Page 79 of Rush the Edge
My claws descend when I sense the shift in the car. The tension lessens. Kane’s tightly balled fist stretches out, and he places his palm on his thigh. “You lied to get me to take your virginity. That’s called being selfish.” He stares out his window. “I lied for someone else. There’s a difference.”
His version of that night stings, even if it is partly my fault.
“You think I’m a fool?” I turn into the parking garage and park. “Well, so are you.”
Instead of getting out of the car when I turn it off, Kane leans back in the seat and gets comfortable. “Name calling? That’s what it’s come to?”
I angle myself toward him, prepared to keep up with our arguing, but then Ireallylook at him. His dark eyes, glossy from drinking, are hiding something within their depths that I beg to find.
My voice softens with a concern that I can’t pretend I don't feel when it comes to him. “Gambling? That’s what it’s come to?”
His forehead furrows, and I can tell he’s about to throw up some type of wall to block me. Instead of letting him lash out at me, I take a different approach.
Unpeeling my fingers from the steering wheel, I gently place my hand on top of his. There’s a spark of familiarity there that unburies itself from the back of my mind.
Instead of flicking my hand off his, he lets it stay, which only confuses me.
He’s so hot and cold, but I’m not taking the moment for granted.
“Since when do you gamble, Kane? After everything?” I ask.
He slowly turns toward me. The hatred we’ve found ourselves in is slowly disappearing inside the small space we’re tucked away in.
“I didn't go there to gamble,” he admits. “I was…” His explanation lingers, and it doesn’t take long for me to put two and two together.
“You were checking to see if Miles was there.”
Kane looks away abruptly, confirming my assumption.
“So you two do still talk?” I ask.
Just like a rubber band, the air is tight again. Kane opens the car door with force and slams it shut in my face.
I jerk in the driver’s seat, regretting that I tried to find some normalcy between us. I know I should heed the warning he’s giving me, but I don't. Instead, I open the driver’s side door and follow him.
The truth starts to crawl through my blood. With every quick step after him, I become more and more outraged.
“You don’t get to do that!” I shout.
Kane straightens when I follow him onto the elevator. The door slides shut, and he spins around to level me with a glare. “Do what?”
Why is he so much hotter when he’s angry? His jawline sharpens, and his navy eyes darken.
“Act like I'm nothing but an annoying little nuisance to you but then get angry when you think I’m jeopardizing my safety. You’re hot and cold. One second, you’re acting like you care, and the next, you’re slamming the door in my face. That isn’t fair, Kane.”
His nostrils flare, and I keep going, too riled up to stop.
“In case you’ve forgotten, you didn’t put up much of a fight when we went our separate ways. Remember?” The elevator doors close us off from the rest of the world, and it’s all the push I need to keep driving my point further. “If we could go back to that night, I never would have asked you to take my virginity! You clearly hate me for it.”
Kane storms me, and I lose my footing. His arm winds around my lower back, and he pins me to the front of his firm body. His close proximity steals the rest of the thoughts from my head.
“Don’t get it twisted, Daisy.” His alcohol-scented breath wafts down into my face, and I inhale it like he’s a drug. “I don’t regret having you in bed, even for a second.”
The elevator pings, and the door opens up on my floor.
He makes no move to let me go.
When the elevator door closes again, it’s like he has a grip on my heart, and he’s squeezing it until I burst.
