“Do you ever get so tired of putting on a mask, day in and day out? I’m so sick of putting on my mask.” Her words are slur slightly but I think I understand what she means. God, I hate drunk people.
“Don’t hide who you are, Dee. One thing I have learned is you never hide who you are. If you want something, you fight for it. When you think you have fought hard enough, fight a little more. Don’t ever let anyone or any situation make who you are.”
She looks over at me with wide eyes. Whatever I said must have hit the mark, but I honestly have no idea what she wants. I haven’t been around them enough to tell the ins and outs, but I know there is something seriously fucked up going on between her and Beck.
“Yeah,” she says with a slight wobble. “I just don’t know… ” she trails off when we hear a commotion across the way from where we are sitting.
Over near the edge of the property, we see what looks to be Axel carrying his bride off into the darkness. The only thing you can see is his back and a laughing Izzy over his shoulder jogging off around the house. I look over at Dee and all the sadness has left her eyes. We stare at each other for a few minutes, trying to decide if we just saw the groom kidnapping his own wife, before bursting into laughter.
We have been sitting there laughing for a few minutes when I feel him. My back prickles and my skin warms. Without looking, I know that Greg Cage is standing behind me. I feel one finger brush lightly down the side of my neck before his lips ghost against the shell of my ear, “You ready?”
I gulp, wondering for a second where the hell my strength to stay strong around this man has gone. I have to keep my walls up around someone as dangerous as him.
“Sir! Yes, Sir.” I joke, giving Dee a wink before turning in my seat. When my eyes meet his, I see my joke might have missed the mark. His face is hard. His blue eyes look almost violet, and his hands clench tightly into fists. What the hell?
I stand, not wanting to be at the disadvantage…well, more of the disadvantage. At least with my shoes, we are almost equal. His breathing is coming in quick pants, his nostrils flaring. I walk as close as I can, toe-to-toe, my chest grazing his slightly, and give him a good hard look of my own.
“What is your problem?” I whisper. I can feel the heat off his lips so close to mine.
He is still giving me a good accessing look, but seems to make his mind up silently on the best way to proceed. “Say goodbye to Dee.”
“Goodbye to Dee,” I call over my shoulder. Her giggles reach my ears, causing me to let a few out before I school my face again. “Your turn,” I whisper.
“Gone, Dee. Don’t fucking drive.” And with that, he grabs my hand and rushes me off through the crowd, the tent, yard, and around the house. We stop in front of the drive, standing there for a few seconds. He lets go of my hand and paces a few steps in front of me before turning around and looking at me. His breathing hasn’t improved much, and a small part of me wonders if he might have asthma or some shit.
“Do you need an inhaler?” I ask.
“What the fuck?” He mumbles.
“You sound like you’re about to have an asthma attack or something. So I repeat; do you need an inhaler?”
He raises one thick brow and lets out a rough laugh. “Do I need a fucking inhaler? No, I do not need an inhaler. What I need is for you to please behave yourself in public. You can’t say shit like that and not have me wanting to rip your sexy as sin dress from your body. The next time you call me Sir, it better be when you are begging for me to let you come.” He reaches out and pulls my body forward, crushing his lips down against mine.
Jesus Christ. And I thought he had set my body on fire before. Hard, wet, and full of carnal heat, his tongue battles with my own for dominance. His hands fist my hair, and turn my head, and his body envelops mine.
He owns me with a single kiss.
For a single second, I have the nagging thought that I might just be in over my head with this man.
I followed the taillights of his truck through town and into a nice residential area. Far cry from my tiny shit-hole apartment. He turns his truck into the driveway and I pause for a second before pulling my piece of shit in behind him.
Well… this is embarrassing. I have never been one to let another person’s wealth intimidate me, but this is slightly hard to stomach. His house is large and you can tell it’s worth more than I probably can make in a lifetime. Anytime you need to drive through a guarded gate to get to your house, you know it isn’t the ghetto. Now, I live in the ghetto.