Page 35 of Twisted Road

That voice. He never raised it, but every time he threw out his macho crap commands, she wanted to throw something at him…or burst out laughing. Mostly, she laughed. She didn’t right then. Things were just too much between them and she didn’t know how to handle it.

She swung around to glare at him. “Now you want to talk. As I recall, I brought up several subjects over the last couple of weeks and you refused to talk about them.”

“I didn’t say stay there and talk to me, I said get your ass over here and talk.” He had dropped into a chair and his legs were sprawled out. A typical Keys pose. He pointed to the spot right in front of him, between his thighs.

Okay, that did make her laugh. She couldn’t help it. That was pure Keys, no zombie in sight. She shook her head and crossed the room to stand to one side of his chair.

“Sheesh, you’re back in form, Keys. Are we going to actually talk about the man I know you took prisoner? The one that came to kill us? What about him? I asked about him at least twice. Can we start there?” She tilted her head, a deliberate challenge.

“We can start with you putting your ass exactly where I told you to. Just so you don’t feel you’re protected against my earlier promises, Steele cut you loose, as in your checkups aren’t daily or even weekly. We’ll continue to do the rehab and build your strength, but there aren’t any restrictions. I asked specifically.”

Her heart skipped a beat. She knew Keys’ every mood. He meant what he said. He wanted her standing between his thighs. That was a red flag. Her mind kept screaming, Danger. That weird reaction she only got when he was being a scary, badass biker. He was scaring her just a little. He was serious, and he was never serious with her. Not really.

“You’re giving off scary vibes, Keys.”

He leveled his gaze at her. Those eyes of his. He could pierce armor with those eyes. Like laser beams. The kind that targeted you right before you got shot.

Lyric found herself moistening her suddenly dry lips with the tip of her tongue. His gaze followed the movement, and something she couldn’t identify flickered like a hot amber flame. Not understanding him, but knowing he meant business, she stepped over his outstretched leg and stood between his thighs.

His gaze softened just for a moment. It was terrifying how much that affected her. She liked being his only female friend. She liked knowing him better than anyone else. She liked that he left his mask off most of the time when he was around her. What she didn’t like was her need to please him. To make him happy.

Lyric liked her independence. She didn’t want to be one of those women who lived for that tiny look of approval from her man, but Keys could do that to her. He could take and take, and she would give and give, and her life would be hell.

She had always known she was going to have to find a way to let him go, but then she hadn’t slept in the same bed with him. She hadn’t done her rehab with him. He’d been so gentle and never left her side, not even to go take care of that monstrous hard-on that frankly scared her. What woman could really handle his needs on a daily basis? She’d probably never be able to walk.

“Wildfire, I told you never to play poker. Stop thinking about fuckin’ me and pay attention. You need to know what’s going on here. There are a few rules we’re not going to break. I went over a couple of them with you up in the mountains, but you weren’t paying attention.”

She glared at him and stuck her chin in the air. “I did pay attention. I shot that man. I would never have done that if I wasn’t doing what you asked me to do. Never.” She was adamant. “I’m absolutely willing to help you when someone threatens your life, but this killing business isn’t for me. It isn’t, Keys. I didn’t like it, and I never want to have to do that again.”

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in tight against him. She could feel the hard muscles of his thighs. His cock was a large, thick weight pressed against her stomach.

“Babe, never wanted you in that position and don’t ever plan on letting it happen again. I’m sorry you had to go through that. You’re too damn soft inside, but lucky for you, I’m not. I’ve got you covered.”

“That’s good, because I’m all about scissors, not guns.”

The moment the words were out of her mouth, she wished she could retract them. His eyes glittered like two champagne diamonds. There was nothing soft about the look he gave her.

“Yeah, babe, about that. I made it clear that I was going to teach you a lesson if you didn’t do what I said. I want you remembering that when I tell you to do something for your safety, you’re going to do it.”

She gave him the stare-down. “I told you I wasn’t going to let anyone kill you. Not that I’m sure why I feel so strongly about that. You’re as annoying as hell half the time.”

He put a hand on either side of her waist, lifted her and deposited her facedown over his lap. There was no talking, no hesitation—he smacked her bottom hard. Very hard. He did so several times, and it hurt. She had a high pain tolerance and he knew it. He made sure she felt every single smack on her bottom through the thin fabric of her jeans.

She was not going to give him the satisfaction of tears. She’d burn in hell first. She read books about spankings men gave women that were supposed to be a turn-on. Erotic. Ones that made a woman wet and wild. This was not one of those spankings, nor could she imagine ever wanting a man who smacked her butt because he was upset with her.

Just as abruptly as he’d laid her across his lap, Keys sat her up, forcing her legs on either side of him, so she was straddling him, facing him. Her bottom burned but not nearly as hot as her temper.

“Don’t start, Lyric. You fuckin’ deserved that. I told you the consequences, and you just ignored them.”

“You know, I don’t like half the things you do—should I get a belt and smack your bottom? Is that how we resolve things between us?” She was seething with anger. “Because, quite frankly, I don’t think that resolved anything.”

“Made me feel a whole hell of a lot better. Maybe you won’t be so quick to put your life on the line to save mine.”

She took a deep, calming breath. “There’s something very wrong with you, Keys. But I’m overlooking this because you’re clearly stressed out and need sex. Please go far away from here and take care of yourself so we don’t have any more incidents like this one. I honestly don’t know what I’ll do if you try it again.”

A slow smile softened the cruel edge of his mouth. “You did get something right in that not-very-well-thought-out plan of yours. I do need to bury myself in a hot little pussy. I’ve been waiting for a few months now.”

Alarms blared loud and long. She started to slide off his lap. Self-preservation was finally kicking in. This wasn’t Keys teasing the hell out of her. This was Keys being dead serious. She could not handle this version of Keys.