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“We’ll see about that,” I claim before pushing my lips to his, kissing him with a force that surprises even me.
Adrian’s body turns rigid, and I feel his fingers flexing as I dig mine deeper into the fence. I bet this will wipe off that smug smile.
I wait for the push back, but he eases into it almost immediately; whether from shock or desire, it's hard to tell because he follows up with retaliation. He bites deep into my lower lip, keeping his jaw locked until blood floods both our mouths.
I’m forced to pull away, watching as my blood drips from his lips and fuck, that does something to me.
With a smile still slapped on his face, Adrian wastes no time to push me away, darting to the emergency exit from which we came. I let him run, let him get away as I wipe the blood from my now split lip.
Chapter 16
Dante
Last night was supposed to be the end.
The repetition of that thought interests me. I had him pinned, isolated, and measured. Yet I failed to end him.
Metal hums as it meets my chest in controlled pumps. I press slowly and evenly without shaking. The gym is quiet this early, with just the low whir of ceiling fans and the faint rattle of chains from the heavy bags filtering through. Sunlight slices through the high windows in pale bands that make the dust particles look like they’re dancing.
Harmony to last night’s chaos.
I had everything under control… and then? Then what the fuck happened? The memory slips under my skin like a splinter. And that little fuck had the nerve to psychoanalyze me while my hand was on his throat.
The weight of the bars trembles for half a second, but I correct it immediately.
I told him I wanted to break him more, and it sounded ever-so convincing at the time. Calculated even. But standing in that alley, feeling his pulse under my palm, watching him choose defiance over survival. Something shifted within me.
I didn’t want it to be over.
And for the first time in a very long time, I walked away from a finished equation. Adrian tested boundaries that had never been tested; he challenged me and, dare I say, he even beat me at my own game.
Maybe that’s why I kissed him.
I re-rack the bar with a sharp metallic click and sit up slowly. Footsteps approach across the rubber flooring, and my head cocks up.
Marcos doesn’t bother with subtlety as he stops right behind me, his shadow looming over me with disapproval. “What the fuck happened last night?”
I grab my towel and drag it over my face once, careful of my split lip, before letting it hang around my neck. Marcos crosses his arms over his chest, tattoos stretching over muscle.
I lean slightly, elbows braced on my knees. “He got away,” I state calmly. “Slippery motherfucker.”
Marcos scoffs, a sharp, disbelieving laugh cutting through the quiet. “He got away?” he repeats slowly. “From you?” There’s no accusation in his tone. Just pure disbelief.
Adrian fucked right home after our little encounter, and I slipped back into character until the event ended. I went straight home before Marcos could interrogate me, seeing as he witnessed Adrian and his group leave the event early and unscathed.
I roll my jaw once, feeling the faint tenderness from Adrian’s punch. “He adapted; what can I say?”
Marcos steps closer, gaze scanning my face as if looking for damage that shouldn’t exist. “You were supposed to kill the kid,” he says, voice lower now. “Not test him.”
I glance up at him before I stand, closing the height difference between us. “He’s fast.”
“Fast my fucking ass, Graves,” Marcos claims, stern voice echoing between us. “No one gets away from you. It’s hard enough to believe he was able to stick a knife in your leg the first time and get away, but the second? What is your deal with him?”
“Relax, Estrada,” I tell him, stepping away from the bench and toward the heavy bag hanging in the far corner of the gym.
The chain creaks faintly as I nudge it once with my knuckles. I flex my hands, rolling my wrists slowly before settling into stance.
“I’m toying with him,” I continue, casual. “I’ll get rid of him eventually.”
