Ruby Revenge

“Or you hid it somewhere else. But if you do have something, better not let my brother find it.”

“I didn’t take anything else.”

“I told you that you weren’t going to run on my watch. Don’t try that shit again.” A cry of surprise left me when his hand slid up the back of my neck before fisting my hair. He tilted my face up, putting his own inches away. His other arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer. “And for future knowledge, I have no issue with touching you.”

My face flushed as I scowled. “For someone who puts family first, you’re awfully close to crossing a line with the girl your brother loves.”

“I think we already crossed that line when you soaked through my jeans.” My cheeks grew hot as his eyes stayed locked on mine. “We both know you aren’t Alex’s girl. Not anymore. I’m curious. Whose hands would you rather have on you? His or mine?”

“His,” I forced out through clenched teeth. He might have his suspicions, but I’d never admit that Alex’s touch shot disgust through me. What was worse was the way Niko’s closeness wasn’t revolting me like it should be.

“Interesting,” he murmured as his arm stayed locked around my waist. “Because when he’s home, you don’t go within arm’s reach of him unless he initiates it. Yet, you haven’t made a move to get my hands off you.”

My body went rigid. “The grip you have on my hair makes that difficult.”

He chuckled. “Both your hands are free, Sage. After all those classes you took at that gym, I have a feeling you’d be able to free yourself. Or at least try. But you haven’t.”

He was trying to get under my skin. My words had pissed him off, and he was attempting to regain control. But as he shifted his hips away from my body, I realized he wasn’t as unaffected as I first thought. If I was going to be spending every damn day with him for the near future, he needed to know I wasn’t going to act however he wanted without me pushing back.

His eyes widened in shock when I pressed against him, right into the rock-hard evidence that he was feeling something other than anger. I grinned through my nerves as his grip on my hair tightened.

“Hmm,” I purred out as tension saturated the room. “It doesn’t feel like you want me touching Alex. Do you want me touching you instead?”

His eyes narrowed, trying to figure out what I was playing at. “And if I said yes?”

My heart hammered against my ribs as we fell deeper into whatever kind of standoff this was. I should have known he wouldn’t have backed down. Was he saying it to prove his theory that I didn’t really want to be with Alex? Or did he really feel something toward me? Both of those options had my stomach lurching. For two different reasons. Fuck. Being alone for all those months was messing with me. Being touched, even by someone I couldn’t stand, had my body going haywire.

“I say since you’ll be stuck with me for the foreseeable future, you better get used to your hand.” My smile grew as his eyes darkened.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s the only way you’ll be able to fix the hard problem you have.” My gaze drifted to his jeans. “Because touching you is something I’ll never do.”

He arched an eyebrow, trying to hide his surprise. We were dancing on a dangerous line. The tension in the room wasn’t from anger anymore.

“I could say the same about you.” His voice was low and gruff. “It’s obvious you don’t want Alex’s hands on you. That means you’ll have to take care of yourself.”

“I’ve been alone for months. I can take care of myself better than any guy can.”

“You want to test that theory?” he murmured, keeping his body flush with mine.

I swallowed, knowing he was trying to push to see how far I’d go. He wasn’t going to back down until I did first. Diving out of my comfort zone, I took a deep breath.

“Sure. You can sit and watch while I take care of myself.” Shock lined his features as I spoke. “And you’ll still be stuck using your hand.”

Our stare down continued as I waited for him to say another smart remark. A car door slammed outside, shattering the silence. Niko’s eyes darted to the door, his face going blank in an instant.

He scoffed, releasing my hair. “You’re hilarious.”

“You think Alex would find your words funny?” For the first time, I voiced the one thing I could hold over his head.

“He’ll never have a chance to find out.” He placed his palms on the wall on either side of my head and leaned closer. “You’re not going to tell him anything.”

“You can’t threaten me.” I raised my chin to meet his stare, keeping my words quiet in case Alex walked in. “I know you didn’t tell your society about finding me. You have your own secret to protect. So be nice to me, Niko. Or that secret might slip past my lips.”

“Sage. You really think you have any kind of pull with me?” he asked softly, his voice filled with danger. “You spill what I did, and I won’t be your problem anymore. Instead, Geo will take my place.”

My stomach plummeted as anger raged through me. As bad as Niko was, he was tolerable. And he’d helped me in the past. The fact that he was part of my sister’s death never left me. But being stuck with the person who’d actually killed her was something I couldn’t handle. I’d end up trying to kill him. Then I’d die. And I’d never be able to do what I’d planned all along. The society needed to pay for everyone they’d hurt.

“That’s what I thought.” Niko took my silence as an answer. Taking his hands off the wall, he gave me one last look of warning before walking out of the bedroom.