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Sure, if selling her to the highest bidder was what you called easy.
“You don’t get to threaten me with exile this time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my fiancée seems to have run off.” I dropped my hand and stepped away from him.
He lowered himself to his seat and mumbled under his breath. “Let’s hope she can run fast.”
I smiled to myself as I walked out the door.
Go ahead and run, Little Troublemaker. We both know I’ll always catch you.
***
Outside, in the hallway, Tatum leaned her back against the wall. Her little black dress exposed her toned legs, her chest heaved with every breath she drew in, and the column of her throat was exposed to me as she tilted her head and rested it against the wall. The monster living inside me roared to life at the sight of her delicate, flawless skin. I imagined how it would look broken from my teeth marks or bruised by my fingertips. Her eyes were closed, and I wanted to know what was going on behind them. What thoughts were flitting through her mind? They were unlikely to be the same ones going through mine.
It had been almost three weeks since I’d tasted her, and the fire within me was raging out of control. But the separation was necessary. She’d needed time to deal with a truth that nagged at the back of her mind. Whether Tatum wanted to accept it or not, her best friend had been living a lie. And I needed to give her time to miss me. I needed the burning inside her to match my own. I needed her strong for what I had planned.
Tatum opened her eyes and lifted her head. She turned and froze when her gaze locked with mine.
Gotcha.
I hated the way she looked at me—the pain and anger swirling in the depths of her big, brown eyes—but I didn’t feel the least bit guilty for the cause. She thought she hated me.
I knew better.
I was no saint, but I was nowhere near the sinner her father was, and I was done hiding the truth.
The last time I was with Tatum, she told me she wanted people to stop handling her with little kid gloves. She wanted to decide for herself how much she could take.
I was about to give her everything I had.
Her shoulders set in determination as she glared at me.
There was a pulse in the air between us, a steady thrum. The vibrations of it grew stronger with every breath. Time seemed to pause for long seconds.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Then it happened.
She ran.
In a rush of sharp breaths and footsteps, I chased her.
She darted around the corner and down the next hallway. She stopped running the moment she reached the lobby, but her pace was still swift.
I followed her all the way to the revolving doors that led out onto the sidewalk.
She politely smiled at the doorman as she exited the building and rushed outside, quickly blending in with the crowd.
The night air was crisp and cool. The heavy crowd of daytime traffic had thinned out but still flowed in a busy current. Bright lights lit up the city street and Manhattan skyline.
Tatum wrapped her arms around herself as she hurried toward the closest crosswalk.
The signal turned just as she approached, and she rushed across the street.
I wasn’t so lucky.
