Page 69 of Psycho

She didn’t say anything for a beat. Then she yanked her hand away and moved toward the door and as far away from me as possible.

We stopped talking for the rest of the ride. There was no chatting when I came to the restaurant and picked up our dinner, and no conversation when I turned onto my property and pulled up to the front.

She had her door open and was out of the truck before I could even put the car in park.

I watched her, unsure of what my next move should be.

I always knew what my next move was supposed to be, and I fucking hated how unsure I was with her.

I got out and grabbed her duffle bag, along with our dinner, and followed her to the front. She was waiting for me there, and I thought about giving her a key of her own, but fuck, there was no way I would ever let her go anywhere without me, so there was no point.

I unlocked the door, and she moved inside, shoving past me.

I stayed where I was, my gaze tracking her movements, then I slowly made my way inside and locked the door behind me.

I set the dinner down on the kitchen island and dropped her duffle bag in the bedroom before I grabbed the first aid kit from under the bathroom sink and walked over to her.

She frowned when she noticed what was in my hand.

“This isn’t necessary,” she said, standing up.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her back down. Not hard, but hard enough that it caught her attention and got her to do what I wanted.

I shot her a look, daring her to get off the couch.

She smartly stayed where she was.

“Good girl.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. I resisted the urge to grin and opened the first aid kit instead and looked inside.

She was mostly bruised on her cheek, but there was a small cut underneath her jaw that I didn’t think she’d noticed. It looked like it was caused by a ring.

Whoever hurt her was female, by my guess.

More than one person?

I wasn’t sure.

She winced when I cleaned it up, and put cream on the cut and bruise area to reduce the swelling.

Lainey had remained silent the entire time, not at all surprising, but the energy between us had changed. It was much different from how it had been in the car, and I was so fucking fascinated by the softness of her skin to pull my hand away.

The delicateness of it.

My thumb moved to her bottom lip, and she finally turned her attention to me.

I looked up and met her eyes.

The black surrounded by the greens of her eyes expanded, and her chest pushed in and out, her breathing increasing just a little.

I pressed my thumb down on the soft flesh, taking it before tracing the outline of her lip.

Her eyes fluttered.

I knew lust. I knew attraction.

She could deny it all she wanted, but Lainey was attracted to me.

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