“I’ll take you home.” I grabbed her arm.
“You don’t have to. It’s not even all the way dark yet.”
“I’m not letting you out of my sight while this jerk is in town. I’m assuming he’s staying until court on Monday, so don’t expect to leave my side until then.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jade
Talon dragged me a couple blocks down to my apartment above the beauty shop. He took my keys from my hand, unlocked the outside door, and then lugged me up the stairs in the back.
Still holding my keys, he unlocked my door and entered. He looked around. “Pretty sparse.”
“This is Sarah’s furniture. I haven’t had a chance to buy anything yet.” I shook my head. “Why am I making excuses for you? This is it. This is what I can afford right now. You don’t have to be here, you know.”
“Yeah, I do. As long as that jerk is in town, I need to protect you.”
“Protect me? I’m not the one who needs protection while he’s in town. Apparently it’s him, the way you and your brothers were all stalking him—” I stopped. I didn’t need to go there. Actually, Jonah and Ryan had kept Talon from beating Colin a second time. For that I was grateful.
Talon looked around the room, his gaze settling on my unmade futon. It was still pulled out from where I had slept on it.
Would he take me there?
Of course he would. I could see the fire in his eyes. He wanted it, and so did I.
But damn, he didn’t own me. First the whole tattoo deal, and now this. He needed to understand a few things. “Talon, we need to talk.”
“About what?”
“About you dragging me up here, for one, but more importantly, about you paying off Toby so that he wouldn’t give me a tattoo.”
“You’re not getting a tattoo.”
I laughed out loud. “Oh, yes, I am. I’ve wanted one forever, and I finally found the right image.”
“Not that image.”
“What’s wrong with that image? A phoenix is beautiful. It has amazing symbolism.”
“Not. That. Image.” His eyes scorched me as he ground the words out.
And then he pulled me toward him, our chests meeting with force, and he crushed his lips to mine.
I opened for him immediately. I couldn’t resist him. I was done trying. Our bodies would always respond to each other, even when I was mad as hell about other things. He was clearly angry as well, after seeing Colin. I expected an interrogation about that, and I knew it was coming. He wouldn’t forget it. But for now…
Such a firm, drugging kiss—a kiss that took me away from everything that was bothering me until only Talon was left.
Talon.
My world.
For that is what he became when we were together. Only the two of us existed on some alternate plane of the universe. Our bodies responded to each other’s like no other, and we became each other. We became one.
How I loved him.
I didn’t claim to know him, but still I loved him.
How was that possible?