Page 42 of Peripheral Vision

“I mean, no you don’t. You’re not going to class tomorrow. You’re going to spend the day with me. In fact, if I had it my way, I would’ve just disenrolled you from classes, but I’m smart enough to know you haven’t fallen in love with me enough yet to be okay with that,” I say, flashing her a small, confident smile.

Shestares at me for a moment, weighing my words, then rolls her eyes and lets out a long, exaggerated sigh. “You’re awfully confident that’s ever going to happen. You can’t just call me out of classes because you feel like it. I’ve missed enough.”

I shrug. “For once I’m not just calling you out of class because I feel like it. I’m doing it because there are some things we have to talk about. I’m offering you an opportunity I wouldn’t have, to get some insight regarding the way things are from my perspective. Why I’ve done things the way I have when it’s come to you.”

She crosses her arms over her chest, leaning against the door of the car. “You really think you can just control every aspect of my life, don’t you?”

“I think you’re enjoying it more than you let on,” I counter, keeping my voice low, teasing. “If anything, you’re the one who likes being on the edge of control, testing the limits.”

Her eyes narrow. “That’s not it. You’re the one who can’t stand losing. You need to be in control all the time.”

I smirk as I open my door. “I’m not losing, Dylan. I never lose.”

She opens her own door, meeting me at the hood. “Whatever. You still haven’t answered what we’re going to do about my truck.”

“That’s also been taken care of. You’re not driving it anywhere tomorrow, nor anytime soon, Dylan. Not without my permission.” I punch in the code to her electronic lock, pushing the door open.

She pushes past me, flipping on the light. “I have to work, Fletcher. My classes are one thing, but if I don’t work, I won’t have anywhere to live.”

“Sure, you will. With me.” She freezes for a moment, her back stiffening before she lets out an incredulous bark.

“You think I’m just going to let you dictate where Ilivenow, too?”

I take a step toward her, leaning against the doorframe and watching her closely. “I’m not saying you have to live with me, but I’m not going to let you end up on the streets, either?—”

“It would be your fault I end up on them anyway,”she cuts me off.

I ignore her, continuing my previous train of thought. “Maybe it would. But you’re not working with Callum anymore.” Her lips press into a tight line, but she doesn’t say anything so I step closer, leaning down with my lips brushing her ear. “You can’t really believe that I would still be okay with you working there, being around him,in person,if I had you block him? You’re smarter than that, Dylan.”

She flinches, just barely, and her eyes flicker to the floor. “We wouldn’t be in that position either if it weren’t for you,” she whispers under her breath.

I grab onto her hip, rubbing my thumb back and forth over her clothes. “Are you saying you regret where it led us?”

She lets out another long sigh, but she doesn’t pull away from my touch. For a moment she’s silent, her eyes on the floor. “I didn’t say that… but it’s still not easy, you know? You act like things should be simple but they’re not.”

I take another step closer, my thumb still tracing small circles over her hip. “Then tell me what’s so hard about it, Dylan. Because you know I’m not letting go of this. Not now, not ever.”

Her shoulders stiffen slightly, but she looks up, her eyes meeting mine. “It’s not about letting go, Fletcher. It’s about what happens next. About howyouwant things to be. You keep pushing like it’s about you and me… but it’s not.”

Her words settle uncomfortably in my gut. Frowning, I stop tracing my thumb back and forth. “What do you mean?”

She looks at me for a long moment and I think she’s going to pull away, worried that she’s done with this conversation, but she doesn’t. “I mean this has only ever been about what you want and what you think should happen. You have to stop treating me like I don’t have a choice. You have to stop acting like everything you do is for my own good when it feels like you’re making the decisions for both of us. If you want this to work, Fletcher, you have to give me the same kind of trust you expect me to give you.”

The words burn like acid, the sting of them sinking deep into my chest. I should let her go, I should give her space, but I can’t—notwhen she’s mine. Not when everything in me demands that I claim her, possess her, control the space between us. “Trust?” I growl, my grip tightening just a fraction. “You want trust, Dylan? Then trust me when I say I’m not going anywhere. Not until you see that you don’t have a choice in this. Not until you know exactly what’s coming next.” And yet, she still doesn’t pull away, even though I can feel the tremor of her hesitation against me. It’s as if she’s not sure whether she should fight me or give in.

“You’re not hearing me, Fletcher,” she whispers, but the challenge in her voice falters, just for a second. “I need you to trust me enough to let me choose. Stop making everything about your control.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” I ask, almost mockingly, but there’s something different now. The words don’t come with the same biting edge. “You don’t get that thisisus. All of it. You can’t fight it anymore. You’re mine, Dylan, whether you want to be or not. I don’t need your permission,” I whisper, my thumb brushing the soft skin of her jaw. “I don’t need yourconsent. You don’t get to decide how this ends, because it’s already been decided.” She swallows hard, but I see the way her chest rises. I watch her closely, and I know. I know she feels the pull between us that’s been there from the start, the one thing neither of us can escape. “You want to know what’s hard about it?” I murmur, my breath warm against her skin where I’ve rested my mouth once more above the shell of her ear. “It’s that I can’t seem to stay away. I can’t stop wanting you, Dylan. And I won’t. Not in this lifetime, or the next.” I press my forehead against hers, willing myself to take on a calmer demeanor before I lean down to kiss her.

It’s soft, gentle at first—but even in that tenderness there’s an unmistakable hunger, an ache that has only grown deeper the longer we’ve fought against it. I pull her closer, my arms tightening around her as if to mark her, to remind her of where she belongs. When I pull away, I see it—the shift, the moment when she isfinallystarting to get it. She knows now. She knows what I’ve known all along. Thiswas never about choice. This was about destiny. And in the end, she’ll see she’s always been mine.

“Fine. But I need you to let me be the one to quit on my own. I don’t need, nor do I want you making all of my decisions. I’m not going to back down on that.” Her eyes shine with defiance and acceptance.

I raise an eyebrow, taking an impossible step closer, forcing her to retreat so I can shut the door that still remains open. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, little viper. Fighting you is half of the fun. But you’re going to let me drive you. That’s my price.”

Her chin tilts up, a slight shake of her head to tell me she disagrees. “We’ll see.”

I hadto compromise on staying in the car while she ran in to quit, parking in the front of the building. I didn’t like it any more than she liked me coming with her, but here we are. I plan to tell her about what I’m involved in as soon as she’s done. I’m going to take her back to my Airbnb and introduce her to Nathan now that he knows who she is to me, and since the threat against us now includes her. I check my watch, noting the time—she should be close to done by now. It shouldn’t take that long to dump her job, since she’s already dumped the… whatever Callum was. Although, he does appear to be working if his vehicle is any evidence of his presence inside. I tap my fingers against the steering wheel, trying to keep my mind from wandering. I know I need to focus. There’s a lot at stake and I don’t want her to be any more involved than she has to be. But there’s no denying it… the threat is real, and I need to protect her.

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