AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He takes it off the wall and hands it to me. I grip his hand in mine and look back in surprise when he pulls his hand free. Wow, that wasn’t subtle at all.
Oh. I smother the rush of hurt with years of practice and allow a cool mask to fall over my face.
“Sorry. Just, can you come with me?”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
I exhale and tamp down the anger that’s slowly building out of control. “It’s for Barren.”
That gets him moving. He follows me up to the third floor and stops just outside the door. I hand him the chandelier and wave him through.
He looks at me blankly, perhaps with suspicion. His brows lower, and his nostrils flare, I can almost feel him working up into some big embarrassing speech.
I glare up at him. Do I really have to spell it out?
His eyes drop to the chandelier and then to Barren, who is still frantically moving things around. There’s something soft on Acton’s face, he’s thoughtful when he enters the nest, but as soon as he does, I release the breath I’m holding.
Then I turn on my heel and stalk back down the stairs. I sit in my room for a while and then unpack my stuff and repack it. Should I stay or go? In the end, I grab my bags and slip quietly into the hall.
I make it all the way to my car and put my bags in. I’m just closing the back door when arms cage me to the car. Flesh slaps metal, and I flinch. I turn around, my senses overwhelmed by the smell of orange.
“You were just going to leave?” The voice growls. There’s so much rage and hurt in the tone. I want to fix it. Everything inside me wants to soothe him, take the hard glitter out of those eyes.
I want to say no, but I can’t. I was thinking about just running away. “The storms stopped. It’s time for me to go home.”
Barren growls. It’s a ferocious and slightly feral sound. I reach up, refusing to flinch as he eyes my hand. I put my palm against his cheek.
“I didn’t want to disturb your nesting.”
His eyes smolder. I swear he has galaxies of light in his black eyes. “You leaving is disturbing me.” He snaps and moves even closer to me so I’m pressed up against the steel of the car.
“I have to go home.”
“No.”
I huff in exasperation. “What are you going to do, kidnap me?”
He considers it, and my heart flutters.
“No, Bar. Just, no.”
He leans closer, and this time, I can feel the fury rolling off him. “Do you think I’m broken?”
Suddenly, the situation isn’t funny, it’s deadly serious.
“I think you’ve been hurt, and you’re healing.” I say carefully.
He leans even closer, his hands roaming over my body. One hand anchors my hips to his, while the other drags up to capture my jaw. I hold perfectly still.
“I think everyone’s forgotten who the fuck I am. It might be time to remind them.” He slams his lips against mine, forcing his tongue between my teeth, and completely overwhelming my senses. All I can do is hang on.
Then he lets go, stalks around to the driver’s side of the car, gets in, and starts it. I pat my pockets.
“Barren! Get out!”
“Three seconds.”
He’s deadly serious. I can see it on his face. I can’t just let him go off on his own. Anything might happen. I rip open the passenger door, push my stuff onto the floor, and get in, pulling the door closed just as Gold comes tearing across the yard.
