“I’m not going back!” she snaps, panting like a caged animal set loose for the first time in years. Hair sticks to her damp forehead and her chest heaves against the thin fabric of her dress.
I don’t have time to ponder her words because I finally catch her elbows and yank her back into my chest.
“Enough,” I clip. Her fists keep swinging uselessly, knuckles grazing my chin. “Cut it out.”
“Don’t fucking touch me! Let go! Let me go!”
Her arms are still swinging, but I keep her immobile enough to stop the worst of it.
Or so I think.
I’m wrong because she sends her knee right where she means to... into my balls. I fold with a strangled hiss, pain flooding every nerve, my vision tunneling.
“Jesus... Fuck...”
Leilani reels back, fist raised for another hit, but Broadway finally decides to play the hero. He jumps into action, twisting her arms gently behind her back.
“Easy there,” he says, eyes gleaming, lips twitching with the smile he can barely hold back. “You might want to save some of that for later. He’s had enough.”
“Once you calm down,” Ryder says, his grin hinting that watching me fail at basic self-defense is the best entertainment he’s had in weeks, “remind me to buy you a drink. That waspriceless.”
The fight fizzles out of Leilani when I twist myself back, landing ass-first on the driveway. My cheek stings and when I wipe it with the back of my hand, it comes away smeared red.
Great. She broke skin.
“What just happened?” Carter demands, his dark eyes cutting between us.
“Wish I knew,” I mutter.
She’s not trembling anymore. She stands straight, five feet of pure, unrelenting defiance.
And God help me, I’ve never wanted anyone more.
“You can’t keep me here.” Leilani spits the words at Carter. “I made a mistake. I thought you’d help me, but you’re working with BlazeandOctavius!”
“I don’t work with Octavius.”
Her wide eyes search his for lies. “No?”
“No,” he clips, then softer, he adds, “And even if I did, have I ever given you the impression I’d let anyone hurt you?”
“No, but...” She blows a stray lock off her face. “I panicked, okay? I haven’t seen you in years, and me and Aalyiah—”
“You might’ve fallen out with my sister, but you were always her best friend. She’d expect me to keep you safe.”
Her shoulders sag, fury fading to leave her shaken. I just sit there, staring up from the driveway, jaw bruised, ribs sore, mind blown, and not one bit mad.
At the end of the day, Leilani’s a dainty girl. Barely five feet tall, doe-eyed, cute-faced... I thought she was a delicate little thing.
Who would’ve guessed she had so much fight in her? Who would’ve guessed she’d kick, scream, and throwfists? Most girls slap. Not this one. Not once.
I touch my cheek where she landed that first punch, my smile growing wider. It fuckinghurts.
My cock stirs, twitching as the image floods back... Leilani, her hair flying wild, lips curled back, eyes blazing while she tried to tear me apart with her bare hands.
God, I want that again.
Her on top of me, crazy and unrestrained, riding me while she beats me bloody.
