“Ty,” I sigh. I should’ve seen this coming.
“No, Roxie. End of discussion. You want the shower first?”
“End of discussion?” I snap, walking closer to him, arms crossing over my chest in frustration. “End of fucking discussion? I think not.”
“Roxie, you’re hurt, alone, andI just found you again. I’m not going to chance anything happening. And if that means that you’re glued to my hip until we get this Mickey situation handled, then so be it.”
My jaw sets to the side.
“Ty, you cannot protect me and be on guard for the foreseeable future.”
“Oh yeah? Wanna fucking bet?” he snaps, steel in his voice and a simmering anger in his eyes.
Normally, I’d flinch. Bend. Adjust to keep Mickey happy and away from me. But with Ty… I want more of it. “Terecino! You are not going to keep me under lock and fucking key until you can “handle” what’s happening!”
The moment I say his full name, he rounds the edge of the bed and crowds my space, his eyes locked onto mine in a heated standoff.
“Well,Roxanne,” he growls, “I wasn’t thinking lock-and-key, but if that’s what it takes.”
I clench my teeth and amutterly fucking confusedby the reaction I’m having in my body. Am I turned on? Am I scared? Am I both? Do I want to fight? Do I want to run?
What the fuck is happening?
“You wouldn’t,” I seethe.
“Oh, I would.” He steps into my space closer, looking at me so hard that I can tell he’s looking for the edge of my comfort.
He’s pushing, testing, edging, but he’s following my lead.
“Fine,” I grumble. “I’ll come today. But we’ve got some things to sort out.”
Ty smirks like he’s won something, and in a way, I guess he has. Again.
And he’s so fucking hot for it too.
“Good girl. Go shower first, just don’t take all the hot water. We have to go in thirty.”
My jaw drops.
He didn’t just say that.He did not just say that.
Fuck, I really liked it.
I’m so shocked at how he sounded and looked as he said those two little words that it’s like my body is rebooting and I’m struggling to figure out what to do. Ty smirks, an infuriatingannoyingly smug look, and hands me the shirt on the bed, pushing me towards the doorway softly.
“Liked that, did you?” he asks proudly. “Noted.”
And that fucking ego boost I just gave him makes me want to rip the smirk from his face. So I stop and hold onto the door frame before turning back, just slightly, to look at him over my shoulder.
“I’ll make sure to take anextra longshower… Maybe release some of thistensionwhile I’m under the hot water,” I say in a low, husky tone. “It’ll feel so good.”
The moment I say that, the smirk drops along with his jaw. His eyes lock onto me, to my body, and his fists clench like he’s physically trying to hold himself back. With a wink, I giggle and close the door.
Fucking take that, Ty.
From The Ashesis so cute. It’s like a little grunge space inside the picturesque Main Street of Haven, Arizona. The window is wide and has a beautiful, hand-drawn logo of a phoenix with swirls of smoke around the bottom andFrom The Ashesclear in the smoke.
Ty walks in front of me, opening the door, and helping me through.
