Tagged Steel (Men of Steel #6) - MJ Fields Page 0,55
be back in a little while.”
“No!”
I cock my head to the side, lean in, and whisper, “We have two nights left here; you really want to deny me the right to get this out of the way?”
She leans in and whispers to me, “I like your lips; don’t let him bust them.”
I smile as I step back. “See you later.”
“Yes, you will.” But she doesn’t say those words to me; she says them to her father.
I step out first, and he follows.
“Would like to do this in private? The hall’s full of cast, crew, and I’m assuming Mara.”
“You think I give a fuck?”
“Yeah, actually, I do.”
He doesn’t respond as he follows me down the hall.
Once I open my door, I see some of her shit laying around. When I turn around, he swings.
I don’t block, and I don’t move. I let him hit me.
“You got nothing to say?” he snaps.
I shrug. “Nothing you wanna hear.”
He swings again. This time I grab his fist.
“Ask me what I did for money to eat from ages sixteen to eighteen?”
“Don’t give a fuck.”
I shove his hand away. “Fought. I’m pretty fucking quick. Ask me why?”
He swings again, and I catch it and shove it away again.
“Because I learned real quick how to avoid shit flying at me from a deranged mother from the time I was old enough to remember shit.”
“You expect me to feel sorry for you?”
“Not my point. My point is, she’ll be loved, she’ll be protected, she’ll be looked after.”
“Like she is here!”
“Not an answer you wanna hear, but yeah, she’s been well looked after.”
“You’re damn right it’s not something I wanna hear.” His jaw muscles tense.
“The guys on team Bella love that girl. She’s looked after even when I’m not around. That better?”
“The ones who allowed her to eat fucking edibles?”
“That was a fluke.”
“So you’re telling me she works, and then you suck every bit of time out of her!”
“No, she does whatever she wants to do. I just make sure I’m around.”
“So you’re obsessed with my daughter!”
“With all due respect, it seems like nothing I say is gonna make you happy, so why—”
“Exactly.”
“Wasn’t gonna say why bother. I was gonna say why fight it.”
“You want your daughter with some man who …” He stops.
“Right now, yeah. In twenty years, I’m not sure how I’ll feel. But when I get there, I’ll look back on this moment right here.”
He looks between my eyes, trying to read me.
“You think I’m full of shit? Some punk who just wants a good piece of ass? I can assure you that’s not the case. Something sparked when we met. Something I’ve never felt. And even though I haven’t said the words to your daughter, and I’m not about to tonight, I loved her the minute I saw her. I will love her until she tells me to fuck off. And I will bust my ass to make sure that never happens. And if you think love at first sight is a joke, man”—I sigh—“I’m sorry because it’s not just a game changer; it changes your heart’s rhythm.”
Silence, and then I laugh. “Isabella, I can feel you from here.”
Jase begins, “You’re fucking cra—”
“I’m pissed at you for hitting him,” she spews as she hurries into view.
“You’re not alone.” Carly walks in and, yeah, the rest follow her.
“Your lip’s bleeding.” She runs her thumb over it. “Come on; let’s clean it up.”
Twenty-One
He Loves Me
Bella
As soon as we’re in the bathroom, I shut the door behind me. “I’m so sor—”
He kisses me hard, running his hands up my back. With one, he pulls me closer, and then grips the back of my skull with the other.
I taste him, and copper, and him. When he pulls back, taking my lip with him, his eyes are different. They smolder.
I finish my sentiment, “ry.”
“You feel better?”
“You’re asking me if I feel better when my ASSHOLE father just punched you?”
“Prolly gonna hit a few boys, too, Bella. I get it; he’s being protective. He loves you.”
“And you love me.”
He smirks. “I like you a whole lot.”
“I heard you say it to my father.”
“Yeah, pretty fucked-up kind of confessional we got going here.”
“Carter …”
He kisses me again, this time harder, and then he pulls away quicker. “Fuck.” He turns around and takes a few deep breaths. “You gotta give me a couple minutes to get my shit straight. Make that less straight.”
I laugh. “Such a waste of a perfectly good—”
Bang, bang, bang!
“Doesn’t take that long to clean up a scratch, Isabella.”
“Your father?”