Page 15 of Her Soul to Own

“That was foolish,” he says.

I smirk, even though my pulse is a mess. “Why? Because he isn’t afraid of me?”

He steps closer. One long stride, then another, until he’s too close for me to breathe comfortably. His voice drops to that lethal whisper he uses when he’s barely holding the leash. “Because you used him.”

Another step.

“Because you put yourself at risk by being with someone unidentified.”

And then…

“Because you wanted me to see it.”

Fuck.

I swallow hard, and the air between us crackles like broken glass. My back hits the bookshelf behind me, but I don’t look away. Not even when he’s a breath away.

“I don’t belong to you,” I whisper.

His eyes darken. “That’s what you think.”

Something in me folds. Not breaks. Just… folds.

Because no one’s ever said something like that to me and made it sound like both a threatanda promise.

I push off the shelf and close the tiny gap between us with reckless defiance. “You think showing up like some shadow-drenched knight makes you my handler? That you get to scare off anyone who looks at me the wrong way?”

His voice stays low, deadly calm when he answers, “I don’t care if they look. I care if they touch.”

My heart skips a beat, and I hate that it does. “I didn’t ask for protection,” I snap.

“You didn’t have to.”

I laugh, sharp and mean. “God, your ego is astronomical.”

He leans in, just enough that I feel the heat of him and the control he’s barely holding onto. “And yours is suicidal.”

We stare at each other, heat simmering between us.

“This is my life, Mr. Creed. My fucking choices. You think I’m some princess in a tower waiting for you to chain me up and call it safety?”

He doesn’t blink. “I think you’re reckless. And you like being watched more than you want to admit.”

I bite the inside of my cheek so hard that I taste blood. “Fuck you,” I hiss.

His eyes drop to my mouth, then flick back up. “Not yet.”

I don’t say a word the entire ride home. That “Not yet”of his shut me up really well. He doesn’t bother filling the silence either.

The leather seat beneath me is freezing, but my skin is prickling from something that isn’t the air conditioning. He’s right there in front of me, radiating stillness like a weapon. I feel caged, but at the same time, I hate that I feel seen andgoddamn alivefor the first time in forever.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I see Zara’s message.

Why’d you leave all of a sudden? Everything okay…?

Shit. I totally forgot about her. I quickly make a lame excuse and hit send.

When we get to the gate, I hit the unlock button and get out without waiting for the driver to circle the car. My boots crunch against the grit. I need to walk this off. To move andbreathe.

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