The flicker of his eyes, the glimpse of the sudden longing that crossed his expression before he could hide it, had her stomach tightening. With longing, or with pure rage, she wasn’t certain.
“So you’ll just go out, have your fun, then return home to f**k me before you pat me on the head and ride off into the sunset again.” Oh, she so didn’t think that was going to happen.
She wouldn’t allow it. Not even for a second.
She had never allowed herself to play any man’s doormat and she wouldn’t start now. She would be his equal partner, or she would be nothing. Nothing less was acceptable.
“At least you’ll be alive,” he bit out, the icy storm in his gaze almost frightening as he stared down at her.
“The hell I will.” Pushing against his chest she tried to escape his hold, only to become aware of just how firmly he held her without appearing to. “No, Lawe, I won’t be alive. I’ll just exist, and I’ll hate you for it. I will not be there waiting for you. I’ll be doing as I’ve trained to do all my life and I’ll do it alone if that’s what I have to do. I won’t let you cage me!”
“I won’t allow it.” One hand moved from her back to push into the hair at the back of her head as the vow slipped past his lips.
He wouldn’t allow it? As though she would ever let him have any say in the matter as long as he was doing so in such a manner. As though he owned her.
The pain of that realization had her body tightening until she was on the verge of shaking, the pain, anger, and incredibly, the fear racing through her to mix with an arousal she couldn’t force away.
She wanted him. She wanted him to touch her, to hold her, to share his kiss and the incredible taste of spiced pears that filled it. She wanted him to accept her. To stand beside her. To allow her the happiness she needed to make that decision for herself.
And she wanted to kick his ass for ever imagining she would allow him to make such a decision for her.
“Sorry, Lawe, I won’t allow you to kill her as surely as the Council would.”
The shock of the words coming from the deep, normally booming voice of her second-in-command had Lawe moving. Before Diane could stop him, he had thrown her behind him as Thor stepped into the room, twirling the key between his fingers as he stared at them, a tic of anger throbbing at the side of his jaw. “Having fun alone again, boss?” he asked. “I thought we agreed that wouldn’t be happening this time.”
He was pissed.
Lawe’s blue eyes were icy. His broad, masculine features looked carved from stone and anger had his normally full lips tightening as she knew he held back every smart-assed, purely male arrogant insult he could have thrown her way.
Thor completely ignored the fact that Lawe had one of the snub-nosed, laser-powered, rapid-burst hand guns trained on him, his finger riding the activation lever a little too firmly. But he wasn’t ignoring the fact that Lawe was attempting to shield her. The action earned Lawe one of Thor’s famous, sarcastic sneers. A lifting of his lip at one side as disgust filled his gaze.
“For God’s sake, Lawe, get the hell off me!” She pushed at the back of his shoulders as he continued to hold her behind him with the seemingly effortless strength of one arm.
Dammit, she could kick the asses of men that were twice his size and pure muscle. But she couldn’t budge him.
“What is he doing here?” Lawe’s voice was an animal’s growl.
“Move!” She finally managed to lever a few inches between them before he slowly, very damned slowly, allowed her her freedom.
She shot him a look filled with the promise of retribution.
She was not going to put up with this. “This is the number one reason most partners involved in any kind of military or covert work end up divorced,” she snapped furiously.
“Mates don’t divorce.”
“Be careful, Lawe,” she suggested, her voice raspy with the sheer depth of her anger. “You’ll be the first.”
“I get to sell the tickets.” Thor’s smile lacked any amusement or warmth.
“You’re supposed to be on vacation,” she snapped at the oversized Swede that stood in front of the now-closed door.
“And you’re supposed to be visiting your sister before you head to Sanctuary with her.” Thor’s brow arched with mocking curiosity. “I guess we both lied, huh?”
Yes, she had lied. Something she had never done to Thor as long as she had known him.
“And I had a very good reason for it,” she informed him as she moved to go around Lawe, only to have him catch her arm and hold her back silently.
He hadn’t said a word. He stared back at Thor with lowered brows and narrowed eyes, his entire body tense and ready for action.