Property of Drex (Book 2)(31)

Just as I start to get on the bike, two strong arms clamp around my waist, and I squeal while trying to jerk away.

“You really thought I’d let you fucking leave.” The angry whisper at my ear has me freezing against the familiar body as he holds my back against his front. “You really don’t know me at all.”

He starts walking away with me still pinned against him and my legs dangling.

“Guess I’m not taking her to the motel?” Axle drawls, walking back toward us.

“Thought I’d give her a second to get over her tantrum and realize how fucking stupid that move was on her own. Apparently she wasn’t going to figure it out.”

I start to say something—or yell it—but the protest dies on my tongue when I see everyone in there staring at me, just waiting on me to cause a scene. It’s like I’m a walking, talking soap opera to these bastards, and I won’t give them the satisfaction of seeing me explode again.

As soon as Drex puts me down on the stairs, I calmly walk up them, feeling him smirking at my back. After pushing through the door, I drop my bag and whirl around to glare at him as he shuts the door and stares at me.

I knew he’d be smirking.

“This is ridiculous. You’re the most confusing son of a bitch I’ve ever met in my life. Hot and cold. Go and stay. You’re mine. Then you push me away. Yet you don’t let me talk to any other man without getting insanely jealous.… Am I missing something? I knew you were an asshole, but this is getting ridiculous.”

The amusement in his eyes dies as that cold look resurfaces. I hate that look.

“This is about Drake?” he growls. “That’s why you wanted to leave?”

“Holy fucking shit! When did I say anything about Drake?” I yell, throwing my hands around dramatically. “No. It’s not about Drake. It’s about you and your confusing contradictions, Drex. What the hell do you want from me?”

I cross my arms over my chest, trying to get my breathing under control. I’m seconds away from launching myself at him and hoping to do some damage before he can fend me off. I’m that pissed.

He runs a hand through his hair, cursing as he starts toward me then steps back.

“What do I fucking want?” he asks bitterly, narrowing his eyes at me. “I fucking want this all to be a nightmare. I want this all to go away so I can stop feeling guilty. I’ve never felt guilt before, Eve. I’ve never had to feel at all. At least not until you fucking showed up.”

He cracks his neck to the side, and I take a wary step back. For the first time in weeks, he’s actually a little scary again.

“I want to go back to living my life without worrying about destroying yours. I want to go back to the day Benny shoved you in front of me, and I want to tell myself to take you home and get you out of here. That’s what I fucking want.”

That just hurts. The second a stupid tear tries to escape my eye, I wipe it away before it can fall. His look softens ever so slightly, and he blows out a breath.

“I want you to be able to be a damn math teacher at some school where life is boring and normal. I want you to keep walking down a street without looking over your shoulder. I want you to go back to only seeing the fucking feds in movies and not worrying about them tailing you in real life. I want you to be able to sleep at night without having nightmares of what could have happened.”

His voice is strained on that last part, and I wipe another tear from my eye. This time, it’s for a different reason.

“I want you to be with your mom and brothers and some stupid fuck who can’t find your g-spot with a map. That’s what I want.”

My lips twitch and my eyes roll, but his small smile only lasts for a second.

“I want you away from all of this before it makes you hate me. But you’re stuck here for now, so I’m doing all I can to keep you away from me before I drag you down and make you the queen of hell. You should hate me already.”

“I don’t,” I say immediately.

“I know,” he groans, almost appearing helpless. “Believe me, I fucking know.”

A twinge of anger hits me, because I hate it when he sounds so damn obnoxious and arrogant.

“I don’t think you do know. And I’m sick of playing this never-ending game with you. You want to push me away? I’m happy to leave. Just get out of my damn way so I can.”

Chancing my luck, I try to walk by him, but he grabs my side and spins me until I’m pushed against the wall and he’s caging me in. My breaths grow harsh and heavy as I peer up to see the intensity in his eyes and the tension in his jaw.

“I do know how you feel,” he tells me quietly, almost sounding angry.

