Page 47 of Lover Forbidden
Except that had only been his surface motivation.
Rage had been his real driver. The undeniable, furious energy that burned in his veins and his gut, that made him take risks—that made him utterly indifferent to the fact that a worthy male might well be killed because L.W. was flaking off hisahstrux nohtrum—was actually why he’d bolted.
The truth he’d woken up to tonight? He would have left anyway. Even if he’d thought Shuli would be put in a grave… he would still have deserted the guy.
So yeah, Bitty was right. That kind of shit was dangerous to people.
That kind of shit was dangerous toher.
Opposites attracted? Fuck that. He was a curse waiting to happen—
Abruptly, Bitty looked to the window, and her brows tightened as if she had sensed his presence somehow.
L.W. swore under his breath and backed away.
Even as he hit reverse, however, his eyes clung to her, noting everything about the freeze frame of her standing there, in the glow of that room, everybody else who came and went around her disappearing, as if she were a brilliant light that blinded him.
She certainly hurt his eyes.
L.W. watched her for as long as he could, forcing himself to focus through the pain that had nothing to do with his sight… and everything to do with his soul.
Bitty was his female.
And after last night, when he’d proved those words of hers were not a caution, but statement of fact, he could never claim her.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
It’s not much. But it’s warm and dry, and it has running water.”
As Lyric stepped into a studio apartment that was bare as a college dorm room before it was moved into, her heart was pounding like she’d run up the stairs instead of taken an elevator to the fourth floor.
“You’re very neat,” she remarked. And then wanted to smack herself in the head. “I mean—”
“When you don’t have much, it’s easy to be clean.”
“Yes, it is.” OMG, what was she saying. “Ah, how long have you been here?”
“A year.”
She looked over her shoulder. Dev was back by the door, at a coatrack that had been mounted on the white wall, and as he hung up the jacket she’d returned to him on the only vacant peg, she let her eyes go wherever they wanted on him—and what do you know, it was straight to his absolutely perfect—
“Ass?” he said as he turned around, his expression confused.
“I’m sorry?” Except then she did a two plus two on things. Had she really said that out loud? “Ass-tounding, I mean.”
“That I’ve been here for a year?” He raised a brow. “You’re a woman with a deep appreciation for the calendar, then.”
No, it was ass-tounding that she was allowed out of the house without a minder. Because clearly, she was insane. And also, this wasn’t her, this was not something she did, going to a male’s—aman’s—place alone, because…
Well, she wanted to have sex with the guy.
“Can we start over?” She unwrapped her scarf and took off the puffy jacket. Then glanced around for somewhere to put her things. “I was commenting on how neat everything was, and you were apologizing for things being not much.”
His eyes grew hooded. “And then I hung the jacket up… and you looked at my ass. Did it pass inspection?”
“Oh, my God.” She put her heated face in her hands. “Have I mentioned I’m terrible at this?”
The chuckle that came back at her was a low rumble. “I’m just giving you a hard time. And don’t feel bad. I suck at… whatever this is, too.”
