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Neither of us noticed he was there until now.
Shadow shot to his feet. “I apologize for my stupidity, Mr. Dixon. Naomi’s safety is a priority and I promise to stick by her side as long as I’m needed.”
Patriot nodded his agreement. “Good. She doesn’t leave the Crossroads and I want regular updates sent to my cell. Need to know where she is at all times.”
“Done.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, hands planting on my hips as I stood. “I’m right here. I think I deserve to be in on this discussion.”
Shadow held up his hands and backed away, heading for the door. He didn’t stop until he was out of sight.
“You can’t do that,” I spat angrily. “This is my life. You can’t dictate every single aspect of it. That’s not fair.”
“Mimi,” he answered with frustration.
“No. You just want to keep me tucked away and make all my choices for me.”
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it? You keep telling Snooki what to give me for meals. We rarely join the rest of the club in the evenings because we stay in your room all night. You give Shadow instructions and order him to stay with me, stripping away my ability to make my own choices during the day or be alone. The club girls keep their distance because they don’t know what I mean to you.”
“Sunshine, that’s a bit overly dramatic.”
“No,” I argued, “I don’t have a voice. You’ve taken it over and expect me not to be upset about it.”
“Mimi,” he replied sternly, “I would never do that to you.”
“But you are,” I pointed out, growing increasingly agitated.
My emotions were out of control and I was close to losing it.
“I think you should calm down, baby. We can talk about this ––”
“I hate you,” I whispered, cutting him off, my lips quivering like a dam holding back a tidal wave of tears, splitting at the seams, and convulsing with the effort. Wouldn’t take much to crash through the flimsy barrier I constructed since my arrival at the Crossroads.
Fear. Loneliness. Pain.
They all helped to stack that wall I clung to stone by stone.
But most of all –– I was terrified of the hope that brimmed in the cavernous blue of his eyes, second to the hurt that shimmered within.
He was devastated that I would say such a thing and I wasn’t sure if I meant it or not.
Even so, a flash of heat darkened his eyes.
“Why?” Patriot asked,
his head bending down to eagerly snatch the next words from my parted lips, not the least bit fazed by my harsh and unexpected rant.
All I knew was that he made me deal with all the shit I wanted to ignore and he brought out emotions that were terrifying. After all that I’d been through falling in love was even more unexpected and frightening than almost dying.
“Because you make me feel,” I admitted, breathing heavy.
“Feel what?” That husky deep tone of his voice was nearly as addicting as the way his fingers drifted across the column of my neck and swept gently upward to caress the line of my jaw, holding my gaze without any effort at all.
He made me want to admit my secrets. Confess my heart was longing for his and wanted more.
“Everything.”
