AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” Her eyes flashing with what I can only call anger, she steps towards me, getting in my face. “Are your words supposed to make me swoon at your feet? I know you, Zayn. I know the life you lead. I’ve seen you spin beautiful magic with your words. I’ve seen you spin even the most evasive of women into your arms with just a few indulgences. I’ve also seen you crush people you despise.” Her eyes glitter with such indignation that I can’t help but want to crush those rebellious lips under mine and teach her I can do so much more with my mouth if she just lets me.
She scoffs, shaking her head, not aware of the direction of my thoughts. “I don’t want anything from you but a cordial relationship where we can both be in Mila’s lives. Aside from that, you and me, that’s not happening.”
I am not expecting her to fall in line.
I wasn’t born yesterday.
The corner of my lips tugs upwards in a reluctant smile. “Let’s see.”
It is much more than wanting her in my bed. If I was attracted to her back then, I am swept off my feet by the woman she has become. Her fiery nature softened, but there are walls around her that she puts up and I want to tear them down. This darkness that lingers in my soul is attracted to her.
I want to consume her.
I want her obsessed with me.
It was always that way. Even when she was working for me. My attraction to her had started as a mere curiosity and grew day by day until it terrified me and I used the boundaries of our contract to keep her at arm's length—not that I didn’t toe the line.
Hanging around her, befriending her: it wasn’t a wise move. I warned myself against that.
When she left me back then, a part of me raged in despair, demanding I drag her back to where she belongs. The sane part of my brain was relieved, knowing that the temptation that was Eve was very conveniently removed.
However, her taste still lingered on my lips for weeks after.
And now.
Now, I want her with a burning desire that I am unable to suppress.
We have a child together: a bond that is as tight as glue.
If I chase after her now, I could keep her.
In the back of my mind, I know that I am making excuses. I know that sinking my teeth into Eve and tying her to me might end up being dangerous and reckless at the same time. But I am tired of trying to hide what I feel for her, this unquenchable thirst.
I have a feeling that Eve is not someone who lets people see her vulnerabilities. She is so used to taking care of people that she forgot that she is someone with needs too. I want to take care of her, to protect her, to be everything she needs me to be.
I don’t know if I am in love with her.
I don’t know if I was in love with her five years ago.
But I do know that I ache for her, a pulsing in my soul that I can’t get rid of, a hole carved so deep with her name that I can’t stop wanting her.
When she was bartending for me, she moved out of her family home. Her family life was complicated from what I managed to glean from her. But she was strong, independent, and wild.
The woman in front of me now is different. She is still strong and independent, but now she looks at the world in a more guarded manner; her eyes hold hints of regret and yet she faces the world head on, refusing to lean on anyone for support.
I want to possess her.
I want her to be so wrapped around me that she doesn’t know where I end and she begins. The violence of my feelings for this unaware woman who is glaring at me both amuses me and makes me cautious.
“Why don’t you go back to your little blondies?” Eve speaks, her tone scathing.
“Brunettes,” I correct with a half-smile. “And I’m looking at the one I want.”
I am not imagining the anger in her eyes. “I’m not some floozy you can just take to bed and toss out in a few days once you’ve had your fun. I’m done with people throwing me away.”
The last sentence is forced from her throat, almost a slip, and a swift rage rises in me on hearing the raw grief in the words. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Who dared to hurt her?
