A bitter laugh rumbles out of her. It’s the fakest thing I’ve heard. Good, it means I’m breaking her down, chipping away at those icy walls. It won’t be long until there is nothing but puddles at her feet. Those flames inside her will only burn hotter and higher when the elements touch.
A force to be reckoned with.
Strong and fearless.
Destruction to anything in its way.
I can feel the fire wanting to seep out of her now. It won’t stop me from pushing until she’s spitting hot enough to burn me to ashes.
”I don’t like repeating myself either. We’re not right for one another. As of right now, I’m going to forget everything about that day and pretend it never happened. Just leave it in the past already. God, you infuriate me.”
Well, if I infuriate her, then she makes me lose my goddamn mind. Then again, this tug of war, this push and pull we’ve always had, I crave it. I’d just much rather it be done once she lets me in to help get rid of all the shit that is festering inside her.
”Pretend that it didn’t happen? It did happen, Victoria. While you lie to yourself in pretending that we never happened, I’m going to keep reminding you that it did.”
”Like hell, you are. I want nothing to do with you. So, you can fuck right off.” Her hand flies up and cracks me across my face. My cheek stings like a bitch. I deserve it.
“Do you feel better now? Need me to back away so you can use me as a punching bag? I’ll do it if that’s what it takes to get you to open up and release.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just,”
“Just what? That the truth hurts? The truth that you care. The truth I’m so far under your skin that you’ll lie through your teeth to yourself to yank me out. That you’re falling for me as much as I am you, that you want me, but you’re too afraid to leap into the flames.”
She scowls, holding my gaze. Her shoulders sag. Still, I find myself compelled to push her as far as I can, pull her away from the weeds weighing her down, plop her into a vase, give her the nourishment she needs and watch her open like the beautiful flower she is. An elegant rose. Thorns and all.
“Don’t flatter yourself. It’s no secret you’re a man of seduction. However, you can choke on it and your truth. I know what you are trying to do. Your devil horns are showing. The thing is, you don’t have it in you to care about me the way I deserve. If you did, you wouldn’t have touched me. You wouldn’t have let what went down happen and then turn around and tell me you were moving in. As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing left for us to say to one another.”
I don’t buy her bullshit for a second. It’s an excuse to shove me away. A pitiful one that stabs at me like knives.
Does she honestly think I used her? Honestly, believe there isn’t more to say?
For fuck’s sake, she is stubborn.
I reach out and grab the end of her braid, tugging at it gently. Enough to get a gasp out of her before letting go and dragging my finger down her cheek to her chin, lifting it just enough to meet my eyes.
She jerks in a sharp inhale.
“Only psychos and sociopaths don’t care. I’m neither, Victoria. Maybe you should take a look in the mirror. You seem to be the one closing themselves off from caring.”
Her face twists at my offending words. I’m causing her pain. I know this. Forcing her to think about the truth so she can meet me halfway. Maybe I’m going about it all wrong, but the way I see it, with everyone else dealing with their own pain and working on trying to find the killer. I’m all she has. All she needs. All she wants.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about. I care. I just don’t care about you.”
There she goes again, lying.
Angling my head, I grit more words out—more truth.
“Do you know what your problem is? What your biggest fear is when it comes to me? You’re walking the fine line between love and hate, judging me about my past. A past that happened long before I slipped inside your sweet body. That’s rich coming from a woman who grew up in the mafia. Maybe I don’t know you. Perhaps you’re just as good at hiding as I was. The only difference, I’m fucking tired of pretending to be someone I’m not. That said, I’d burn alive to save someone who means something to me. And, Victoria, you do. What we did at your place, what we did a while ago, was more to me than getting off. You are more. I’d show you if you let me in.”
Her body shakes. That agony stretches across her features before she shoves it away. I bet all the money I have Victoria has a drawer inside her head where she throws what she doesn’t want to deal with—leaving it there until it festers.
Christ Almighty, Victoria has no idea what seeing her in this state of mind does to me. I just want to scoop her in my arms and protect her from everything that is tearing her apart.
It makes me want to go on the hunt again and not return until I’ve skinned alive any and everyone associated with putting Victoria through hell.
Hand going right back to her hip, I slant my mouth against hers, my tongue taking advantage of the parting of her mouth, and I dive in, tasting her, slow and soft. She tastes like heaven and hell. The woman is scared to death of so many things.
I just wish I knew what they were so I could yank them out, toss them in
