Page 130 of Cold Bastard
The fat fucker blinked, then his face went pale as he looked past Nano to the men standing behind him, around him. Brothers. Lots of them. I recognized the faces—Scythe, Carver, and Wanderer. They were all staring at the drunk, daring him to make a move. Daring him to touch me again. Before the guy could decide whether to fight or flee, Wanderer and Scythe hauled him from his seat and dragged him toward the door as he kicked and screamed.
“Thanks for taking out the trash!” Maverick shouted.
“No problem, Dread,” Scythe yelled as he punched the fat fucker in the face.
I stood there, frozen as my heart hammered in my chest and the reality of the situation crashed over me.He found me.I forced myself to look at Nano, to meet his eyes. His expression made my stomach twist. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t cold.
He was... something else.
Something I couldn’t name.
“What are you doing here?” I whispered, refusing to back down even as my pulse raced.
His eyes never wavered. “Can we talk?”
“No,” I growled, turning fast on my booted feet as I walked away from him.
“Wrong move, Alex!” Maverick laughed. “You never run from a hungry wolf!”
Ignoring Maverick, I kept walking and heard Nano sigh. A sound that was equal parts frustration and resignation, and then his boots hit the floor behind me, heavy and deliberate.
“Line ’em up, Dread,” Carver called from somewhere behind me, his voice laced with amusement. “Looks like the big bad wolf is gonna teach his little lamb a lesson.”
The room rumbled with laughter.
I ignored them all, my hands shaking as I yanked off my apron and headed for Maverick’s office. My mind was spinning, my chest tight, and I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.
He’s here. He’s really here.I shoved the office door open and tried to slam it shut behind me, but Nano was faster. His hand shot out, catching the edge of the door before it could close, as his boot kicked it shut with a force that rattled the frame.
Then his hand was on my neck, his fingers wrapping around my throat as he hauled me backward. My back hit the wall hard enough to knock the air from my lungs. His body pressed against mine, pinning me in place, and his face was so close I could feel his breath on my skin.
“Hello, Alexandra,” he whispered, his voice low and rough, and devastatingly familiar. “Miss me?”
Yes.The word screamed through my mind, desperate and furious and entirely unwelcome. But I didn’t say it. I couldn’t. Because admitting that I missed him. That I thought about him every single day, that I dreamed about his hands and his voice and the way he made me feel, would be admitting that I was still his and I wasn’t. His thumb brushed against my pulse, and I knew he could feel it racing. Knew he could see the way my breath hitched, the way my body responded to his touch despite everything I told myself over the past two months.
“Let go of me,” I sneered, trying to mask my trembling with a steady voice. Despite the confidence in my words, my resolve felt fragile.
Nano refused to release his hold. His gaze bored into mine, dark, intense, and I caught a fleeting hint of relief in hisexpression. “You left,” he whispered, his voice so quiet it was almost lost in the charged silence between us.
“You turned your back on me,” I shot back, unable to hide the sharpness in my retort. “What the fuck did you expect me to do?”
He clenched his jaw, silent for a moment. His hold on my neck shifted, thumb stroking gently along my throat, a gesture equal parts possessive and tender. “I expected you to trust me,” he finally said.
I laughed, the sound bitter and broken, tasting of ash and regret. “Trust you? You broke me, Nano. You fuckingdestroyedme in that basement, and then you walked away like I was nothing.”
“You were never nothing,” he said, his voice rough, raw with emotion.
“Then why didn’t you turn around?” I demanded, my voice cracking under the weight of the memories. “Why didn’t you look at me?”
He closed his eyes, pressing his forehead gently against mine. “Because if I had, I wouldn’t have been able to let you go.”
His words hit me like a punch to the gut, stealing the air from my lungs.
No. Don’t do this. Don’t make me feel this.
I wanted to shove him away, to scream and rage, but my body refused to move. The ache in my chest threatened to swallow me whole, and I hated myself for how desperately I yearned for his touch, even now.
Nano’s breath was warm against my skin, and for a moment, the world narrowed to the space between us. Everything else, the basement, the pain, the shattered trust, seemed to dissolve into silence. Only his presence remained, heavy and impossible to ignore.
