But it also pisses me off.
He wants me, and yet denies us both, and that makes him a coward, safe or not.
I allow him to help me and Apollo back to the stables, feeding from that quiet power of his until we get the horses safely away so they can be looked after, fed and watered before resting.
My body is stiff when I finally step away from the horse, muscles aching, ass numb, but just as I’m about to leave to get some food and a shower, my eyes clash with his.
“Elena,” He reaches for me, but I step back, causing his brows to draw low.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I snap at him. “Thank you for helping me with Apollo, I appreciate it, but it doesn’t mean I’m not pissed at you.”
“Pissedat me!?” He jerks his head back. “I made it clear.”
“Yeah,” I laugh, “That you’re a fucking coward.”
His face twists, anger coming over him for a moment. “A fucking coward?” He hisses, “You’re callingmea coward.”
“If the shoe fits,” I cross my arms. Behind him, Chase enters the stables but stops abruptly.
“Not now, Chase,” Knox commands.
I watch as his right-hand man ducks out, and I turn back to him.
“You’re a brat,” He snaps at me, “Selfish, spiteful and fucking reckless.”
“Keep going,” I taunt him, “Get it all out.”
“Don’t push me, woman.”
“Or what?” I laugh humorlessly. “You’ll runaway again?”
His eyes darken, “Elena.”
“I’ll save you the trouble, cowboy,” I turn on him and head for the door behind me that leads around the back of the stables. He doesn’t come after me, but I feel his eyes burning into my spine until the door slams behind me.
The rain continues to hammer against the ground, the clouds tumbling with the thunder that rolls violently through them. I’m almost around the stables when I hear the door open and slam shut, and then he’s behind me, grasping me by the arms to push me against the fence, the wooden posts biting into my abdomen with his weight pressing into my spine.
“You fucking test every limit I have,” He growls in my ear, “My patience, my temper.Everything.”
I push back on him, but he doesn’t spare me an inch. He’s stronger, and I feel his anger shaking through him.
Perhaps I should be scared, but it’s excitement that rattles through me.
“Better than fear,” I bite back, pushing my hips into his groin.
He sucks in a breath. “You think I’m scared?” He laughs, the deep chuckle far from amused, “I’m not. I am pissed. I fucking hatewhoyou are and whatyour family has done. And I fucking hate myself because I want you.”
He releases me enough so I can turn, but his arms continue to cage me against the fence. Raindrops roll down his face, catching in his lashes and his beard, but his eyes blaze.
“Then get the fuck off me,” I hiss at him.
His chest heaves with his breaths, a muscle in his jaw ticking wildly, and just when I think he’s going to move so I can go, his mouth slams onto mine.
It takes me a second to catch up, my brain short-circuiting until his tongue traces the seam of my lips and I automatically open for him. He plunges inside as his hand comes around the back of my skull and his fingers curl into my hair, taking hold of a fistful. He yanks my head back, the bite of pain forcing a moan from my lips.
He chuckles against my mouth. “You’re a greedy fucking woman, Elena.”
With his hand in my hair, he forces my head further back, stretching my neck to allow room for his mouth. His beard scratches my skin as his teeth graze down the column of my throat.
