20. Emmett
CHAPTER TWENTY
EMMETT
W hat the fuck is he doing here?
I guess at this point I shouldn’t be surprised.
It seems my twin is just as obsessed with Waverly as I am, and that’s a problem.
Kade isn’t known for losing.
He wasn’t when we were kids fighting over a toy car.
Or when our father started training us to become the most elite assassins to ever bless the United States.
Or when we were pitted against one another to test our skills, and I came away with more broken ribs than our on-site medic had ever seen.
But this isn’t a fight I’m willing to lose.
Waverly is worth everything, and I refuse to allow Kade to steal her out from under me.
As if thinking her name could conjure her, she steps out of the bathroom, and her eyes flit around the almost empty club before landing on me.
She holds my eyes for a few beats before crossing to where I’m sitting and some of the tension bleeds from my shoulders. I was worried she was going to try to walk home again, but it looks like she’s going to allow me to drive her.
Thank God.
I was about to start mentally preparing myself to stalk her all the way home.
“Hey,” she says softly.
“You okay?”
She nods. “Yeah. Just tired. Would it be okay if we head out?”
“Of course.” I fish my wallet from my pocket and throw enough on the table to cover both our drinks and a generous tip for Abigail.
“You don’t have to pay for my drinks.” Waverly frowns.
“Already done.” I shrug and drop my hand to her lower back to steer her toward the side door to the parking lot. “Let’s get you home.”
I lead her out into the cool night, and a shiver brushes over her skin, making me curse the fact I didn’t bring a coat tonight. It was warm earlier, and I didn’t think I would need one, but I should have accounted for Waverly.
I open the passenger side door for her, and she slips inside, but before she can reach for the seat belt, I carefully wrap it around her and secure it just so I can touch her a little more.
Fuck.
I spent years in the shadows, keeping my distance, never allowing myself a single touch. But now I know what her soft skin feels like, I’m hooked, and I don’t think I can go back.
Dragging myself away from her softness, I stand and shut the door, forcing myself to breathe as I round the car to the driver’s side. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this out of control, and it’s taking everything I have in me not to fall into old habits and just take what I want.
I could have her moved into my apartment tonight. The place is set up for her already, and she doesn’t have that much in the way of belongings, so it wouldn’t take more than an hour to pack up her apartment.
She might fight it to begin with, but eventually she would see it my way. She’d see that we belong together, that there’s no sense in fighting this.
I shake off the thought.
No.
I won’t take away her choice. Even if every single fiber of my being is begging me to do what comes naturally to me. To do what I was trained to do all my life.
By the time I slip into the driver’s seat, I’ve managed to wrangle the part of me that wants to kidnap Waverly and lock her away from anything that can hurt her, my brother included.
I flick my eyes across the car and find her staring down at her hands in her lap, her fingers interlaced as struggles not to fidget. The nervous energy rolls off her in waves, and I long to soothe it for her, but instead I start the car and peel out of the parking lot, heading toward her apartment.
“Do you need the address again?” she asks.
I shake my head. “No, I remember the way.”
She drags her bottom lip between her teeth and nibbles at the soft pillow. The memory of tasting her crashes into me, but instead of reaching for her like I’m desperate to, I tighten my grip on the steering wheel in a bid to keep my hands to myself.
I pride myself on control in all areas of my life, but it seems there’s one area that I lack any at all.
“About what we spoke about in the bathroom,” she says so quietly I barely hear her over the soft hum of the engine. “I really think it would be best if we didn’t pursue this…whatever it is.”
I hum in acknowledgment but wait for her to continue whatever thought she’s having. I have no way of knowing what she and Kade spoke about, and I can’t demand to know without also telling her that I have an evil twin running around pretending to be me.
“I don’t really date, or anything like that, and I’ve just got this new job, and I really can’t mess it up. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea. I feel terrible about it. But it would just be for the best, for both of us, if this is the last time we…hang out.”
“I see,” I say as I bring the car to a stop at a red light. I tear my eyes off the intersection to look at the beautiful woman who takes up entirely too much room in my mind. She’s still looking down at her hands, but now they’re trembling.
I reach out and take her bundled hands in mine, giving them a gentle squeeze, and her eyes flick up to meet mine.
“Is that what you really want? Or are you just scared to let someone in?”
Her mouth drops open, as if she’s surprised I would call her out, but she quickly snaps it shut and shakes her head. “No. It’s what I want.”
The light turns green, and I pass through the intersection before pulling into a park. The streets of New York are never truly quiet, but it’s a little after midnight, and the sidewalk is free of pedestrians.
“What are you doing?” she asks, panic filling her eyes.
Once the car is in park, I turn my body to face her properly, keeping my hands firmly on my thighs.
“I understand you’re scared, Waverly. I’m not even blaming you. I know how hard it can be to let people in when you’ve spent your life holding everything back.”
“That’s not what this is,” she snaps. “I just think it would be best if we keep things professional between us.”
I chuckle. “I think the ship has sailed on that one. Now that I’ve seen you come, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to think of anything else when I see you.”
Her eyes widen, and she drops her head into her hands. “This is so embarrassing.”
I reach over and tug her hands down before gripping her chin between my thumb and forefinger. I turn her to face me and lean closer to her. “Waverly, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Watching you fall apart was the single most beautiful thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. A true gift. But I’m not willing to let you run from this. We could have something special if you’d just let it happen.”
She shakes her head. “You don’t understand.”
“Then tell me,” I plead. “Tell me what I don’t understand. Tell me what I need to do to make this happen, and I’ll do it. Just don’t run from this. Don’t make me chase you.”
She drags her bottom lip between her teeth, and I force myself not to rescue the battered flesh. Every time I touch her, I lose a little more of my grip on my control.
“Please, Waverly.”
She sighs. “You’re not giving me much of a choice.”
I chuckle. “You’re right, I’m not. Because I know something special when I see it, and I’m not willing to let you slip through my fingers.”
Her head bobs. “Okay.”
“Okay?” I ask hopefully.
“Okay, I won’t run. I’ll let things…develop between us, or whatever.”
I squeeze her hand in mine. “You won’t regret it.”
But even as the words fall from my lips, I know there’s every possibility she will.
Because handing herself over to one devil is hard to come back from. But when there are two with the same face, she’ll never be able to escape us.
I know my brother well enough to know that now he has his sights set on Waverly, he’s not going to let her go any more than I am, but that’s a bridge we’ll cross in the coming weeks.
For now, I’m just relieved as hell that I don’t need to show her the darker sides of me straight out the gate.