Chapter Sixteen Larissa #3
Leaning in close, the tip of his nose faintly brushes mine as every cell in my body ignites in a whisper.
A whisper quickly turning to a roar to pull him closer.
To inhale the heavenly scent that continually wafts from him.
To feed on the hunger that hasn’t stopped since he tasted me, devoured me with unkept promises against his front door.
A hunger building and threatening to rob me of all fucking sanity.
Holding my breath to evade his scent—which I now find addicting—I lift my chin with my taunt.
“Careful of your wording, Marine, or you’ll have me believing you want me with you.”
He keeps my stare as he continues hovering over me.
In those tense seconds, I become hyperaware of where his hands are, the set and architecture of his jaw and chin, and the thin white scar there, which is only becoming more pronounced with his rapidly thickening beard. “What happened to your chin?”
His lips curve up at my question, but there’s absolutely nothing about the make of his expression that could hold anything resembling a smile.
In the next instant, it’s gone, but whatever he just let me glimpse is terrifying.
Instead of letting it have that effect, the blood in my veins begins to ignite in a way that has me clenching my thighs.
“Why are you trying so hard to scare me?”
“Because you don’t care about your life enough,” he counters through thick lips, “and you just proved it.”
“What do you care if I care?”
“Why haven’t you mentioned him, Larissa?”
Long, tense seconds pass, and I know it’s because he’s watching me more carefully right now than he ever has. A predator with cornered prey.
“It’s not why I’m here.”
“Lie,” he stamps out. “You just fucking lied.”
“No, I didn’t,” I counter firmly. “Your tattoo is why I came to you, not my brother’s.”
He tilts his head back at that truth.
“But rest assured, birdman, I will demand my fucking answer when this is over.”
“And when will this be over, Larissa?”
“It begins and ends with Ciro’s downfall.
Only then can I even imagine a fucking future,” I relay honestly.
My words take him by surprise, that tell only given by a nearly imperceptible tick in his jaw.
“That wasn’t a lie, and I don’t plan on dying, Tyler.
That’s counterproductive.” I swallow because he’s too much, too close in a way I don’t want him to be.
“So now that you know I’m not lying about that, give me some details of your plan. ”
“Let’s see how what you gave me checks out, and I’ll think about it.”
His eyes smolder as his expression becomes impossibly smugger.
It’s then that I realize I’m cupping his jaw.
Not only that, but I’m also running my thumbnail down the length of the white line of his scar.
Snatching my hand back, I drop my eyes. “There’s plenty of oxygen to go around.
” Standing, I push at his chest for some much-needed space. “You don’t need to steal all of mine.”
I’m granted an arrogant twist of his lips as he keeps me crowded where I am.
“Fuck you and that look,” I grit out, ramming into his bicep before stalking into the woods.
Nauseated by what’s just transpired, I rattle with fear that he’s not giving me a single inch of ground.
I gave him one of my weaknesses, but my brother is a given.
It’s expected. What I didn’t expect is the sheer will of the man I’m up against. I came prepared to deal with a tactical genius and his suspicions, but his callousness and cruelty weren’t at all factored in.
Neither was the attraction I can’t fucking shake.
In a very dangerous way, Tyler does remind me of Ciro.
At the same time, he’s nothing like any DiCicco man—or any other I’ve met.
What scares me most is what I feel capable of when the electricity ramps between us—how my body seems to constantly betray me, even as I try to keep my mind sharp.
His effect on me is both intoxicating and toxic.
With Tyler, I feel more out of control than I’ve ever been, and the longer we’re together, the more I get pulled into his gravity.
Drawn further into him with every exchange.
Hyperaware of my desire, all I want to do is feast on the dangerous energy and let it devour me.
Even if that’s the truth of it, I refuse to be the lone fool who acknowledges it any longer.
Or in any way resemble the desperate, pathetic woman he accused me of being.
Utterly fucking done with being humiliated, I decide I won’t allow him to either see or sense my attraction for him another second.
Blacken your heart, Larissa. It’s time. He’s shown you who he is. Believe him.
There’s still no trust, and what progress we made was just ruined by what he thinks is missing from my list. Furious that I’ve been at his mercy the entirety of our time together, I pace the surrounding woods until I tire myself out before retreating into the tent, feeling his watchful gaze on me until I zip it closed.
After reading a few chapters of one of his books, I fade out.