With Every Breath (Slow Burn #4) - Maya Banks Page 0,57
apart and started crying again, he couldn’t be assured he wouldn’t completely lose it himself. And now, more than ever, he had to keep it together because he was not losing the fierce yet infinitely fragile woman currently giving him the death stare.
“You’re delaying the inevitable, Eliza,” he said with exasperation he didn’t even attempt to hide. “If you want to sit here and have a stare down all goddamn night, I have all the time in the world but you’re going to eat and we are going to talk and then you’re going to get some fucking sleep.”
She glanced down at the mound of food on the plate he’d put in front of her and he could see the hunger beating at her. Damn stubborn woman. Still, it was better than the alternative. Her in his arms sobbing with heart-wrenching despair he’d never before witnessed in anyone, much less her.
“You have thirty seconds to dig in before I take over and feed you myself. Your choice.”
Fury blazed in her eyes but not the good kind of fury that told him she was on her game. It was helpless, hopeless fury and he hated doing this to her. She despised losing her formerly impenetrable control. He hated being forced to take it from her. Hated having to take her choices from her because the result was a subdued, beaten down Eliza and not the fiery, kickass, fearless woman who could hold her own in any situation.
She likely thought he got off on it. Enjoyed it. Was probably humiliated beyond measure that he had the upper hand and she was vulnerable. She couldn’t be more wrong. He felt like the worst sort of bastard by mowing over her as he’d done. He liked her spirit, her fire, her confidence and her strength. He liked it a hell of a lot.
She sent him a final, blistering scowl and then picked up her fork with her free hand and began to eat. A dull flush worked its way up her neck as she stared down at the meat he’d cut into bite-size portions so she could eat one-handed. Then she lifted her chin and he didn’t like what he saw in her eyes at all.
“Are you enjoying this?” she asked quietly. “The opportunity to take me down a notch. Show me who’s boss.”
His response was automatic and explosive. “Fuck no!”
He swore again and gripped his nape with his hand and rubbed wearily. She wasn’t the only one who needed rest. He hadn’t slept since the night she dumped him on his ass in her driveway before roaring off like a bat out of hell.
“You think I enjoy seeing you cry, Eliza? You think I enjoy imagining you hurt, tortured or dead? You think I’ve enjoyed being worried out of my fucking mind because I couldn’t find you and was worried I’d get here too late? You think I like seeing you fall apart when you’re the strongest fucking woman I’ve ever known?”
Faint shock registered in her eyes. Her hand froze, midway from the plate to her mouth, the bite slipping off and hitting the table.
“Eat,” he growled. “We have a lot to talk about but we aren’t doing it until you clean that entire plate.”
Surprisingly she complied, suddenly concentrating on the food and once she started eating, his suspicions were confirmed that it had been way too fucking long since she’d had a decent meal. She ate quickly and hungrily but what bothered him was that not once did she meet his gaze again.
She was nearly finished with the plate that was prepared with enough food for three meals when she slowly put her fork down and then just as slowly lifted her eyes to his for the first time since his outburst.
“I want to know something,” she said in a voice that lacked anger, scorn or fear. Her gaze was inquisitive as she studied him. Like she was trying to get a read on him or figure out some big mystery.
Despite his decree that they wouldn’t be talking yet he returned her look. “What?”
“If you’re so concerned about my well-being then why the hell would you haul me here, without my stuff, leaving me defenseless and without the means to protect you or myself?”
His lips thinned and his eyes narrowed. He reined his temper in, the anger and frustration that had sparked the moment she started talking about protecting him again.
“First, your stuff is here,” he said, taking in the sudden arch