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“No.”
Her eyes shifted back and forth between mine before she backed away slightly. “Is there a problem…?”
I invited myself inside and shut the door. “Yes.” I stared down at her, watching her cross her arms over her chest and hug that shirt even closer to her body.
“Are you going to tell me what it is—”
“Whose shirt is that?”
She paused for a second before she looked down at what she wore. It took her several seconds to catch up to me, to understand what got me hotter than a volcano. “It’s just a shirt—”
“Answer my question.” Sometimes my temper got the best of me and I acted like the psychotic drug lord that I was, but I had to restrain my voice, keep my body absolutely still. Otherwise, I would scare her off.
Her arms crossed over her chest again, like she didn’t want to answer the question. “It doesn’t matter—”
“Why won’t you answer my fucking question?” I still didn’t yell, but I seethed—hard.
“Because it’s none of your business,” she snapped. “That’s why.”
I stopped breathing for a moment, so pissed off with her lack of compliance that I wanted to smash all the wooden chairs around her dining table. “None of my business?” I took a step toward her, and instinctively, she took a step back. “If you came to my home and found a thong in my top drawer, you’d be asking the same question.”
“I would not—”
“Don’t fuck with me right now.” Now the anger emerged, hot through my clenched jaw, loud in the tone of my voice. “Answer.Me.”
Her arms loosened, letting the material release from her waist. I couldn’t tell if she was scared of how angry I was or scared that she would lose me if she didn’t cooperate, but she finally gave me what I wanted. “Some guy left it over here a long time ago. It’s a really nice shirt, and I like to wear it to bed. That’s all.”
The monster inside me continued to rear its ugly head. It came out of nowhere, a beast I didn’t even know I had. “You want a nice shirt?” I yanked off my jacket and let it drop to the floor with a thud. Then I stripped off my black t-shirt before I placed it against her chest. “Here you go.”
She grabbed the shirt, her eyes still on me.
I put the jacket back on and zipped it up to hide my nakedness underneath.
She continued to grip the shirt, still astonished by the way this night had unfolded.
I walked out the door, and this time, I didn’t say good night.
11
LAURA
After I finished up at the office, I packed up my things for the trip.
A knock sounded on the door just when I finished.
My heart skipped a beat because I knew who it was. I’d never seen him that angry before. The way his jaw was so tight. The way his arms trembled slightly as if he couldn’t contain his rage. The scariest part was the way he worked so hard to restrain himself. It gave me a glimpse into the man he was on the streets.
I was lucky I got the watered-down version. “It’s open.”
Heavy boots thudded against the floor, and that was how I knew it was Bartholomew.
“I’ll be right there.” I grabbed my suitcase and my bag, along with my purse that held my passport and cash. I entered the main living area, seeing him in a black t-shirt and jeans. It was a warm day for spring, so his signature jacket was gone, but not his coldness.
Yep. He was still pissed. “You don’t have to come.”
“Did I say I didn’t want to come?”
“Well, you look like you’re about to scream at me.”
