Page 123 of Malice and Surrender
“Don’t touch me.” She glared, and I smiled.
Before I could get into more trouble, I stuffed the gun under my jacket to conceal it once more as Raine walked away.
“How the hell did you find me anyway,” she asked as I fell in step beside her.
Lifting a shoulder, I let it drop. “I have my ways.”
Banter should not make me this hot, but with each step she took, the harder I got.
“Go away, Kai, Snake, or whoever the hell you are tonight. I don’t want to speak to you. I just want to be left alone. It’s really not too much to ask.”
“I need to speak to you,” I said.
Right now, I wished everything was solved as easily as fucking it away. I knew it wasn’t possible, but shit, she was tempting. Like a top-shelf scotch, she had my mouth watering.
We reached the corner room, and she pulled out the key from her pocket and unlocked the door. Stepping inside, she quickly turned and tried to push the door closed. I knew she would try and slam the door in my face, so I got my boot in the way. She made a little snarling noise at me, her nose scrunching up as she stared down at the boot.
“Fuck! Why are you so fucking annoying? Can’t you just leave me alone?” She yelled and let go of the door, giving up. That was the question. Why couldn’t I leave her to live her life, whatever that entailed?
Stepping into the small room, I closed and locked the door behind me. The fuzzy television was on low, showing some old sitcom. Raine opened the soda and took a swig like it was something much stronger. My lip curled up, figuring she wished it was.
“I told you we need to talk,” I said.
She spun around, slammed the bottle down, and her hands balled into fists. “About what? How you decided to ruin my life? How I gave up the one piece of happiness that I’d finally managed to carve out for myself because you can’t stand to see me happy?”
“It’s not like that.” She glared at me, her head twisting slightly as one of her eyebrows raised. It was her you’re a fucking liar look. I’d seen it so many times when we were younger, but I didn’t remember it being so damn sexy. I was having trouble concentrating, and my emotions couldn’t keep up with the storm swiftly brewing inside of me. “I swear to you it’s not. I mean, it was, but it’s not anymore.”
I ran my hand through my hair as she stomped in my direction, and my muscles tensed. The closer she got, the more charged the room became between us. By the time she was standing in front of me, I was breathing hard as I tried my best to keep my hands to myself.
Raine pushed on my chest, and my back hit the door.
“Oh really? Then tell me what the hell it’s like, ‘cause the guy that busted into my bubble of happiness last night didn’t seem too concerned about what damage he caused. I’d say you got exactly what you wanted. Me on the run, scared to death of you all over again. Stripping me of all the hard work that I did to put myself back together again. I hate you, Kai.” Her voice held so much venom that the poison seeped into my body.
“Don’t say that. You don’t mean that,” I said, her words stopping my heart.
“I do. I hate you!” She swung for my face, and I grabbed her arm out of the air. But she was quick and landed a hard blow with her left fist that knocked my head to the side. Fuck she had a hook.
I saw her gearing up for another strike and snatched her wrist. Spinning us around, I pushed her back up against the door.
“Stop looking at me like that.” She struggled in my hold and wouldn’t look me in the eyes.
“Like what, Tink?”
“Please, this is me begging you to go away,” she said, her voice breaking.
“No, tell me what you see.” I felt the anger shifting to another level like a geyser getting ready to blow. Her body trembled, but it wasn’t from fear. It was the same powerful connection I’d always felt between us.
“Stop looking at me like I actually mean something to you.” Her eyes were as angry as I’d ever seen them and filled with tears.
All the layers of hurt, love, and memories piled onto me all at once, and my body mirrored hers, trembling while I held her. She pushed against my hold and growled, but that only made me want to lay her on the bed.
There was a good chance she was gonna bite my tongue off, but I didn’t care and dropped my lips to hers before she could spew any more hate.
Her lips were firm and wouldn’t grant me access. So I nipped at her bottom lip and sucked it into my mouth as I held her hands above her head. Even as she tried to twist her head away, I followed the movement.
“Please, Kai…” She got out, and I took advantage and deepened the kiss. The building energy in the room soared off the charts as she opened her mouth further to let me kiss her properly. It was our first real kiss since that fateful night years ago. Her lips were warm and so soft, but her mouth was hot, and I could taste the lingering sweetness of the soda. She felt perfect and exactly like I dreamed she would.
She stopped trying to fight me, and I let go of her hands to grip her hips. She was mine. She was made for me in every way, including our broken and damaged souls, which were twined together.
