He dropped his second boot, stood and moved in close.
“What?” His voice was as tight as his face.
I took a breath.
“I saw Vince last night, at Smithie’s, right before I saw the guy with the gun. He made his threat then. I didn’t tel you ‘cause, well , the guy with the gun kinda took precedence.”
Okay, so I was being semi-honest. It wasn’t the time to tel Eddie that I never intended to tel Eddie. It was the time to make sure Eddie had every piece of information Eddie needed to do… whatever Eddie had to do.
“He said if he f**ked with me, Marcus would give him a bonus because of you. He said you and Marcus hate each other. He said Marcus would even go to war with Lee to get at you. Whatever that means.”
Eddie’s jaw worked.
Then he asked, “He say anything else?”
I shook my head but looked away and said, “Just stuff about what he was gonna do to me.”
“Yeah,” Eddie said and my eyes moved back to him, “he told me that too.”
It was clear that none of this did anything for Eddie’s mood.
“I’m sorry about al of this. You can’t…” I stopped, my eyes dropping, not knowing what to say and I took a step away but he caught me by the waist and pul ed me back.
“Jet, look at me.”
I looked at him.
“He isn’t gonna touch you.”
He said it in a way that made me believe it.
His hand went up my side and then pul ed down my zipper.
“No one touches you,” he said and pul ed my skirt up my hips, bunching the dress at my waist and then up, yanking it off. “No one, but me.”
His eyes weren’t warm and liquid, they were hard and glittery.
I had the feeling this was more than just about Vince; this was about anyone, anywhere. This was about me being branded in an entirely different way.
The breath in my lungs started to burn.
“Oh… kay,” I said and that one word shook.
He pul ed off his t-shirt then his hands came around me and unhooked my bra. He slid the straps down my arms and tossed it aside. I wanted to cover myself with my hands but I didn’t figure that was a good move.
“Are you angry?” I asked.
He was looking at my body but his eyes came to mine.
“Yeah,” he said, “I’m angry.”
His hands pushed down my panties until they fel to the floor
He lifted me up by my bottom and I had no choice but to wrap my arms and legs around him. He twisted and put a knee to the bed, planting me on it and then settling on top of me.
“Maybe we should talk,” I whispered.
“Now she wants to talk,” he muttered into my neck, his hand between us, working the buttons at his fly.