Nice?
The word reverberated like an earthquake in my limbs, mixing with the fear his ominous glare flooded through my veins. It spread like goop, taking me over. I hated the feeling. I hated this. I hated him. I hated that I was in this position to begin with.
I knew better. I knew.
Old Rae snapped back before common sense could stop me. “I don’t care if you’ll miss me, Bodie. I’m not here to soothe your precious ego.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I’d made a mistake. His cold eyes flashed with rage before shuttering to an ice I’d never seen before. If I thought I was scared before, it was nothing compared to what swallowed me whole when he shoved his hand into my hair, fisting the strands tight.
“Then maybe you can soothe me in other ways,” he grit out, pulling my head back.
The lips I hadn’t minded when we first kissed landed on mine roughly. Bodie had lost his temper before, but never like this.
Adrenaline shot through my limbs, giving me the strength to shove him back. “No.”
But I wasn’t strong enough. I barely created any distance before both hands were back, shoving me hard, slamming my back against the counter. The sharp pain hit so hard, my legs gave out. I would have gladly fallen, but his grip held me upright.
“Why do you do this?” he growled. “Why do you push me to this point? Would it kill you to be a little fucking nicer to me?”
“Stop.” I tried to infuse strength in my command, but my body trembled, leaving me almost pleading.
“I’m so sick of this shit. I’m sick of not being able to reach you. All I want is a little bit of commitment from you. I want more, and I can’t reach you.”
Emotions swirled through me like a roulette wheel of fear and determination, leaving me to wonder which one would win out.
But I knew exactly which would win this time.
I was Raelynn Vos. Knowing the chain leashed around his anger held on by a rusted link, I decided I didn’t care. I decided that if that chain broke, I’d go down as no one other than me. “Because I don’t want you to reach me. I never did,” I confessed with a cruel coldness coating my words.
Chink.
I met his eyes as the last bit of metal gave way, unleashing a whole new fury. I made sure he knew I saw him even as I watched his hand pull back, ready to strike.
But before he could land his blow, a knock at the door froze all motion inside the apartment.
“Miss Vos,” my favorite concierge, Gus, called from the other side of the door. “Your car is here, and I wanted to see if you needed help with your bags.”
God bless Gus and his over-achieving, sweet heart.
Bodie’s fists unclenched, clenched, and unclenched one last time before both hands fell away. His cold stare melted, giving way to regret—just like always. Next came the silent pleading for forgiveness. There was also a plea to turn Gus away, but I didn’t fucking think so.
“Yes, come in,” I shouted.
Gus entered, all smiles, and I almost ran to place grateful kisses all over his wrinkled cheek. Pushing off the counter, I held back my wince from the twinge in my back and used the polite etiquette my mother taught me. “I have a bag in my room, if you don’t mind.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
As soon as he rounded the corner, I leveled a glacial glare at Bodie. “Leave,” I demanded.
“Rae,” he pleaded with his hands out. “I’m sorry. You know—”
“No. No more.”
“What do you mean, no more?”
Seeing my chance—my out, with Gus coming back any second, I latched on to the opportunity with both hands. “We are done.”
“What do you me—” He winced and shook his head as if he was trying to make sense of it all, grasping at straws. “But the campaign?”
“I’m sure if I explained,” I said slowly, full of meaning. “My father would understand.”
For the first time, fear entered Bodie’s eyes, and I liked it. “No…”
“I won’t. I don’t need to.” The longer he looked scared, the more powerful I became, realizing he was just human. A giant, mean, waste of a human, but just a man capable of fear like anyone else. “Because if you ever lay your hands on me again, I’ll fucking cut them off and feed them to you.”
He opened his mouth before slamming it shut. Again, his hand dug through his hair as he looked around for a solution to pop out from behind the curtains. When he didn’t find what he was looking for, he reverted back to what he knew. He leaned in, curling his lip to deliver an ominous promise. “This isn’t over, Raelynn.”
He stood upright just in time for Gus to come back out. Lifting my chin high, I met his promise with uncaring disdain. “Please see Mr. Forrester out,” I requested Gus. “I’ll be down in a minute.”