Page 64 of Full Throttle

All because she got away from me.

“Good,” I clipped.

Her lips pressed together in a tight line as she did her best to hold my glare. When it became too much for her, she broke it, looking at the wall behind me. With a growl, I took this time to remind her of her stupidity. “What you did today was…” I trailed off, grinding my teeth together as the rage inside threatened to escape. Once I tamped it back down, I tried again. “You scared the fucking shit out of me.”

She blinked, looking at me again. She started to open her mouth, but I continued. “Got a nasty fucking man after us. No one, aside from me, knows what he’s capable of,” I bit out, leaning down into her space. I didn’t have to go far. “Came back up to the loft thinking of how the fuck I could get you to just fucking talk to me—”

“Cain—”

My hand shot up, covering her mouth as I bared my teeth. “Quiet.”

Her eyes widened as her hands went to my arm, trying to pull me away. In a flash, I had both of her wrists in my hand, holding them in the air between us as my other covered her mouth. Her lips were against my palm, burning into my skin so much, I’d felt when I pulled away, I’d have a mark. “Fucking thought they got to you—kidnapped you. Never been so fucking scared in all my life.”

Her greens eyes softened.

“Don’t you fucking ever do that shit to me again,” I clipped, nostrils flaring. We stared at each other for some time, my body against hers as I thought of all the pain between us—all that could’ve been.

It was clear.

She hated me for the pain I’d caused her lifetimes ago.

I couldn’t blame her, but still, it hurt like a bitch.

Shaking my head, I released her, giving her my back as ran a hand through my hair. Flashes of her trapped in that burning car swarmed my mind, Kavi’s laughter echoing around me.

Fuck, maybe I should’ve smoked that fucking cig after all.

“Cain.”

Her voice was filled with regret, and part of me should feel overjoyed. I wasn’t. When I didn’t answer her, she spoke again. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I just—I just needed to get out of there—”

“—to get away from me?” I snapped, whirling to face her as she closed her mouth. “Isn’t that right? You just needed to get away from me.”

Dominique said nothing, only looking to her feet.

“You’re a grown fucking adult. If you wanted to fucking leave, you could’ve just told me,” I pushed.

Her head snapped up then, scoffing. “Like you would’ve let me, Cain.”

“Letting you go is something I’ve gotten used to fucking doing,” I seethed, my chest heaving. Those green eyes flashed with hurt as she jerked back. “You wanted to fucking go, I would’ve let you. All I was trying to do was make sure you’re fucking safe and taken care of. In case you forgot, Nik, your car blew up. You nearly fucking burned to death!”

“You don’t think I know that?” she shot back, her voice rising slightly.

I looked at the door and back to her. “Be quiet,” I ordered. “Cleo is sleeping.”

“Get out,” she said, pointing to the door.

“Not until we settle this shit,” I countered. “What you did was reckless and irresponsible.”

Seconds passed as we glared at each other, neither of us saying a word. Perhaps there was too much to say, or maybe there wasn’t anything.

I decided to leave her with one last thought. “The boys told me you plan on staying in St. Louis—Jer wants you as a permanent part of Oasis.”

She folded her arms over her chest, raising her chin. “I’m not leaving, Cain. I have every—”

I cut her off. “Like I said, you’re a grown adult. You’re Oasis and so am I. We’re just going to have to learn how to deal with being in each other’s lives,” I told her. As my words sank in, her defenses seemed to lower. I closed in on her again, putting my hand on her shoulders gently. “Our friendship—what we had—Nik, that was so precious to me.”

“Stop,” she croaked, her eyes shining with pain from old wounds.

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