After being hunted down by every go-kart, spinning out on endless banana peels, and crashing into digital walls a million times, I fling the controller onto the cushion with a heavy, defeated sigh.
“I’m going to tan your little ass,” Tomcat growls, his massive frame filling the entryway as he steps into the living room.
“Sounds incredibly fun, and I’m losing my mind with boredom,” I whine, throwing my head back against the sofa. “Let’s do it right now. Have at it.”
He chuckles, a dark, rich sound that sends a shiver down my spine. “What a tempting fucking offer, Goldie. Unfortunately, Pope just called. Wants me at the clubhouse immediately.”
I fold my arms tight over my chest, pursing my lips into a hard line. “So go. I’m perfectly fine here.”
“That doesn’t work for me, baby. No sooner do I back my bike out of the driveway, you’ll be out that front door.”
I throw my hands up in the air, jumping up from the cushions so fast my injured leg gives a small twinge of protest. “Of course I will! I’m going stir-crazy, Axton!”
“Yeah, and at least you’re fucking safe!” he roars, the sheer volume of his voice bouncing off the walls.
I flinch, stumbling back as my chest tightens. I’m not used to having his explosive, lethal energy aimed at me. The shock burns away, replaced by a rising, furious heat.
Like, really angry.
Like'who the hell does this motherfucker think he is'angry.
How dare he raise his voice at me?
With a vicious snarl, I close the distance between us, planting both of my palms flat against the middle of his chest and shoving him. It barely moves his massive frame, but it’s enough to let him know he needs to pay attention to me, and he needs to do it quickly.
“No. No. You don’t get to do that,” I hiss, my voice shaking with a toxic blend of rage and old, dark memories. “I know you have a lot of that dominant alpha, macho-man MC bullshit running inside your veins, Axton, but you don’t get to use it on me. Not like this. You don’t get to yell at me. You don’t get tolock me in a cage. I won’t be locked in again. Ican'tbe,” I finish, my fiery rant suddenly crumbling into a desperate, fractured whisper.
“Fuck, baby.” His entire demeanor shifts in an instant. The anger evaporates, replaced by a raw, immediate panic as he cups my face in his ginormous, warm palms. “Fuck. I’m so damn sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I just want to keep you safe, Goldie. Ineedto keep you alive.” He leans down, his weight grounding me as he rests his forehead firmly against mine. “I fucked up and let you down. I don’t want to lock you up, little shadow. Just want to keep you breathing.”
“But that’s the thing, Axton,” I admit quietly, staring into the dark intensity of his eyes. “Right now, it doesn’t really feel like I am.”
A flash of genuine, stabbing pain fills his eyes at my admission. “The delivery we got yesterday completely fucked with my head, baby.”
“But the note just warned me away from you,” I argue, trying to bring logic into the chaos. “The guys believe it’s a crazy stalker or someone from your bachelor past. It makes perfect sense.”
He steps away from me, yanking his cap off his head and running his thick fingers through his dark hair before shoving it back on. “Does it? Because something about those surveillance pictures doesn’t sit right with me. They’re all photos of me, or of the two of us together. It doesn’t feel like the work of some scorned woman. If it were, wouldn’t the focus be entirely on destroying you? Wouldn’t your eyes be scratched out of the prints or something? The math doesn’t add up, Goldie.”
I shake my head, my mind spinning into a dark, frantic loop. “What? No. When that man attacked me in the alley, he explicitly said they warned me away from you and I didn’t listen. If this is all aimed at you, why the hell would he attack me?”
“To tear a hole straight through me,” Tomcat says, his voice dropping into a chilling, hollow register. “To hurt us both and send a loud fucking message.”
“No. No,” I repeat, the word tasting like ash as I shake my head violently, backing away from him as if physical distance could somehow protect me from the horrific weight of his words. “Nope. That’s not true. Because if it is... if that’s the reality, then that means you are in lethal danger because ofme.”
I pace the living room in wild, frantic circles, adrenaline sparking through my veins until my skin feels electrified. “That’s it. We have to split up right now. I have to run. I’ll find a strict convent somewhere in the mountains. I’ll fake my death. Whatever we have to do to keep you safe.”
“Goldie, stop.”
I barrel right past his words, my manic tirade climbing higher as the terror of losing Tomcat clamps down on my chest and refuses to let go.
On my next frantic lap around the living room, Tomcat intercepts me. His large hands lock onto my waist, swinging my body around until I'm flushed hard against his chest. “Stop.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No!” I growl, my claws digging into his t-shirt. “I can’t have you dead, Axton. Nope. Not an option. Because if you die, then I’m just going to have to follow you to the other side. Then I’ll have to kick your ass in the afterlife for leaving me. Then I’ll—”
Tomcat slams his mouth down on mine, ruthlessly swallowing the rest of my panicked words until they’re nothing but muffled, desperate whimpers against his lips. Our tongues collide in a vicious, heavy battle, a toxic surge of adrenaline and possessive desperation taking over. Neither of us can handle the mere thought of losing the other, and the realization hits our blood systems like pure fire.
