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Her shoulders slump in disappointment but she nods. A song starts playing and she perks up a little as if she likes this one and suddenly I can’t leave her. I’m bombarded with images of her dancing with other men, Silver leaning her cheek into faceless men’s chests and a territorial urge rips and howls in me.
“One dance,” I snap and she twitches, spilling her drink over the back of her hand. “One dance, you and me.” When she remains motionless from the surprise, I aggressively add, “Get up now before I change my mind.”
Red colors her cheeks. “You forgot the magical word.”
“Please.” I clear my throat, holding my hand out and she barely gets the chance to put it into my palm before I yank her to me. She stumbles, gasping and I look down at her, not knowing what to do. I’ve never danced with a woman before. Men do it to indulge females and I’ve never indulged one in my life.
The song keeps playing, the epic lyrics talking about wanting to die in the arms of a lover and Silver’s gaze turns glassy. “I think you do it like this...,” she whispers, taking my hands and she puts them around her soft waist. Heat rises from my boots up to the top of my head and everything turns blurry for a moment. When she wraps her arms around my neck, I get the urge to kiss her and not stop until the world comes to an end.
I crave this. Want this, need this...and fuck, in the back of my head I realize just how risky it is to deny what you desire. When a man denies his deepest, darkest desire that’s when he’s the most dangerous...if he denies that then he’s got nothing left to lose.
“Relic, you’re supposed to move your feet,” she whispers and I realize we’re at a standstill. I’ve turned into stone as if I want to freeze time and I give a brisk nod, starting to move. “That’s it...,” she adds, biting her lip, “that’s better.”
I’m not sure what the fuck I’m doing but as long as she likes it, then I’m good. Her gaze is hooded as if she’s busy enjoying the rhythm and I can’t take my eyes off of her. I’m determined to stay away but at the same time I know I’ll never be able to leave her alone. I’ll always keep watching her, never fully pulling away the way I should.
“Hold me tighter,” Silver whispers and I pull her to me, flooding with inappropriate satisfaction when she leans her face into my chest. Other people stare at us and they think what I’m doing to her iswrong. An old guy like me should leave a young girl like her alone but I only hold her closer, until she’s practically purring and I don’t know how the hell I got so lucky.
It’s not every day a bad man gets to hold the one thing that makes life sweet in his arms and when the music stops I wince, not wanting to leave her. “I meant what I said, Silver,” I say when she looks up at me with hopeful eyes. “I’m a bad man.”
“Shut up,” she softly breathes, not wanting to hear it but I shake my head, giving her my last warning.
“You don’t want to push it. There’s only so much I can take. If you push me too far, I’ll claim you and then I’ll never let go, not even if you go down on your knees and beg me to.” I cup her neck. “Run while you still have the chance and forget about me, run and leave a bad man in the darkness that he deserves.”
Her eyes flash as if she doesn’t know what to make of this, her lower lip trembling and I leave her on the dancefloor, walking out into the drizzling rain. I gaze up at the sullen sky and her looks haunt me, my jewel, my silver star, defeater of my heart and agony rips in me and I want to bellow my pain out to the pending storm.
Stabbing my hand through my hair, I walk down the road when I sense something coming...running...for a moment my heart nearly explodes in my chest when I think its Silver but then I realize the steps are heavy, aggressive...
And then I’m jumped.
****
Silver
Staring after him, I try to ignore the tremble in my hands. He just walked away after making me feel as if I was the center of the universe. That man molded my emotions and I cry out for him from the depths of my womanhood, still feeling his touch around my waist, his chest brushing against my cheek and tears burn in my eyes.
I want that. I’ve never had anything like that, never been held as if I was important and respected for just being me but whatever issues Relic has, they’re too overwhelming to make him want to take a risk with me. It makes my heart ache but I’m not going to force anything and I steer my steps into the bathroom, making sure I don’t have any tear streaks on my face and my eyes fixate on the girl staring back.
There’s hope and arousal written all over me and I pinch my lip, groaning when a wave of longing washes over me. Why can’t he just give in when that’s what he wants?
Ugh! Frustrated to the nines, I clean up, walk out of the bathroom and decide to go home. Popping out of the bar, I wrap my jacket around me and make sure I don’t stumble and hurt my ankle while walking up the rocky trail. Rounding the corner, I jerk when I hear grunting down a backroad and I freeze. There are more grunts, the sound of someone in pain and I lick my lips.
When something like this happens you’re supposed to run and call the cops, but I’m not sure this is even a brawl or if someone’s just hurling from too much liquor. It doesn’t sound like a fight because somebody would try fighting back and defend themselves. Perplexed, I walk closer, hiding behind a container when what I see causes the blood to drain from my face and I go dizzy.
Relic’s lying on the ground while getting kicked by the men that harassed me earlier, the ones who whined about me looking stuck up before they made a move and then Relic threw them out. They’re back for revenge only that this time they brought knives with them.
I swallow as my heart shrinks in my chest and I want to scream at Relic to fight back. Why isn’t he fighting! I know he can but instead he’s just lying there, taking the cruelty as if he deserves it. The need to defend him burns in my chest like a fire and I cry out, “Stop it!”
Without thinking, I race toward them, lunging at the guy kicking Relic and I furiously bite into his arm. He roars in pain, pushing me off and I land on my butt on the ground, letting out a sound of discomfort. Relic who’s been numb until now reacts to the whimper, his head whipping around and when he sees me his eyes darken with fury.
Baring his teeth, he seems to flood with strength and adrenaline, his muscles rippling, jaw clenching and he lets out a growl before grabbing one of the men in a chokehold and throwing the other to the ground, planting fist after fist.
Squeezing my eyes, I pant when two more guys jump out of the bushes. Oh no...this is a hell of a waylay and I scream when I’m grabbed by the hair, my body sliding across the ground while I thrash.
Relic roars my name, running toward me, his glare deadly, his mouth grim and a man jumps on his back but he easily throws him off before punching the man trying to shove me into a car right in the face.
My eyes flare when Relic wraps his fingers around his throat, hauling him toward the edge. The edge of the cliff and I stutter, “R...Relic...?” He doesn’t hear me, his body language brimming with aggression and I’ve never seen something so lethal or something so protective.
Picking the man up, Relic ignores his pleads for mercy and ruthlessly turns him into pure mush. I’m shaking when Relic walks over to me, whimpering the closer he comes and I twitch when he strokes my temple with suddenly gentle fingers.
