Chapter 25 #2
Slipping inside, warmth engulfs me, so does his scent.
Tobacco, leather and regret. I wouldn’t be honest if I said I didn’t like being in the passenger seat of this car.
All I need is a pashmina and a killer dress to be one hell of a Bond girl.
But I’m not with Agent 007. I’m with a soul-sucking vampire instead.
Reaching for the box with one hand, I close the door with the other.
Then he speeds off.
The meter on the speedometer rises by the second, the engine roaring.
“Don’t you think you caused enough damage?” My voice shakes as he takes a sharp turn, my grip pushing into the pastry box.
“You think I wanted this?” His hands grip tight to the wheel, trees and cars whizzing by us as he weaves in and out of traffic. “You think I wanted them to see you like that?”
“You showed them the video! You did!” My shoulder slams against the door before a pain as sharp as his turn ripples through me. “Rye, slow down!” He drives like the rest of the Crowns—like he has a death wish. Branches slap against the glass, my heart pounding harder with each swerve.
“I was saving you, Hannah.” His voice is a taught, low growl. "Was that not enough for you, Princess? Should I have kept you there?"
Glancing at him, his eyes are as dark as our surroundings before the trees clear and a sprinkling of lights from the town below appears. We’re above The Valley, which means…
“Rye! Stop the car!” We’re heading towards the edge, my hands reaching for his arm. “Please!”
He doesn’t stop, my eyes widening.
He’s killing us both. Holy fuck, this is it.
Closing my eyes, I lean into it. Into his warmth. Into his scent.
The tires squeak as he makes another sharp turn. My body sticks to the side of the car again, my eyes squeezing to stay closed.
Then the car comes to a stop.
No crash. No bang.
After a beat, I open an eye, turning my head to the passenger window.
There’s no road. No trees. Just the lights from The Valley off in the distance.
My head whips to Rye, his hands still on the wheel, his head hanging. All I can hear is my heart pounding in my ears.
“Are you psychotic?” Looking around, we're on the edge of the cliff, his headlights still beaming. “Hello?" I'm too afraid to move, but I want answers. "Is this another one of your fucked up games?"
His eyes shoot to mine. “You still think I’m playing?”
“I wouldn’t if you stopped treating me like a toy.”
“You think so highly of yourself,” he spits. “It’s always about you."
“You almost drove us off a fucking cliff.” It’s wild I have to point that out.
“Excuse my concern.” Finding my nerves, I reach for the door to get out, but he has me trapped.
Peering out the window, it’s a long way down, and I’m not dying rolling into The Valley.
“Excuse me for being startled that you almost killed us.”
“I should have,” he says, his voice lowering before his head hangs again. He still grips the wheel, his knuckles turning white. “It was my job to watch her. The camera was live, and I ignored her. For you. You don’t give a fuck about that.”
My brows knit. “So this is my fault?”
“Isn’t it?” He stares out ahead, silence taking over us save for the whistle of the wind.
Then he bangs on the wheel. Again. And Again.
The car shakes with each slam, each one making me flinch.
I’m not worried he’ll hurt me, but Ryung is the collected one.
The headstrong one. Sharp. Held together by money and impeccable style.
He doesn’t crack. Ever. And now he’s doing it in front of me.
Before I can think it through, I reach for his arm, wanting to stop him from slamming on the wheel another time. When I touch him, that jolt fires through me again as he freezes. After a moment, he pulls my hand away, but I move it to his face, my palm landing against his cheek.
“Your father’s death isn’t about me,” I say, catching those eyes with mine. They look darker today, like a bottomless hole. “You can’t blame me.”
“Then stop acting like you didn’t leak that video to the press.”
My throat dries, an elephant on my chest. It’s the first time he’s directly mentioned the catalyst for this war.
“Stop acting like you don’t know why.” Silence takes over again, our eyes unmoving.
He doesn’t move my hand, his warmth still against my palm.
I don’t know how we got this close, his lips so close to mine I can feel his breath.
I know what those forbidden lips do to me.
They claim me. They destroy me. “We can’t keep going until the other person collapses. This war will break us. For good.”
“How the fuck do we stop?”
A lump forms in my throat. One I ignore. “Let me go.”
His eyes drop to my lips. “I can’t do that.”
Those words tell me this isn’t a war, it’s an obsession. A twisted one we both have. “Tonight, you will.”
On cue, headlights approach. Turning towards it, Ember’s head of curly frizz comes into view. That weight lifts off my chest, but not completely.
Climbing over Rye isn’t easy, especially when I straddle him.
“Don’t you dare leave,” he growls, his hand coming to my ass. It’s possessive, the way he pulls me towards him, the air around us heating up by the second. Our lips linger inches from each other, but I drop my head, deciding against it as I reach for the door and step out. “Hannah, I swear—”
Slam!
My heart still pounds once I'm in Mac’s new Bugatti, Ember at the wheel. He must really love her if he lets her drive it. I’m just happy she’s here.
I hate the part of me that hopes he’ll chase me. Or the part of me that wants him banging on the car window.
I hate even more that a burn lingers on my nose when his car speeds away.
Ember’s hand comes on top of mine before she lowers the jazz on the radio. “You okay?”
That burn fills my chest, a blur coming to my eye. “No.”