His thumb slides under the hem of my shirt, barely stroking the skin on my waist. Such a small touch shouldn’t carry such a massive impact, but it feels like he’s inside me with that small action.

“I also know that it’s going to get you killed unless you stop feeling that way,” he whispers, brushing his lips across my forehead as his hand goes lower. “We both know I’m not worth that, baby.”

My head tilts back when one of his hands gently cups my cheek, and his fingers move up until they thread through my hair.

“Hot and cold,” I whisper to him.

He lets his eyes drop to my lips, and he seems to have his own internal war for once. “Get my family away from Halo,” I tell him as he continues to stare.

“I plan on it,” he says, pushing closer. “I can send you with them, Eve. You can disappear in Colorado. Hell, I can send you anywhere far away from here if you want.”

His haunted blue eyes hold mine, waiting for me to answer the unspoken question.

“What happens if I want to stay?”

He releases a tortured groan before blowing out a breath.

“I fuck you until you forget your own name and only say mine twenty-four hours a day,” he says with a smirk.

I stifle a grin, since I don’t want him to have the satisfaction of making me smile when he’s constantly playing with my head.

“What happens with us? Really, Drex? Do you keep going hot and cold?”

His hands slide down my waist, and he tugs my hips until I’m slanted and pressing into him as he leisurely rakes his eyes over me.

“I’m only trying to keep you out of this shit, Eve. You grew up differently than I did. You have a choice. I never did. I’m in too deep to pull out now, and let’s face it, I’d suck as a good guy.”

He gives me a sad smile when his eyes meet mine. He would suck at being a “good” guy.

“I’m in this whether you like it or not. If you really want me to go, Drex, I’ll leave. If you want me to stay, I’ll stay. But nothing in between.”

I lean closer, and his expression hardens.

“I can’t make this decision for you. If something happened to you—”

“Then let me make the decision, and you stop being an ass to me. Well, as much as possible,” I interrupt, giving him a wry grin that has his lips twitching.

“You’re sure about this? Staying with me is going to probably fuck you up.”

“I’m already fucked up. I just didn’t realize it until I met you,” I tell him, pressing even closer as my hands slide up his arms and clasp behind his neck. His arms wrap around me, but his hands slide down to cup my ass.

He studies my eyes for a moment, then he lifts me up quickly by my ass, and my legs wrap around his waist as he pushes me into the wall and crushes his lips to mine. I moan into his mouth, clinging to him as though he might push me away again.

He doesn’t.

If anything, he holds me tighter than he’s ever held me before, and he kisses me like he’s starved and desperate.

Apparently I’ve said the magic words.

Primal and hungry, he continues to devour me, and I finally have to break the kiss just to breathe, turning my head up so that my eyes find the ceiling. My hands move to his hair when he starts kissing down my neck. His mouth is a divine mixture of hot and wet, while his touch stays the perfect blend of possessive and wanting.

I don’t realize I’m being lowered to the ground until my feet are touching it, and Drex tears at the front button of my shorts, ripping them open like he doesn’t have the patience for zippers and things. I moan, still reveling in the feel of his lips on my neck, as he pushes my panties and shorts down in unison, and I kick out of them as quickly as I can.

He pulls back, but before I can protest, he’s tugging my shirt over my head, forcing my arms up so the shirt can be removed. His lips are back on mine the second it’s gone, but the kiss is brief because he lifts me quickly, and I suck in a breath when I go up higher than expected.

“Back against the wall, and legs on my shoulders,” he orders in a tone that doesn’t allow room for hesitation.

Immediately my legs lift and I maneuver them awkwardly until they rest around his shoulders, but my entire body trembles when his hot breath fans my clit seconds before his tongue darts out and licks against the sensitive flesh. I wobble, and my back thumps against the wall as the breath leaves me in a rush.

“Should have put your back against the wall,” he murmurs darkly, a smirk in his voice.

Absolutely no words form, even though I want to say something. Drex Caine doesn’t ever tease. He does everything to the extreme, making you feel everything on an intense level not meant for the weak.