How was she running so damn fast? Was she some type of Olympic sprinter or something? It was just like that night on the roof when she jumped down and ran so fast he’d had to take to the sky to track her.
A Dumpster flew into his path as she pushed it and kept moving. He jumped over it without breaking a sweat, then ran faster, until he could circle around her and stop a few feet in front of her. She skidded to a stop, looking up at him with wide eyes and bared teeth.
“Go to hell!” she screamed and used both her palms to push him dead center in his chest, just as she’d done earlier. But this time Steele was ready. The beast within him was always awake when he was near her, and tonight was no different, only now it was in a defensive mode.
His body didn’t budge and the shocked look on her face almost pleased him. Except she wasn’t giving up that easy. Instead, she ducked low and slipped between the opening of his legs before kicking up her speed once more.
Fuck this!
Steele was tired of playing games with her. He faded until he was once again in front of her and when she came to a stop this time, he wrapped one arm around her waist, twisting her so fast she didn’t have time to react. When her back was against his front, he put his other arm around her neck and applied pressure to hold her still.
“I knew you were one of them,” she gasped.
He had no idea what she was talking about and didn’t care. There was only one goal where Ravyn was concerned—keeping her alive. It didn’t matter how much his beast was enjoying this close proximity to her, Steele had to remain focused on doing his job, at least one of them.
“You’re in danger,” he said, trying like hell to avoid the sweet scent of her hair that was just inches away from his nostrils. “But if you’d just calm down and listen to me, I think I can save you.”
“Ha!” She snapped her head back in an attempt to headbutt him, but Steele was ready for her attack.
He moved his head to the side and tightened his hold on her.
“I don’t need you to save me, jackass!”
“Yeah, I think you do.”
She squirmed trying to get free and once again Steele noted how strong her efforts were.
“I’m gonna let you go because strong-arming women is not my thing.”
“Really? I can’t tell.”
“But you’re gonna stand still and listen to what I have to say or the next time it’ll be more along the lines of flipping you over my shoulder and gagging you.” He really didn’t want to do that, but he’d thought about it all this week when he hadn’t seen her on the streets. If the only way he could stop her from dying was to keep her tied up in his hotel room until the timeframe for her death passed, he would.
How that was going to work when the Reaper finally appeared to claim the next soul on his list, Steele wasn’t quite clear, because there’d never been a time that he attempted to interfere with the Reaper’s job. He’d never purposely decided to not do the job he was born to do. All Steele knew was that the one time he’d hesitated to go against the Reaper, his sister had died. In doing his job, he’d let his family go through unspeakable grief and there was no way he was going to do that again.
“Say you agree to be still and listen, and I’ll let you go. Lie to me, Ravyn, and you’ll regret it.” Playtime was over. Death was as serious as it could get, and he needed her to jump on board with her own protection. But to do that he first had to figure out how he was going to explain that he kinda sorta worked with the Reaper. Like she even knew who or what that was.
If she kept squirming her plump little ass against him, he would also be explaining how much she turned him on, something he was still trying to figure out himself.
“I’m not gonna let you shake me down like they did four years ago. That’s over and done with!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, baby. I just want to help you.” He needed to help her because doing so would not only save her, but maybe it would save that part of him he’d let die with his sister too.
“I’m not your baby!”
Wait, had he really called her that? And was he really thinking that if he could somehow save her, all the guilt and pain he’d held close for more than a hundred years would just vanish? He took a deep breath and focused on releasing it slowly. He also zoomed in on how good she felt pressed up against him.
“Okay,” he began, the tone of his voice lowered, his body relaxing a bit. “I’m going to count to three and then let you go. But you’re not gonna run away and you’re not gonna scream again. You’re just going to stand there and give me ten minutes to explain.”
A few moments passed before she finally said, “Fine.”
He counted silently, something he knew pissed her off even more, and then he released her. She turned around immediately and took a couple retreating steps before stopping. “Your ten minutes start now.”
“As I told you before, my name is Steele Eze. I work for the Legion Security Company. It’s our job to protect hu...ah, protect anyone in need.” He paused and tried to convince the beast that it was better that her body was no longer rubbing against his, regardless of the strange emptiness he’d felt immediately after releasing her.
“And you’re Ravyn Walsh,” he
