UnHinge Me (Savage Beast MC #6) - Hayley Faiman Page 0,32
behind and he hauls my body against his. My back slams against the thick muscle of his chest and it feels like I’ve slammed against a brick wall.
His breath fans my cheek as his lips rest against the shell of my ear. “You’re sweet, babe and you’re cute as fuck. It’s sexy when you get jealous, so that’s not why I’m dragging you the fuck out of here, and putting you in your place immediately.”
His words send a chill down my spine. I try to hold back the shiver of fear, but I fail. He doesn’t respond to that, instead he just keeps talking and scaring the shit out of me all at the same time.
“It’s no surprise I’m an asshole. Also, if the desire arises, make no mistake about it, I will get what I need. When I need it.”
His words are a whisper, they cause goose bumps to break out over my skin, but they’re more in disgust than anything else. This, anything he’s saying, it shouldn’t bother me at all.
I am not his girlfriend.
I am not his wife.
Men don’t stay faithful to women anyway, I’ve seen married men do despicable things at my father’s little parties, so I know how ugly the world can be, but I allowed myself to think that this could be different. That he could be different from any other man on earth.
I needed this moment. Needed this talk from him. Needed to hear that he is exactly like the rest of them, like the absolute animals that are known as the male species.
“Okay,” I breathe.
“Okay?” he asks.
Nodding my head, I don’t bother trying to look back at him. He still has his hand wrapped tightly around the front of my throat. I try to swallow, but it’s difficult. Lifting my hand, I wrap my fingers around his wrist and grip him.
“Yes, okay,” I rasp.
He releases me but doesn’t move. Slowly, I turn around, tilting my head to look up at him. My eyes find his black ones. They aren’t dancing, they aren’t glittering. In fact, I can’t really tell what he’s thinking at all. I find that it’s unnerving, even when I haven’t been able to quite read him that well, I could at least see the way his eyes danced. They no longer are, and it’s almost frightening.
“I said okay, and I mean it,” I murmur. “We aren’t anything and even if we were, I understand that men do what men do.”
“Men do what men do?” he asks slowly. I don’t answer, there’s no point, he’s not really asking me a question. “What do women do, Leighton?”
I think about telling him to fuck himself, maybe turn around and stomp off, but I don’t. Instead, I lick my lips as I continue to look up at him. Clearing my throat, I lift my hand and wrap it around the side of his neck.
“They do whatever men tell them to, Mountain. At least women like me do. Maybe others don’t, maybe they have an option, but girls like me, we’re at men’s mercies.”
“Are you now?” he asks, his voice rough and husky.
“You know that I am.”
There is a moment of silence, a long stretch where I think that he’s going to drop it and we’ll finish our shopping trip. He doesn’t. Instead, he dips his chin, his lips brushing mine gently—too gently.
“You’re at my mercy, but you like it there, mi reina. I’m not your father and I’m definitely not his men.”
“Aren’t you though, at least in your own way?” I ask, keeping my voice low and breathy, mainly because that’s exactly how he makes me feel.
He hums and I think that the conversation is over, again, and again, he surprises me. “Not hurting you like that, Leighton. Not hurting others like that. You’ll see.”
“Oh my, I’m sorry,” a voice says, interrupting our moment.
Turning my head to the side, I see Shelby. She’s standing in front of the sodas, her eyes wide as she watches us, then she shakes her head before she clears her throat.
“I think maybe you shouldn’t call me,” she mumbles before she turns tail and practically runs down the aisle.
Mountain grunts, shifting his gaze back to meet mine. His black eyes are dancing again, and I let out a sigh of relief at the sight of their return. We don’t say anything, we don’t mention Shelby or my father, being at anyone’s mercy, or anything else. Instead, we finish our shopping, then head home.