afraid to even drink her juice.
“I scare you.”
It was a statement, not a question. She saw no need to deny it. “Yes.”
“Good. I should.” The sound of ice cubes on glass, then his glass of gin being put on the table. “I should scare you all the time, Hope. Not just when I get like this.”
“Do you get like this frequently?”
“Oh, yes.” More sounds of ice on glass, and she assumed he was drinking the contents quickly. “Hey, asshole! Just bring me the bottle.”
This was going to be a day and a half. She prepared herself for what was likely to happen. She had been around Nero after several glasses of wine. But to have him chugging hard alcohol before noon spelled that it was going to be a very dangerous day to navigate.
“I will do what I can to adapt.” It was the only practical response she could think of to give him. The only thing that wouldn’t be a lie or pandering, but also hopefully wouldn’t offend him.
“You aren’t going to try to change me? Fix me?” He snorted derisively.
“No. I don’t think I can. I don’t believe people at their core are capable of change. I think we can tweak our mannerisms…improve pieces of ourselves, maybe. But we are who we are.”
“Hear, hear.” He laughed. “You’re a wise girl, Hope. A wise, pretty, sweet girl.” His hand was in her hair then, stroking through it, before he crooked a finger under her chin and turned her head toward him. “And you’re mine. All mine.”
She swallowed down her fear. She was. That was a simple and sad fact. He owned her. And his heated touch did something to her that she was starting to be unable to ignore. Even through her fear of his anger—his “fit,” as Kema called it—was pushing to the forefront.
The past three days had just been hiding what she had known was there the whole time. He was what he was. He was all the stories and more. He was the sweetheart, the lover, and the madman and murderer in the same breath.
“I won’t hurt you.” He curled his fingers into his palm to brush his knuckles over her cheek. “No matter how bad I get. I promise you that on my life.” He shifted to sit closer, scooting his chair loudly on the floor until his leg pressed to hers. His breath washed over her. “You want to know how to cheer me up?”
I can guess. “How?”
“Kiss me.”
That wasn’t as bad as she was expecting. She hesitated for a moment. She placed her hand on his shoulder and felt the tension in his muscles. The tightness there testified that he was a cable ready to snap. Anger boiled beneath the surface, ready to break free and shatter anything in its path.
If he meant what he said, perhaps she was different to him. She closed the distance between them, kissing him. Kissing him with a gentle passion. She broke away after a moment, feeling his shoulders loosen just a little. She chased his lips with another kiss. He tasted strongly of gin. She didn’t mind the flavor.
She let her hand cradle his cheek as she redoubled her efforts. He groaned, his hands digging into her sides as he pulled her close. When she finally broke away and put an inch or two between them, she stroked her hand through his hair. He almost purred beneath her touch.
“Y’know…it’s almost all better. If you really want to cheer me up, you could scoot down onto your knees and wrap your lips around my—”
Smack.
“Nine.” He growled and caught her hand.
“I—I’m sorry, I—I wasn’t thinking—”
He nipped her fingers. “Hit me as hard as you want…as much as you want, pretty girl. I told you.” He kissed her palm and wandered his lips to her wrist. He tongued the sensitive flesh, and she shivered. “You’re running short, though. Four more, and I get something in return. Lucky thirteen is fast approaching.”
She swallowed again and found herself trembling. Both from fear and from something very different.
“Now, unless you’re going to take me up on my request—which, are you?”
“No.”
“Damn.” He sighed dramatically. She heard him pick up his glass of gin again. “Then I suggest you go find somewhere quiet to stay until the assholes show up this afternoon. I’m going to break some things, and I don’t want to scare you any more than I already have.”
She stood from the chair and reached down to tilt his head up to