AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"You left the house without permission," I growl.
Her smile slips, uncertainty drifting through her expression. "I took Crash outside."
"You left the house without permission," I say again. Part of me wants to yank her into my arms and kiss the shit out of her. The other part wants to bend her over and spank her ass for scaring me. Right now, I'm not sure which side is winning the war. My life just flashed before my damn eyes. I saw her laying at the bottom of that gorge. I saw someone driving off with her in the trunk. It's fucking me up.
"I didn't know I needed permission to take the dog outside, Cormac," she says, her chin coming up. "You were sleeping, and he was restless. I thought he could use a little exercise. Frankly, I needed a little fresh air too."
"You tell me when you leave this house, Bella."
"You were asleep!"
"Then you wake me up! You don't leave this house without permission!" I roar.
She rears back in shock, her face paling.
Shit.
"Yes, sir," she says, her tone clipped.
I reach for her to apologize for yelling, but she slips around me, her back ramrod straight. She bends to scoop up an armload of bags from the floor.
"Bella."
"I'm going to go put these away," she says.
"Bella."
"And then I'm going to shower." Her steps sound so fucking small as she starts across the living room, heading for the stairs. "I'll let you know my next move after that."
Yeah, I fucked up. Big time.
I stalk across the room and wrap my hand around her arm.
"Don't touch me," she hisses, yanking her arm away.
"Mischief, baby."
"My name is Bella," she growls, spinning to face me with wild eyes. "Not baby. Not little girl. Not Mischief. It'sBella."
"Bella, talk to me."
"I think you've said plenty already, Cormac. I'm going upstairs. You can go fly a freaking kite."
She turns to walk away from me again, and what little patience I have left vanishes in a puff of smoke. Her attitude is sexy as hell, but she doesn't give an inch when she's pissed. I deserve it. I shouldn't have yelled at her. But I can't fix it if she won't let me.
I hook an arm around her waist, dragging her back into my arms before she can plant a foot on the first step. She hisses like an angry little kitten, aiming her heel at my shin. I manage to pry the bags out of her hands and dodge her kick at the same time.
The bags hit the floor with a dull thud as I spin her around and haul her up over my shoulder.
"Cormac, you asshole!" she yells, trying to kick me again. "Let me go!"
"No," I growl, planting my hand on her ass to keep her still as I stomp toward the couch with her over my shoulder. "Not until you settle your little ass down and listen to me."
Surprisingly, she doesn't fight me. She doesn't say anything at all. She goes limp, the fight draining out of her. And then I feel her body shake.
My heart plummets into my soles. She's crying.
I made her cry.
