“Kelsey.” His voice is like ice, but still calm, jarring me from my thoughts.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
If I don’t stop biting my lip soon, I won’t have a lip left. “Would it have mattered if I asked? Or would you have simply saidnowith no ifs, ands, or buts about it?” I return, crossing my arms in front of my chest with my hip popped out. You know, for added emphasis.
He seems to ponder that for a minute. “No, I wouldn’t have said no initially. I would’ve asked you why and if you were truly ready for that yet. This week has been a lot to take on…”
“You calling meweak?” I hiss through clenched teeth.
“That’s not what I said.
“Sure sounds like that was exactly where you were going with that.” My head tilts, mirroring his.
He brushes a hand through his onyx locks of hair with a deep sigh. “Look, I would feel better if I were with you for this. I don’t like my sister andmygirl being alone together.”Now Jessie looks offended too, edging closer to my side, facing her brother. “That came out wrong,” He grimaces. “I meant without backup.”
“Uh-huh,” Jessie chides, tongue in cheek. “I think you forget just how highly trained I am, or do you not trust me?”
“I do trust you, and I do know how trained you are, but you know these people don’t show up in ones or twos, Jess.”
“Well, maybeIdon’t trustyou.” Perhaps that was too far, considering Ryder flinched as if I had slapped him. I hadn’t thought before I had spoken, but now that I am thinking about it, wasn’t it the truth? It washewho warned everyone not to tell me anything. It washewho was so damn angry at me for staying that he refused to be around me and kept leaving. He was too caught up in being angry to be aware of all the shit around him. So, who’s to say it won’t happen again? That he won’t let his anger get the best of him.
“I’m the only person you should trust,” He growls, low and dark. Suddenly, the air is too thick to breathe, and I understand why they call him Shadow. His words sound as if they had crept from the darkest crevices of the room. They shouldn’t be that eerie, but somehow he manages to do it.
He inches closer to me, every nerve ending in my body is screaming at me to move back, but I’m frozen solid. Incapable of moving even a centimeter.
He gently presses the palm of his hand to my jaw and swipes his thumb across the apex of my cheek, “It didn’t seem that way when I had you bent over the shower, moaning my name.”
“I didn’t moan your…”
His finger presses to my lips, silencing me. “Don’t lie to yourself.” He croons.
Being this close to Ryder is dangerous. The way his breath kisses the sensitive part of my ear causes my belly to squirm, and the way he talks so salaciously has mythighs tightening to the point the muscles are burning. And those mischievous green eyes… Oh God… It’s too hot in here.
A throat clears from behind Ryder, “Can you two get a room?” Jessie comments sarcastically, breaking me from the lust spell Ryder had cast.
“What were you doing here, anyway?” It was Jessi who spoke. That’s a good question, but if I had to guess..
“Paying a visit to our newest guests.”
“Did you leave them conscious at least?”
“Well, I hadn’t expected any visitors today, but I should be able to wake them up.” He smiles demonically, and I’m beginning to learn just how cruel he can be, but I have a feeling I don’t know the half of what he’s capable of.
“Where are they?” This doesn’t look like an appropriate torture room, I mean, I’ve never seen one in real life, only the movies. So, maybe it’s different?
“We’ll have to go downstairs,” Jessie explains. Ryder has already stalked off down the hall, scanning his hand on the door. The door clicks, and Ryder pulls the door open.
“I don’t have all day, walk faster,” he says as he checks the time on his phone.
“What the hell are you in a hurry for?”
“I mean, if you want the office swarmed by S.W.A.T., then by all means take your time.”
“It didn’t take us thirty seconds to walk fifty feet, calm down.” Jessie sasses when we enter the door to a darkly lit, steep staircase.
“This isn’t creepy at all,” I remark sarcastically.
