Beneath These Scars (Beneath #4)(4)
I shrugged off my unwanted reaction, getting back to what was important. My car. “Whatever. Now that you know I’m fine, you can go on about your evening.”
He flashed a wolfish smile. “And lose my one chance to play the white knight? Why would I do a thing like that?”
When he lifted a hand as if he intended to touch me, my entire body tensed in anticipation. “Because I’m no damsel in distress. And white knight? I think that’s a hell of a stretch for you, Titan.”
His hand curled into a fist, and he dropped it to his side. My eyes snapped up to meet his now cold stare, and disappointment slid through me. What the hell, Yve?
“Good to know you’ve got no misplaced assumptions about me being one of the good guys. Apparently you’ve got a better sense of self-preservation than your actions imply. Now get your stuff and get in my car. I’m giving you a ride home.”
“Wh-what?” I sputtered. “I have a cousin with a tow truck. He’ll figure it out.”
“I said get your stuff,” he repeated. “I’ll have my guy come get it and bring it back to his shop.”
I didn’t handle decrees well. And by that, I meant not at all. “Not necessary. I’ve got it covered.”
“I didn’t ask if it was necessary. Now get your stuff.”
Each of the last four words were bitten out in a harsh tone that pushed all my buttons. Simultaneously. My hands hit my hips, and I squared off with him to give him a piece of my mind.
“Now listen here, Titan. I’m not about to let you roll up and start ordering me—”
Gunshots echoed in the distance, halting my tirade mid-breath.
Titan flew into action, slamming the hood shut and turning to face me. “Get your shit. We’re going.”
I wanted to argue, but a second round of shots and the shriek of squealing tires nearby made my decision to shut up and comply a little easier. “Fine.”
I strode to my car and leaned in to pull my keys from the ignition, then slammed the door and locked it. I didn’t wait for an invitation, just marched around to the passenger side of his still-idling car and reached for the handle.
Titan beat me to it. I jerked back, jumpy at having him sneak up behind me so quietly. He was a big man; he shouldn’t be able to move that soundlessly. But those old, fearful reactions—the ones I’d fought to overcome—were shoved aside by an altogether different kind of awareness. Heat zipped down my spine where his body was only an inch from mine.
No. That’s impossible. Lucas Titan is the last man who should pull that kind of reaction from me. My body couldn’t be trusted. I steeled myself against the growing urge to press back against him as he opened the door, and I slipped inside the car.
I knew from the outside that it was expensive, but the interior proved it, especially when I read the embroidery on the floor mat. Aston Martin. There were several things I knew to be true, and one of them was that my ass did not belong in a seat this pricey. But I didn’t have time to think about that because Titan was already in the driver’s seat, throwing the car into gear and pulling away.
“You’re stubborn, you know that?”
“And you’re bossy,” I replied.
His gaze cut to me before shifting back to the windshield. “You want to get caught in a drive-by? Is that on your agenda for this evening? Jesus, woman. You should have a better sense of self-preservation.”
Words. So. Many. Words. And they all bubbled up inside me to spew at him. To tell him exactly where he could shove his judgments of me. But I didn’t. I held them back because he didn’t need to know my sad little story, or how I had dragged myself out of a relationship that could have made me the guest of honor at a funeral parade.
“Where do you live?” he asked, slowing at the next light.
“Tremé. Take a left at the third light.”
An awkward silence filled the car, making me wish he’d hit the gas a little harder, because God knew this fancy car could move quicker. The interior wasn’t small, but Titan’s presence was overwhelming. And Jesus Christ, why did a man who was such a dick have to smell so damn good? Clean with a hint of some exotic, expensive spice. On any other man, I would have leaned closer to inhale the intoxicating scent.
But not him. No way. I’d done rich man before. I knew how that story ended.
When we neared the major cross streets closest to my apartment, I decided we’d gone far enough. “You can drop me here,” I said as he slowed at a stop sign.
Titan’s dark green eyes pinned me to my seat. “Here. At the corner.” His words weren’t a question; they were a wry statement.
“Yes. Here. At the corner,” I parroted back at him.
“You have a problem with someone seeing you to your door?” His tone dripped with condescension.
Lord, but I’d never disliked someone quite so quickly in my life. “Maybe I don’t trust you to know where I live.”
“And I don’t let women out on random street corners in neighborhoods that aren’t safe after dark.”
“There are a lot of things that aren’t safe about this neighborhood, and I know them all. You’re the wild card here, Titan.”
I reached for the handle and tugged. It didn’t move. I ran my hand along the panel, looking for the lock. Stupid expensive cars, everything had to be sleek and hidden. I found it and popped the door open.