Page 31 of Equilibrium
“You know what, Ophelia?” I almost wanted to snicker at the narrowing of her eyes and the flat line her lips were forming. “You can scream as much as you want to.”
“Bu—”
“You can fucking shout, and pout and be unhappy.” I leaned down, inches from her lips when her breathing hitched, her chest pressed against mine. “I couldn’t care less. If you want to cry over him, go ahead and cry. But don’t for a second think that you are ever getting away from me.”
Her eyes widened, roaming over my face. God, what I wouldn’t give just to have her look at me like I was her entire world.
“I will help you find your sister, and after that...” I trailed off.
“After that, what?”
My chest tightened at the mere thought, but she had to know that I wasn’t the enemy here. “After that, you can do whatever the fuck you want.”
I let her go, turning toward the wardrobe.
“Storm—”
“This conversation is over, Ophelia. Go and take a shower. I will bring the clothes inside for you.”
I could hear her footsteps behind me. Her presence felt both like fire and balm right now, and I didn’t know if I wanted to stay in this room with her or just disappear. I understood she needed time, but God, it hurt like a bitch, pining over her like a fool.
I stiffened when she splayed her arm over my lower back, tracing the invisible line toward my neck. My whole body was strung tight from the mere proximity of her, and her touch evoked something I didn’t want to think about, but I also didn’t want to stop her.
There was a softness in that touch, a small caress, exploration, and it would’ve been so easy to walk away from her if it wasn’t for this crazy connection we had. I knew she felt it. I wasn’t imagining things, but I also knew she was scared. She wasn’t scared of me or who I was, but I had a feeling that the organ she protected inside her chest, got broken way too many times for her to let me in.
Another step forward, and her second hand joined the first, going over the muscles on my trapezius, over my deltoids and back to my neck. I wanted to turn around and touch her as well, but the way she explored my body made me stop. She trickled the hair at the back of my neck, sending shivers all over my body.
She pressed her forehead between my shoulder blades and wrapped her arms around my waist. This wasn’t what I expected from her, especially after that screaming match, but I wasn’t going to complain.
Baby fucking steps, and all that shit. I had to earn her trust before she could relax with me, but I couldn’t do that until I fixed the mess I threw us into. It ate at me, at my soul, and I just hoped she would be willing to listen once I told her what I had to do.
But having her here with me was more important than Las Vegas. It was more important than the entire world.
I placed my hands over hers, right above my navel, waiting for her to say something. But sometimes words weren’t needed to understand what the other person was feeling. Words weren’t something I have mastered over the years, and more often than not, I could come across as a complete and utter asshole, even toward those I cherished the most.
She flattened herself against my back, and it was as if she wrapped us in a bubble, where only she and I existed. Where nothing from the outside world could reach us, and where everything we ever wanted was just here. In this bubble, she wasn’t the daughter of a man who didn’t deserve to live, and I wasn’t a liar who was going to break her heart.
“Sunshine,” I murmured, turning my head to the side, trying to catch her eyes. “We really need to go. They’re waiting for us.”
“Just a moment.” She sighed. “Please, just let me have this moment.”
So I did. I would let her have as many moments as she wanted, as long as she let me have them with her. As long as she finally recognized that what was happening between the two of us wasn’t something she could avoid.
* * *
If looks could kill, I would be a dead man right now. As soon as we got out of the house, Indigo intercepted us, and without a word, stormed back toward his bike, turning his back on me. The scowl on his face would be enough to even send Grinch packing, but right now I couldn’t be bothered.
The sun was already setting down, casting red and orange hues, mixed with the dark blue of the sky, over the horizon. My brothers, by far more than blood, openly stared at the two of us as we walked toward my bike, while the rest of the entourage tried to be a little bit more discreet about it.
Atlas was smirking from behind Indigo, amused by the aggravated look on our vice president’s face. We should’ve been at the beach by now, but I didn’t have to answer to any of them what I was doing.
The moment Ophelia and myself shared earlier passed as soon as it came, and before I could even turn around, she locked herself inside the bathroom, leaving me in the middle of the room with more questions than answers. She was fighting this, whatever this was between us.
I loathed the distance she was trying to put between us. Even now, as we walked toward the line, she decided to walk as far away as possible from me, not even sparing me a glance. I’ve tried catching her eye multiple times since she emerged from the shower, but avoidance was obviously her best friend right now, and the girl I held against that wall, while my dick slid in and out of her warm heat, was nowhere to be found.
If she was trying to rile me up, this was the perfect way to do it. Or well, at least I thought so.
I approached my Harley Davidson, sliding my hand over the cool black metal, as she decided to fuck this day even further and walked away from me. Instead of taking the seat behind me, Ophelia sauntered toward Atlas, and slid behind him, as if I wasn’t standing there.
