrug. “Sorry about this.” He leaned in and whispered loud enough for Naiya to hear. “It’s the pregnancy hormones. She was like this with the other four kids, too.”
“Four?” Michael’s eyes widened. “She doesn’t lookthatold.”
“She wears a lot of makeup to hide all the wrinkles.”
“Shoot him,” Naiya said to Michael. “Put me out of my misery.”
“Afraid I can only shoot criminals.” Michael stifled a laugh. “He doesn’t seem like a criminal to me.”
“He is a criminal,” Naiya muttered. “Criminally insane.” She stalked out of the bar and Holt threw a few bills on the counter. “Sorry about the trouble. Thanks for looking after her for me.”
He inspected the fed’s car as he exited the building. Typical black sedan with blacked-out windows and the usual oddities on the plates: non-random lettering, reflective sheeting and a hologram of an American eagle. Resisting the urge to slash the vehicle’s tires, he made his way to the side of the building where Naiya was waiting, but he didn’t get the welcome he’d expected.
“You said I was fat.” She slapped him on the chest. “I don’t care if it was all pretend. I hate it when men dismiss a woman’s anger as hormones. It’s… sexist.”
Slap.
“And demeaning.”
Slap.
“And patronizing.”
Slap. Slap. Slap.
Fuck. All his life he’d gone for the loud women. Brash, confident and outgoing. Naiya was different. Quiet and gentle. Smart and quirky with a sense of humor that matched his own. But hell, when she was riled she had a fire inside that blew his mind. She needed protecting but she was no victim. She was broken but needed no glue. She’d held her own against that cop, and she’d planned to leave Holt and travel alone across the state. And now she was slapping him on the damn chest, pissed off at a fight they hadn’t really had, about something that wasn’t even true.
He’d never been so turned on in his life.
Holt grabbed her hands and pushed her up against the wall, pinning her wrists to the cold brick surface. “Fuck woman. It wasn’t real.”
“Oh it was real. I saw it in your face. But I’m so not the kind of woman who is going to dress up for you every night and cook your supper and blow you while you drink your beer.”
“But you are the kind of woman I’m gonna fuck until she screams.” Unable to restrain himself any longer, he kicked her legs apart and ground his erection against her hips. “’Cause fuck me, babe, I have never been so damn jacked. You in there. Your fire. Your smarts. The fucking adrenaline pumping as you played that cop. It was all I could do not to push you over the counter and take you right in front of the whole damn bar.”
“You left me.” She bit out. “You left me in a parking lot, and I almost got arrested for something I didn’t do.”
“I fucked up, darlin’.” He leaned in and nuzzled her neck. “I fucked up bad. But you said you wanted me to drop you off, and at the time I thought it was a good idea. You need to get out of the state. I need to go back to Conundrum. We’re not seeing eye-to-eye on Viper meeting his maker. It wasn’t until that hooker was on her knees…”
Only a lifetime of sharp reflexes saved him from a world of pain when her knee jerked up, hitting his thigh instead of the family jewels.
“So that’s how you knew how much a hooker cost. And now you want to fuck me right after you’ve been with her? I am so done with you, Holt. I meant it when I said I was getting on that bus alone.”
He gritted his teeth, pulled himself up. “I left you once, and look what happened. You need me. That cop saw you in that beaver shirt. He knows what you look like. You’re on his radar now, and I’m sorry for it. But if you leave the state you’ll have the feds and Viper after you. I’m your only hope for keeping your name clear of this mess and keeping you safe. And now you showed me a side of you that makes it so I will not be leaving you again. You showed me your fire. Moth to a flame, darlin’. I’m sticking around even if I get burned.”
“Misogynistic, chauvinistic, patronizing,” she muttered. “That’s the side you showed me in there.”
“You insulted my manhood.” He pressed his hips against hers, his cock so damn hard it hurt. “A man’s gotta defend himself when the essence of his being is attacked.”
“Your cock is the essence of your being?” She glared, but her body arched against him, taut nipples brushing against his chest.
“It’s gonna be the essence of your being very soon if you don’t stop turning me on.”
She rocked her hips against him, grinding against his aching shaft. “You’re already turned on.”
