Page 34 of Red Lace Manor
Shooting him a sideways glance, I noted how tense he seemed. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel as ifit were trying to run away. He’d barely spoken since leaving my parents’ house.
And, while the silence hurt in ways I couldn’t process, I didn’t blame him. My parents werea lot.
They loved him, of course. Cassian was charming, ex-military, and had a stable career in the medical field. We just so happened to leave out the fact that Cassian’s job was essentially video chatting with people who couldn’t afford insurance and essentially telling them they were dying badly enough to warrant calling an ambulance. He’d then tell them small things they could do todie lessand send them a bill for two hundred dollars.
To my family, he was areal man, with a career, a mortgage, and a house big enough that we could move in together andnotshare a bedroom. You know–to keep Jesus happy or something.
And I was, and always would be, the family disappointment. Even if they didn’t know about my other three genetically modified military rejects, or that we essentially recreated horror movies in the backyard for fun.
I laid a hand on his denim-covered thigh, he jumped, not like I’d hurt him, but like I’d startled him.
“You okay?” I whispered.
He’d taken out the earplugs he’d disguised as hearing aids, and I didn’t want to be too loud.
His lips pressed into a line as he shot me an askance glance. His chest swelled with an irritated breath as he looked at the GPS mounted on his dashboard. We had twenty minutes until we got home, and Iwouldharass him the whole time if he didn’t tell me now.
“Your dad’s adick, your mom’s acunt, and your sister’sworse,” he grumbled, adjusting his grip on the wheel.
I blinked twice, drawing slow circles on his leg with my thumb.
“So, I’m guessing you liked them?” I joked.
Cassian huffed.
“No–Lux–I didn’t like your family. They spent the last two days insulting you and acting like I’m some sort of fucked up Savior wholowered his standardsfar enough to accept someone astroubledas you.” We came to a straightaway, and he gestured with his hands; it wasn’t like the action added anything, but more he needed to move for a second before returning them to the wheel. “They don’t know that you found a house ofliteral murderers, called it a home and fuckingsaved us.”
The anger in his voice should have been the first thing I noticed, but my mind lingered on what he’d said.He thinks I saved them.A happy wiggle infested my shoulders, and I couldn’t fight my grin.
But, my enthusiasm didn’t last long, instead, the feeling was replaced when Cassian reached over, slipped a hand up my skirt, and squeezed my leg harder thanheever did.
“If I don’t blow off some of this anger, I’m going to explode.” His voice dropped into a gravely whisper as he crept his fingers closer to the line of my panties. “I need you to be prepared. I know it’s not a full moon, but the second you get out of this car, I’ve called the boys and they all know we're hunting that pretty ass of yours.”
My thighs involuntarily clenched at the idea, and a sly smirk crept onto Cassian’s lips.
Fuck. Yes.
The car ride home had turned deathly silent, other than the sound of tires on the gravel road. Moonlit pines and a sea of fogguided us home, yellow light poured from the windows of the manor, and from here, I could see shadows pacing.
My teeth sank into my lower lip, and I was so excited that I’d started to shake. The second Cassian pulled in, he unbuckled my seatbelt for me, and I opened the door and darted into the woods.
This time, I had shoes on, so I didn’t have to deal with twigs sinking into the meaty part of my foot, unfortunately, this made my steps louder.
I wasn’t sure where I was going, but that didn’t matter. Even if I got lost, it was a matter of time until someone found me.
Heavier steps followed mine, and it wasn’t long until brawny arms wrapped around my waist and tossed me over their shoulder like I weighed nothing.
I thrashed against a chest that was distinctly Ronan’s; he grunted in response, holding me tighter.
“Nice try, Little Light,” He rasped, marching me back toward the house with long strides. “I’m startin’ to think youlikewhen I chase you.”
After I moved in, we had a long talk on why deodorant was important, not just for you, but for those around you. It took a while to find one that didn’t give him a headache, but now that we had, the funk from the first time was gone, leaving him to smell like a clean, musky man.
“If I say I do, does that ruin it?” I panted against him, my skin slick from sweat.
They might have been built for running, but I sure as fuck wasn’t.
“Nope, just makes it fun in a different way.”
