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Keira
I run along the side of the brick building, hoping I’ll find an alley to lead me far from here.
I need to think.
Think. Think. Think.
What am I doing? What have I done?
Everything had been going so well, then that woman appeared and knocked me off my axis.
“Keira,” he shouts, his heavy footfalls sounding in the distance. “Please stop.”
I cringe.
Goddamn it. What have I gotten myself into? Cole is going to kill me.
“Keira…” He’s closing in on me. Eating up the distance. “Let me explain.”
“Don’t.” I slow my stride to a power walk and continue to the back of the building. I don’t find the getaway I need. There’s only a head-high wire fence with no gate.
There’s no escaping this. No escaping him.
I plant my feet, and he halts beside me, his shadow looming.
“It’s not what you think.” His hand gently glides over the low of my back. “You need to hear me out.”
“I need to?”
“Please, Keira.” He pulls me into his chest. “She means nothing to me.”
I turn toward him, my game face fully intact. “Do you think I care about some other woman? Christ, Decker, you’re the one who demanded commitment. Not me.”
He grows a foot taller, his shoulders straightening. “Then why did you run? Why are you pissed at me?”
My pulse grows frantic the longer he stares, the rapid pounding in my chest becoming painful as he holds my gaze.
“I’m livid because you made me believe my safety was at risk when what you were really doing was putting space between your booty calls.”
I make this about his job. About the commitment he’s made to my brother. I refuse to let it be about anything else.
“You made me think I was in danger, when there was no threat at all.” I shove out of his hold, placing space between us.
His nostrils flare as he glances away, letting out a huff of frustration. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
“In front of me?” I seethe. “Or at all?”
“At all,” he grates. “She’s not a woman who can be ignored. If I didn’t pull over and speak to her, she would’ve followed until I did. She would’ve made a bigger scene.”
“Making a scene is the least of your worries. You need to remember why you’re here and who you work for. My protection isn’t something you can push aside whenever your girlfriend shows up.”
“Your protection?” His eyes harden as he meets my gaze. “Are you really going to keep playing this like it’s a work related problem? It’s clear you’re jealous, and you don’t need to be.”
I bite back a retort that would only prove his point. “We can make this about sex if you like, Decker, the unprotected sex we had after you led me to believe you weren’t sleeping around.”
“I’m not sleeping around. And stop calling me Decker. You know my fucking name.”
I’m not here to do him any favors. I can’t. I’m beyond reasoning. “Is she the woman you cancelled plans with yesterday?”
“Yes,” he growls. “But it doesn’t change a thing—”
“Because she’s only an old friend?”
“It’s complicated.”
“It always is.” I start toward the street, needing to find another escape route.
“Come on, Keira. I understand why you’re upset. Honestly, I am, too. But the last thing I want to do is hurt you.” His footsteps follow. “Please, believe me when I say I’m sorry.”
“Believing in someone is a luxury I can’t afford.” Case in point—our current situation.
He grabs my arm and turns me to face him, his eyes shining with sincerity. “I shouldn’t have contacted her, okay? I don’t want anything to do with her. Not anymore. But like I said, it’s complicated.”
“How complicated?” The question slips past my defenses without permission.
He doesn’t respond, only holds my gaze, the clue to my answer flickering in his tight expression.
“Tell me,” I demand, “before I find a phone and call Cole.”
He sighs. “She isn’t someone who can be denied. She always gets what she wants. One way or another.”
I hate her already. Even more than I already did. “And what she wants is you?”
“Today, yes. Who knows what she’ll want tomorrow.” He shrugs. “But I’m not interested in her. I promise.”
I should’ve scratched her eyes out instead of ru
“Because she was threatening you. I’m not going to apologize for being possessive. I’ll shut down anyone who contemplates putting you in harm’s way. I’ve told you this a hundred times.”
The words sink deep, the sincerity in his eyes sinking deeper. He’s trying to weave me under his spell again.
He reaches out, stroking his thumb over my cheek. “I’ll stop at nothing to keep you safe.”
“And what if it’s you I need to be kept safe from?”
His hand falls. “Is that how you feel?”
I don’t know how to answer. Strategy or honesty. Truth or lies. “Getting involved with you was a mistake.”
“Bullshit. You don’t believe that.”
I don’t know what I believe anymore.
“Keira.” He whispers my name, the syllables drowning in sorrow. “Deep down, you know this is real. What we’ve got isn’t something that should be thrown away.”
I scoff. “That’s awfully poetic.”
His fingers loosen around mine, his touch climbing my arm, moving along my shoulder, burning a frantic trail until he gently clasps the back of my neck. He demands my attention with the possessive hold. He commands my eyes to meet his without a single word.
I blink back at his fierce expression, my breathing growing ragged. I lick my lip. I shudder. All my responses are involuntary. When it comes to Sebastian, I guess they always are.
“It’s not poetic. It’s the fucking truth.” His fingers stroke back and forth along my sensitive skin. “Neither one of us wanted this. But it happened. And I’m not going to let you convince me it doesn’t mean anything to you. Because I know it does.”
I clamp my lips tight.
I’m not going to confirm or deny.
“Keira. Please.” His face is scrunched in pain. “I’m—”
His sentence is cut short by the melodic sound of his cell, the loud ring echoing through the alley.
“Shit.” He lowers his hand from my neck to retrieve a phone from his pocket. “I need to answer this. It’ll be Hunter.”
I nod. “Go ahead.”
He stares at me, the cell palmed in his hand. “Not until you tell me we’re good.”
The phone continues to ring, the a
“We’re good,” I whisper.
His features relax, the slightest smile tugging at his lips as he co
He wraps a hand around my waist, and I don’t deny the touch. I’ve made my decision. I need to stick to it.
“How far away?” He backs me into the wall as he speaks, his hips pressing into mine. “Yeah. We’re already here. After you take the turn off, you’ll see the Porsche parked on the side of the road.”
His heat sinks into me, the exposed skin of his chest tempting.
“I’ll see you in a minute.” He disco
“They?” Has my brother come to save me from making more poor decisions? Or would he pressure me to make more?
“Hunt and Sarah. We need to meet them at the car.”
“Okay.” I inch along the wall, only to have him stop me with a strong hand on my waist.