Taking What's His(26)

“Yes, you were, man,” Holt growled, his grip on Sam’s throat flexing. “Give me one fucking reason not to kill you right here, right now.”

Sam paled even more. “Dude, I-I-I didn’t—”

“Not good enough.”

“You can’t kill me over a kiss,” Sam cried. “It was just a kiss!”

“Again, not enough.” Holt twisted his mouth. “I’ve killed for a hell of a lot less. Believe me, I won’t give a damn when I do it to you.”

Holy crap. He hauled his fist back, seeming fully intent on punching Sam in the face. He’d been a jerk, yes, but she wasn’t about to watch Holt beat the life out of him for it, thank you very much. “Holt.”

One word. One simple word.

But it seemed to stop him in his tracks.

“Lydia,” he replied, his fingers flexing.

“Don’t hit him.” She walked up, heart racing, and rested a hand on his back. “He’s not worth it. Trust me on this.”

His fingers flexed. “You’re right. He’s not. But you are.”

“Holt…” She wasn’t sure what to say to that. He said so many sweet things, but then he pushed her away every time she got too close. “Let him go.”

Holt stared at him, looking deadly and dangerous. “No.”

“Look, man, I’m sorry.” Sam licked his lips, not daring to so much as blink. “I’m sorry.”

“Say it to her, not me.”

Sam glanced at Lydia for all of two seconds before slamming his attention back to Holt. She didn’t blame him. Holt pissed off was a sight to behold. “Sorry, Lydia.”

Lydia crossed her arms. “Just go—”

“Now tell her it won’t happen again, and that you’ll never come near her.” Holt pressed on his throat and grinned. “Because if you do, I’ll kill you. I swear I won’t let her stop me next time.”

Sam nodded frantically. “I’ll stay away.”

“Good.” Holt shoved him one last time, then stepped back. “Now get the fuck out of here before I change my mind.”

Sam ran. Legit ran.

She didn’t blame him one little bit.

As soon as he was gone, Holt slammed the door shut behind him and locked it. He ran his hand through his hair, his back still to Lydia, and let out a long breath. When he turned, the murderous glow was gone. But he still looked ready to pounce.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’m f-fine.”

“I saw him come in as I left, but it took me a second to recognize him. Once I did, I came back up to make sure you were okay.” He swallowed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t faster.”

She licked her lips. “But… Thank you.”

“Why did you—?” He broke off, squaring his jaw. Lydia gave him time to think. “Why did you let him in?”

“He said he needed to pick up some stuff here. I hadn’t seen anything of his, but I figured maybe I’d missed it.” She shrugged, swallowing hard. “So I let him in.”

“Lydia, don’t let guys like him in.” He caught her chin, his touch feather light. “As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t let guys like me in, either. I’m starting to think this whole nun idea of Steven’s is a good one.”

She tried to laugh at his joke—at least, she thought it was a joke—but she choked on it, and all that came out was a weird sobbing sound. She covered her mouth and wanted to run for her room, crawl into bed, and never come out again. It wasn’t that she was scared or anything. There was no doubt in her mind that she would have stopped Sam before she’d let him actually hurt her. She just felt…

Icky. Dirty.

As if she needed a shower.

Holt paled, took a step toward her, but stopped. “Lydia.”

“I’m fine.” She held her hand up, the other still covering her mouth. “Really.”

He took another step, cursed under his breath, then closed the distance between them. Within seconds, he had her in his arms and was walking toward the couch. As he sat down with her and kissed her temple, he gently ran his fingers through her hair. “Shh, it’s okay. Don’t be scared.”

“I-I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. I should have fucking killed him,” he growled. “Next time, let me.”

“No. And like I said, I’m not scared.” She lifted her hand to touch his face. At the last second, she remembered she wasn’t supposed to be intimate with him, so she let her hand fall to her lap…empty. “I’m pissed off.”

His lips twitched. “I am, too.”

“He’s such a douchebag. To do that. To kiss me like that…” She shuddered and fought the urge to swipe her hand across her mouth again. “What a…a…”