Where Lightning Strikes (Bleeding Stars #3)(32)

“I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen women flocking here just to see the likes of you, Charlie. Pretty ones, too,” I tried, going for casual and knowing I failed miserably.

He smiled a somber smile. “But none of them will ever be my Sadie.”

His words clawed at my chest.

“Don’t break my heart, old man.” It came out on a breathy, teasing plea.

His brown eyes softened. “Looks to me like it’s already broken.”

I recoiled.

“Don’t you dare,” he warned with a big palm cupping my face.

“What?”

“Run. Don’t keep running from whatever you’ve been running from.”

Quickly, I shook my head. “I’m not sure I know how to stay.”

Softly, he eased in and kissed my temple, before he turned and walked to the door. With it open, he paused and looked back at me over his shoulder. “You keep running and whatever you’re running from is just going to keep running right after you. Only way to stop it is to turn around and cut it off head on.”

Fear flashed through me. I couldn’t. I wasn’t ready. And after last night, I wasn’t sure I was ever going to be.

I blinked as images flashed.

Lyrik kissing my thigh.

Too close.

Too much.

Shaking.

Terrified.

Engulfing darkness.

I gulped around the remnants of fear.

Would it always be that way?

Charlie clicked the door shut behind him. A hard breath pushed free, and I turned away as I slumped forward with my arms wrapped around my waist.

As if I could shield myself from the turmoil.

But I was coming to realize the shields did nothing to protect me. They gave me nothing more than a counterfeit sense of security. And I was breaking down beneath them.

The door swung open again.

“Charlie,” I whispered, still facing away. “I can’t—”

Shivers pricked across my skin just as awareness pressed in.

On a gasp, I flipped around. My mouth dropped open wide and I fumbled back.

Lyrik stood in the doorway with his hand on the knob. Shock waves pulsed, and his intense, severe energy surged. Slamming and striking and stealing my breath. Those licking flames he’d left behind blazed to life, singeing me in regret, fear, and a rush of unwelcome relief.

No.

That dark, menacing boy stood like a shadow beneath the hazy light, his face all harsh lines and blunt curves. Even from across the space, obsidian eyes flared. In them, I felt the resistance, like maybe he was fighting the same battle as I and neither of us knew which side we were supposed to be fighting for.

I wanted to scream at him to go and beg him to stay.

Humiliation shivered through me. God, I couldn’t stomach the memories of the way I’d clung to him. Begging him to make it okay like a weak little girl.

I’d ruined everything.

I stepped back, my voice quiet but hard. “Please, just go.”

Panic spread when of course he didn’t listen. Instead, he edged the rest of the way into the office and shut the door behind him. He seemed to ride in on a whirlwind of anger, his jaw clenched, muscles strained and tight. The click of the lock snapping into place resonated in the tense air.

“You know that’s not going to happen. Not now. Not after last night.”

My feet fumbled a step back when he began to advance.

He’d left me sometime in the night. I’d thought maybe he’d had enough. That he’d let me be. And Lyrik West leaving me be was the only thing I needed and the last thing I wanted.

I pressed my hands flat against the wall behind me that prevented my escape. Tremors rocked beneath my feet with every step of his approach. A halo of darkness surrounded him, his potency trembling in the air.

The buzz before the strike.

That feeling just increased as he came nearer and nearer, until he once again had me backed into a corner. Caged. Breathing his breaths and feeling the rapid beat of his heart.

I tried to keep my attention downcast. To hide some more when he’d already witnessed every single thing I hadn’t wanted him to see. But I couldn’t resist when he just hovered over me, not saying a word. As if he were prying whatever answer he sought from my silence.

When I couldn’t take it any longer, I looked up. My gaze tangled with his. Hatred. In his dark, expressive eyes, I could see unfathomable hatred.

But it wasn’t directed at me.

Because they were protective, too.

Somehow he managed to delete another inch between us. Completely closing me in. His voice was rough when he spoke. “Someone hurt you?”

My entire body winced, and I jerked my head away. His hand found my chin, his touch gentle while everything else surrounding him was harsh.

“Please.” I squeezed my eyes closed when he forced my chin up.

“Red.” The way he said it twisted through me like a hot knife. The pain forcing my surrender.

“Don’t shut me out,” he murmured, and his thumb traced along my trembling bottom lip. “You think you can pretend last night didn’t happen? Even if you can, I can’t.”

Hard laughter rocked from me and my eyes flew open as I released the bitterness from my tongue. “I’ve been pretending for years.”

“How many?” he whispered with that same voice that haunted me night after night. “How many years you been pretending? How many years has it been since you let a man touch you?”