Page 110 of His Fury

He didn’t respond to my inclusion of him. He finished his coffee and stood up. “Then don’t be.” His voice was softer, just a touch, but I noticed. “Learn the rules and pay attention. If you don’t want to be protected…then make yourself harder to reach.”

“You’re right,” I admitted. “I do want to understand more. I don’t want to be in the way. If I can…help or something.”

Rye’s eyebrow lifted. “You want to help?”

Did I? Five minutes ago, I would have said no. Now? Now I felt the change. “Yes, I want to know what it costs him to maintain this lifestyle. Only then will I understand if I can pay it too.”

Rye studied me for a long moment, and I wondered if he also felt that we’d had two very different conversations in this house today.

“Zayn won’t tell you everything.”

“I don’t think I’m ready for everything,” I said quickly, noticing the flash of impatience across his face. “Not from Zayn,” I added. “But I thought maybe you could tell me.”

“Why?”

“Because you won’t sugarcoat it.”

“Neither would Zayn.”

I looked down at my folded hands and took my first step in trusting Rye. “I don’t lie beside you at night,” I said softly. “If you tell me, I can separate the two, and it will ease me until I don’t need to separate them.” I looked up at him and met his unwavering gaze. “Baby steps. Rye style.”

Rye picked up his mug and walked over to the sink. I watched him as he reached for his suit jacket and put it on, buttoning it quickly. He looked around the kitchen, making sure he had everything. “Lock up after me. Turner turns up tonight, the door stays closed. Right?”

“Right.”

He nodded and turned to leave, but before he left the room, he looked over his shoulder at me. “I’ll think about it.”

And in Rye speak, that might as well have been a handshake.

Later,I was curled up on the couch with my laptop beside me, reading an email and watching the clock. I knew I needed an early night for my early wakeup the next morning, yet I stubbornly stayed up, aware it would come back to bite me in the ass in the morning. I looked up when I heard the front door open.

I remained where I was, listening as I waited for the weight of his footsteps to find me.

And they did.

Zayn paused at the entrance of the living room, his top button undone as he loosened his cuff links, rolling up his sleeves.

“Hey,” I greeted quietly. “Long day?”

“Yeah, and it’s not over.” He crossed the room, bending to press a kiss to my forehead. “You okay?”

I swallowed. “I guess.” My nose scrunched. “Not really?”

Zayn pulled back just enough to meet my eyes. “Tell me.”

“I…” I was at a loss for words. I felt like a silly schoolgirl with her first crush. Zayn straightened and took a step back; it was such a simple action, completely unrelated, but it felt asif he was stepping out of reach, and I blurted out everything I wanted to say. “I want to know what we are, Zayn.” Despite my panicked outburst, my voice didn’t shake. “Because I’m not just hiding here anymore. I don’t want to be passing through or staying until I’m over what happened in that warehouse the other night. I need to know if I’m building something with you or if I’m completely mistaken and this is just…just.” I sighed. “You know…”

His expression was unreadable. He sat down beside me, tapping my legs until I lifted them, and then placed them over his. After a long moment that felt like thirty million years, he sniffed. “I thought I made it perfectly clear.” He was so matter-of-fact. “You’re mine.”

I blinked. “That’s not?—”

“You’remine,” he repeated, his voice firm, his fingers tracing circles over my calf. “And I’m yours. That’s what this is. It’s not simple. It’s not safe for you, and I am sure you could do a hell of a lot better. This is real. We arereal, Isla.”

My breath caught.

“Rye told me you talked,” he continued, still not looking at me. “If you’re in, you’ll have all of me.” He glanced at me, and I wanted to kiss him so badly when I saw the flicker of vulnerability in his eyes. “You’ll have me, not just the part that fucks you until you scream or kisses you goodnight.” When he noticed my blush at his crudeness, I saw the familiar smirk I’d come to love. “You want to know what it costs? I’ll show you. But once I do, there’s no pretending anymore.”

I didn’t hesitate. Pulling my legs from his and sitting up, I pushed myself to my feet, rising from the couch. Kneeling between his spread legs, I sat back on my ankles while looking up at him.

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