Page 27 of At The End Of The Day

I huffed and looked, as well. “I dunno. It kinda feels like he’s setting us up for a trap. Like, he wants us to think he ain’t gonna do nothing so we’ll let our guard down so he can strike.”

“Well, that ain’t happening. There’s too much to risk.”

“Is there?”

He snorted and shrugged. “Of course.”

“Like what?”

He cast a quick glimpse, paused, and then gradually turned his full attention to me, his breaths shallowing. “What are you asking?”

At the wall, I blurted, “When are you gonna stop avoiding me and talk about things?”

He gulped and shifted his weight, averting his gaze. “What things?”

“Goddammit, Vin.” I grabbed his shoulder and shoved, forcing him to look at me full on. “How many times have you said you can’t lose me, too, huh? Then why are you acting like we’re strangers?”

“Look, Dash, I—”

Without even thinking of my actions, or their consequences, I grabbed the sides of his face and slammed my mouth to his. He grunted and startled, his arms flying to the sides. Stunned at my own movement, my eyelids shot wide, my stare horrified as our sights locked again. What the fuck did I just do?

Growling, his hands splayed across the sides of my ribcage as he walked me backward, pinning me against that goddamn window again. Holding my stare, his tongue flicked between my teeth and swept through my mouth. My pulse racing, my stomach shaking, I groaned and succumbed, folding an arm around his neck to tug him closer. Our heads bobbing, the passion built to a crescendo, my dick aching to be touched.

Instead, he grunted and shoved away, shaking his head. “Stop. Stop.”

I deflated and sagged into the wooden blinds, disappointment sinking my shoulders. My head banged into them and my eyelids closed while I gulped in deep breaths to stabilize my system.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? You wanna fuck things up worse than they are? Don’t you think I did enough damage?”

My lashes lifted just enough to glare at him down the length of my nose. “You started this.”

“And I finished it, goddammit. It’s over, Dario!” he shouted, slicing his hands through the air.

Fear trembling my insides, my voice shook when I seethed, “And if I’m not ready for that?”

He did a doubletake, the color draining from his face, his eyes bulging. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

I snorted and shrugged. “You’re right, I don’t got a clue what to think or feel right now.”

He stiffened and sneered. “Exactly. You’re still grieving Mary, you’re helping me with Jackyl, and we’re trapped in this house. Our lives are in danger, emotions are high, and Letta and Tyler are fucking like goddamn jack rabbits. There’s a lot of pandemonium going on right now.”

“So?”

He snorted bitterly and shook his head a second time. “When we leave this house and go home, everything that happened here will be done with. You only feel the way you are right now because you’re confused, because we’re trapped here, and because our minds are fucked up right now.”

“And if it’s not that?”

Yet again, he bristled, his nostrils flaring. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think we’ve established that,” I shouted back, shoving off the wall. I snatched the cigarettes and lit one, tossing everything back to the desk. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on in my head, I just know it’s fucking killing me that we ain’t solid no more.”

“So fucking is gonna make us solid again?”

Knots twisting my guts, I folded an arm over my chest and propped my elbow on top, massaging the tender spot between my eyes. I was getting a headache. This was bullshit. “I don’t know what the hell to do, Vin. You got my head all fucked up.”

“I know,” he stated softly, inching closer. “And I ain’t never gonna forgive myself for that. I got confused when I was suddenly attracted to you outta nowhere, and I fucked up. I just…really need to hang on to what’s left of our friendship, Dash. Once things are done with Jackyl, Letta and the kids are gonna take off with Tyler and start a whole new life somewhere else. I’m losing my whole fucking family here,” he croaked, his eyes misting. “You’re all I got left.”

My breathing shallowed again, his words making me feel things I wasn’t used to. The confusion getting the better of me again, I grabbed his shirt, yanked him closer, and stole another heated kiss.