Page 173 of Enthrall Ecstasy
“Fuck you!”
“Excuse me?”
“I mean, fuck off,sir.”
Shay’s stony expression remained unchanged. “Wanna come with me?”
“What?” I froze, too shocked to move.
“We could leave.”
“Am I allowed?”
“Technically, no.”
“Will you get in trouble?”
“I’ve never cared what others think.”
He’d literally stolen me out of Pendulum and was stealing me out of here, too. This was outrageous and scandalous and totally against the rules.
And yet, we both wanted to escape.
Shay helped me peel off my butterfly wings.
If anyone came looking for me, they’d find them discarded in a corner. It was as though I’d not only outgrown my personal chrysalis, I’d also discarded my wings.
What I’d been searching for had been right in front of me all along.
Wearing Shay’s jacket over my shoulders to keep me warm, I walked alongside him with my hand in his.
We slipped out unseen.
Shay collected his car keys from the valet.
We were on the road and heading toward the Pacific Coast Highway within minutes, my head resting on his shoulder, desperate for closeness.
Shay had one hand on the steering wheel and his other held mine, as though he needed to touch me just as much.
Both of us were leaving that world behind because something else, something remarkable, loomed on the horizon.
From the moment I had met him, during those dazzling first minutes in the confines of Pendulum, I’d sensed he’d become an important part of my life.
I wanted this man so much.
It was his commanding presence, his honesty and integrity. The fact he’d tried to protect me.
He did all of that without thinking of himself.
Although I didn’t know how long I would have him all to myself, I would hold on to every second like it was our last.
Reaching out of the car, I let my hand feel the breeze rushing through my fingers. I wanted to hold back time itself. Slow everything down.
Glancing over, I took a mental photograph of him.
A lifetime would never be enough.
We arrived at his beachside home an hour later, the L.A. traffic having slowed us down.
