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“What the fuck does that mean?”

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he turns me. My palms hit the wall before I can even decide whether to resist properly. He steps in behind me, caging me there with his body and one arm braced beside my head.

“Put your hands on the wall.”

I stare at the paint in front of me and bark out a disbelieving laugh. “You’re out of your fucking mind.”

“Hands,” he repeats.

“I’m not obeying you.”

His mouth brushes near my ear. “Then think of it as a suggestion.”

I shiver as I plant my hands flat against the wall anyway, mostly because not doing it would require stepping back into him, and my body has already betrayed me enough tonight.

“Good.”

“Don’t praise me.”

“I’ll do what I want.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed, you tyrannical—”

He slides one hand from my waist to my bruised wrist, turning it gently enough to inspect in the light. The bruises on the lower side are noticeable, but when he tries to push the sleeve higher, I flinch. “Don’t!”

He stops, and I think he notices I’m trembling. “Okay. I won’t.”

He keeps his eyes on the lower side instead, on what’s visible, which isn’t a lot, but I guess to him it is.

“You really expect me to believe this was just a fight?”

I keep my voice flat. “Believe whatever helps you sleep.”

He ignores that. “Who did this?”

I look over my shoulder at him, exhausted and one wrong word from breaking his nose. “Why? Are you going to avenge me?”

“Yes.” His fingers drift once over my side. “Tell me who hurt you.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because I said no.”

He exhales once through his nose, and I can feel the effort it costs him not to shake the answer out of me. “I don’t like seeing marks on you I didn’t put there.”

My pulse stumbles, and I shift the conversation. “What did you mean earlier? When you said you need to make something clear?”

“That if you want to provoke me,” he says softly, “you should be prepared for me to answer.”

“And what exactly does that answer look like?” I ask, hating how breathless I sound.

His gaze meets mine over my shoulder. “You’ll see.”

“What are you doing?”

“Teaching you.”