“It’sallfor you,” he states, his hard stare locked on mine as I frown.
“Forme?”
“Why I’m doing this,” he offers, but it does nothing to help me understand.
“You’re giving me a headache,” I say with a sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose, and he huffs.
“And you’re making me hard.”
I gape at him, eyes wide as my cheeks burn, and he grins.
“It’s not funny,” I snap, making the curl of his lips grow.
“I know.”
“Then knock the smile off your face.” I jab my finger in his direction, but instead of taking it as the warning it is, he eliminates the distance between us until the tip of my finger is firmly pressed against his chest.
“Just making sure you’re alive in there, Amica Mea,” he murmurs, tapping at my face, deepening the hue at my cheeks.
I huff, whacking his arm away as I step back, but the second I do, he follows after me, keeping a mere inch between us.
“You can leave now.”
“And if I don’t want to?” he breathes, skimming his finger down my arm, and despite the material of my sweater resting between us, I shiver, goosebumps rising at his touch.
Dammit.
“Then I’ll leave,” I decide. I was finally starting to think straight before he showed up. I can’t let him bring me to my knees when I’m desperately trying to keep my balance.
“And if I follow?”
My breath hitches at his whispered question, my heart racing like a galloping horse.
“I’ll keep running,” I breathe, earning another sinister smile on his lips.
“You’ll only entice the predator in me.”
I gulp and my fingers twitch at my sides. I don’t know whether it’s with the urge to slap him or grab him, but he notices it regardless.
“Do it. Slap me,” he goads, and I curl my hands into fists to stop myself.
“It’s not the same when you ask for it,” I grumble with a roll of my eyes.
“Back. Off. Now.”
Tatum’s voice cuts through the air like a blade and I jolt. Blaze, however, doesn’t seem as surprised as I am.
“Ah, good, Minnie told you,” he states, barely glancing over his shoulder, and I frown.
“Minnie what?”
Ignoring my question, Blaze cups my cheek as he looks deep into my eyes. “Behave, Amica Mea. You can’t be alone right now.”
“Why not?”
“It’s best I don’t say his name out loud, isn’t it?” He says it with a smirk, like it’s a funny inside joke, but the panic that floods my veins is far from it.
“I’m not following,” I state, and he somehow manages to lean in closer.