can consider himself debt-free, and you get to skip away happily, having done your good deed for the day.”
I skirt the rim of the table behind me, nearly tripping in my haste to back away. “Get the hell away from me—”
“That’s the offer.” His tone dares me to challenge him. “Accept. Or Zhang gets his fucking knees broken the next time he misses a payment. How is that for a deal?” He smiles as I feel the color drain from my face—but that was his aim. To horrify. His tone lacked conviction, the words falling flat as if he’s dished out the same threat a million times.
“Why can’t you just leave him alone?” I sound so childish, so plaintive, wailing about injustice to the face of a criminal.
He scoffs. “Let’s cut the bullshit. Don’t pretend he’s the reason you’re even here. Because he’s not, is he?” He advances, casting a shadow that drenches me in darkness. “No. I saw your face when you ran your mouth back at the shop. You get off on this shit, don’t you? This is fun for you. You write in that little fucking notebook, but you aren’t used to bitching out loud, is that it?”
Fun. My cheeks flame. Arguing with him isn’t even worth the battle. I eye the money in my hands instead, then turn on my heel, scrambling for the door.
“You aren’t afraid of me,” he continues as my steps falter. “No… I think you’re just as curious as I am to find out. What will it take to make the little rabbit scream?”
“Not you.” I don’t even know where the words come from. So bitter, so damn angry, they don’t sound like me. You aren’t used to bitching out loud, is that it? “You’re pathetic.”
“And you’re a desperate, bored little suburban girl dying on the inside. Is this how you get your kicks?” I jump as movement catches my peripheral vision. His fingers snag a tendril of my hair and tug, forcing me to face him. “I’m giving you every chance to leave now, rabbit.”
Running is what I should do because it’s what I’ve always done. When it comes to Branden. The world. Everyone.
I don’t know what makes him so different. What it is about his gaze that consumes my interest, making it impossible to shy from? Or his taunts unbearable to endure…his hatred so electrifying that I’m buzzing with it.
“You’re disgusting,” I rasp.
“So prove it.” He takes another step, palming my hips without an ounce of hesitation. I jump, cringing at the feel of his heat leeching through my sweater, but he doesn’t back away. “Be a good little martyr, then,” he taunts against my ear. “Run away. Scream. I’ll wait.”
He does so patiently, his hands unmoving.
And it’s the worst thing he could do.
There is no brutal groping. No harsh contact meant to intimidate. He merely lets his fingers settle against me as if daring me to pull away. React.
But I’ve spent so long training myself to endure that I’ve forgotten how to feel. And he feels…
Wrong. Too warm. Hot. Burning. Sizzling. Hateful.
His eyes narrow as if he’s reading my mind, and he angles his jaw, his lips parting. A gust of his breath rustles my hair, enhancing my perception of every ounce of flesh laid bare before him.
Before I can regain my senses, his fingers flex, yanking me closer, his eyes cutting down to my chest. I feel my hands twitch to shield myself, but they never move. And he just stares, raking me over with that impassive gaze. He lets his hand graze lower until he finds the sliver of space where the sweater’s hem meets my skin.
And he teases that strip with the tip of his nail, watching avidly as I flinch. Twitch. But it isn’t until his brows draw together that I realize what has him so confused.
I’m not pulling away.
So he shoves his hand beneath the sweater entirely, shocking my flesh with a scalding assault of heat. I jump in my rush to cringe from his reach.
But he just chuckles.
“You’d let me do whatever the fuck I wanted to do, wouldn’t you?” His tone is mocking enough, but a frown tugs on his mouth, betraying his true emotion—irritation.
His rabbit won’t resist the feral teeth bared for her throat.
“Fuck yeah, you would.” Bored, he turns away, shrugging his shoulder dismissively. “Hop away, rabbit. We’re done.”
“W-What?” Looking up, I catch him lumbering across the room. Once again, I cease to exist to him. My actions no longer