I bit back a whine and forced my attention to the gun, lifting my hands to where he instructed.
“That’s better.” He praised. “Don’t aim for the head. You won’t make the shot. Aim lower. Near my torso. Gut shots hurt like hell and bleed like a bitch.”
My arms wobbled, the gun wavering. “W-what?”
“Safety’s off.” He guided my finger. “Trigger is here.”
And then he was gone. His big, warm presence. That gruff rasp in my ear. If my body wasn’t tingling with awareness, I would question if he’d held me at all.
Kieran shifted directly into the path of the gun he’d just taught me to use.
“Y-you w-want me to shoot you?” I asked, starting to tremble.
“I’d rather you didn’t,” he replied, voice calm and even.
“You just showed me h-how.” He literally could have disarmed me or used the gun against me.
“Maybe I deserve it.”
I did not expect this. “You’re not in real estate,” I stated.
“No.”
My chest felt tight. Hurt strangled my heart. “You lied.”
“Yes.”
“Why?” I wanted to know.
He didn’t answer.
My arms sagged, the gun pointing to the floor. “I don’t want to shoot you.”
Barely a second later, the weapon was gone and I was in his arms, plastered tight against his chest with his cheek resting on the top of my head. “Thanks for not running out of here.”
“I pointed a gun at you instead.”
His chuckle ruffled my hair. “I’ll take that over you not being here any day.”
“You’d have just found me anyway,” I said, rubbing my nose against his shirt.
“Always.”
My stomach swooped, and I reminded myself that him being a stalker with guns was not romantic. I’d just found a closet filled with weapons. “I want answers, Kieran,” I said in my best firm voice.
“All right, doll. Let’s go talk.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
Kieran
It was impossible.
Even finding him with a gun in his hand and threats falling off his kissable lips didn’t make me believe what I’d just learned.
Honestly, it only made it harder to wrap my head around. He was too adorable. Too innocent. He was holding the gunbackwardfor fuck’s sake.
