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My uncontrollable breath rang loudly in my ears, nearly a wheeze. I was being too noisy, but I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t control it. I felt so dizzy I could faint.
“Close your goddamn mouth, or I’ll gag you,” Beckett warned, tearing a high-pitched laugh from me.
I was spiraling, with nothing to hold on to.
“Right, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
I opened my mouth to respond, just as a huge palm clamped over my lips, sealing my words inside. My back met the wall, and Beckett’s huge, hard body pressed me against the tiles. I was completely trapped. I couldn’t move a muscle. I couldn’t make a sound, either.
His hips had pinned me, and his chest flush to mine. I glared up at him in the darkness. He was glaring right back.
“I told you to shut the fuck up, and you didn’t, so we’re doing it my way now.” The bastard’s lips tilted up in a grim smirk. “Look how beautiful you are when you’re quiet for once.”
I protested hotly and pushed into him. I might as well have been pushing at a wall. I only fought for a few seconds before my strength deserted me. I could barely draw a full breath; my panic was gripping my chest and refusing to let go. Strangely, the feeling of being surrounded by his strong arms and the tightness of his grip seemed to ease something in my swirling mind.
Some much-needed air filtered into my system, and the spinning slowed then stopped.
I took a few very deep breaths and let my forehead rest on Beckett’s chest. Damn, it was as hard as a damn rock. He smelled good, like always. I could make out that scent that was uniquely his, the one that filled up his room and made it so distracting to clean in there. I pressed my face more firmly to his jacket and breathed in, calming more and more.
“No one’s going to hurt you here, Eve. We have a score to settle, and there’s no escape from that.” Beckett’s voice was a soft murmur, for my ears only.
My head jerked up at his words. I still couldn’t speak, and it was frustrating as hell to have to listen to Beckett without being able to argue back.
“If they want you, they’ll have to go through me. I’m first in line to fuck with you.”
His words were absolutely unhinged, and yet, somehow, they soothed my fear. I wasn’t alone. Beckett was here, and even if he hated me, I still wasn’t alone.
Outside, the sound of footsteps approached, closer than ever. I looked up, resting my chin on Beckett’s sternum. He was glaring at the door, his chiseled jaw tense as hell. Silently, he moved us so that his back was to the door, and I was hidden behind him. He craned his neck to keep listening as we waited to see if we’d be discovered.
Seconds ticked by, turning into minutes. Silence flowed.
The guy was gone. He had to be.
We were safe, for now.
Beckett turned his head to stare down at me. He still had his hand clamped over my mouth. His body was still rigid against mine, but there was another note to the tension between us.
He was hard.
It was a shock to realize. I had little to no experience with guys, thanks to my overprotective brother, but even I could tell there was a long, solid ridge pressing into my belly that hadn’t been there when he’d first grabbed me.
Was he aroused by the danger? I’d once read in history class that men got erections when adrenaline pumped through their veins in survival situations. It was a well-known phenomenon during battles. Was that what was happening to Beckett right now? Or was it… me?
Blood rushed to my chilled cheeks, and I was glad it was dark and he wouldn’t be able to see me blush. I moaned a protest against his hand. I was calm, I didn’t need to be swaddled like a baby anymore. He took his time removing his fingers from my lips.
“He’s gone. No need to manhandle me anymore.” I moved my face away from his. I couldn’t take his dark anger anymore. That burning stare. It didn’t matter what was happening here, Beckett still hated my guts.
He finally pulled back and let out a long breath, running a hand through his short, dark hair. It was a nervous habit of his, I’d noticed it before. Not that I noticed things like that about my brother’s best friend. Nope. Not at all. I took a few deep breaths, stumbling away from his overwhelming presence.
“What should we do?” I glanced at the window. “Should I try and get out of there?”
“You think I’ll just let you skip away from here and leave the rest of us to get killed? And I thought I was the selfish one,” Beckett muttered.
“No, genius. I could get out and go for help.”
Beckett scoffed. “Like I’d trust you to care enough to bother.”
We glared at each other for a moment before Beckett shook his head decisively.
