Page 105 of Through the Flames
By the time I reached the pulsing glow of the entrance, my breathing had leveled out. Not calm.Nevercalm. It was a predator’s rhythm: steady and lethal.
I was going to walk in there, and every fucker in the place was going to learn what she should already know.
Spotting her in the crowd wasn’t hard. This wasn’t the first time I’d been here.
She didn’t know I was watching; she never did. I lost count of how many times I’d stood in this bar —thisvery bar — gritting my teeth while some asshole thought he had a shot with her.
The raw possession hammered through my skull as I shoved through the wall of sweaty bodies under the pulsing neon lights.
The air reeked of beer and perfume. Every accidental brush with a stranger’s arm felt like barbed wire scraping againstmy nerves. It was like acid under my skin. The static was suffocating.
My shoulders locked, breath sharp in my throat. Every step was hell and every touchburned.
None of it mattered, though, not when I laid eyes on her.
Ella was standing at the bar like she belonged to someone else, holding a can of that hard seltzer stuff she liked, laughing like some other fucker had the right to make her smile.
My pulse detonated, and my jaw was locked so hard I tasted blood.
I’ve had to watch this too many times.
Not anymore.
When someone’s nails grazed my arm, my vision went white with rage and nausea, and I could feel bile licking the back of my throat. I wanted to rip my skin off just to make it stop.
My body recoiled so abruptly, the girl’s laughter died on her lips.
I didn’t look at her. Icouldn’t.
When Ella spotted me, she froze. Her smile faltered, and her lips parted like she might say my name, but I didn’t give her the chance.
Cutting through the chaos, I closed the distance in three strides and grabbed her wrist. My own nerves prickled at the sharp, electric contact, but this washer.
Ella’s warmth burned differently. The only burn I could take.
“Hunter—what—” Her eyes went wide, her voice soft with surprise.
“You left without telling me.” My voice was shaking with everything I’d buried and the battle clawing at my flesh.
She tried to laugh it off. “Didn’t think you’d care.”
My head dipped until my mouth brushed her ear, breath scorching her skin. “That’s a mistake you don’t want to keep making.”
Her breath hitched, and the sound nearly undid me.
“Say goodbye, baby.” I pulled her flush against my front, fixing my murderous glare on the fucker who she’d been laughing with. I knew it was just some dude from her team, but I didn’t give a flying fuck.
He’d made her laugh. He got too close.
Not giving her time to actually say the words, I turned us on the spot and closed my hand around her wrist, sparks of pleasure now shooting up my arm.
Then I was dragging her past the bathrooms, past the kitchen door, until the music dulled to a distant thud, every second was agony.
I needed her so bad it fucking hurt, and I wouldn’t be able to think clearly until I’d claimed her, inside and fucking out.
I spun her around and slammed the emergency exit bar behind her. The cold metal touched her bare skin, making her hiss. The red EXIT sign burned above us like a warning I had no intention of heeding.
My hands caged her in. Beyond the door, the night pulsed with muffled music and laughter. One push, and we’d be out in the alley. One wrong move and the whole bar would see her wrecked for me.
