Lie (Betrothed 8)

“Hell no.” He said our conversation wasn’t over, but I’d hoped that was an idle threat. I thought he would be gone forever when he dropped me off at my apartment, but I guess not.

“Then, what do I say?”

“Tell him I’ll meet him in the auditorium when I’m done.”

“Okay…so you are going to meet him?”

I shook my head. “No. He’s just going to think that. I’m gonna head to my car and get the hell out of here.”

I walked to my car with my keys in hand. There was no one else out there but me, so I knew he hadn’t followed me. Maybe I would have to get my brother involved in this, tell him what was going on. I didn’t like running to someone else for help, but if I couldn’t shake this guy, I didn’t know what else to do.

I could kill him…I guess.

When I got closer to my car, the shadows in the darkness weren’t as sharp, so I could make out details that were impossible to see when I was farther away.

What I thought was a shadow covering my car was actually a grown-ass man.

I stopped and sighed. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”

He leaned against the car with his arms over his chest, his skin covered in black ink. A slight smile moved to his lips, and his eyes had a slight twinkle. “You have no idea how many times I’ve said that.”

I opened my purse and pulled out my knife. “You really wanna do this again?”

He didn’t flinch at the sight of my blade. “I thought you would learn from your mistakes.”

“Excuse me?”

He pushed off the car and straightened, his six-foot-three frame full of muscle and power. He was masculine and strong below the collarbone, his hands were big enough to crush my skull, but his face was beautiful, with fair skin, blue eyes, and a clean jawline. I preferred facial hair and a bit of chest hair, really masculine traits. He didn’t have that, but he was definitely built far more solidly than any other guy I’d seen. He was like a tank, and he could probably grow a beard in a couple days if he wanted to. “You’re decent with a knife, but you should be packing a gun. One squeeze of the trigger and your opponent is gone.”

“You didn’t bring a gun.”

His smile faded away, and he turned deadly serious. “Because I don’t need one.”

I lowered my knife, exhausted by the idea of fighting him again. Last time it was a shitshow anyway. “So, what do you want? If you’re here to abduct me, it’s going to be worse than last time. I’m gonna stab you so hard I’m going to hit an artery.”

He tried to keep a serious expression, but there was a slight quiver of his lips, like he wanted to smile. “If that was my plan, would I have told you I was here?”

“I told you I would meet you in the theater. So why are you out here?”

“Because I know you.” He came closer to me and slid his hands into his pockets. Now that we weren’t physically engaged in battle, I could really size him up, see the definition in his shoulders and forearms. Whenever he spoke, he had the baritone of a beast, a bear. “When you didn’t meet me right away, I knew you’d run.”

“So, you don’t take rejection well.”

He shrugged. “I don’t take anything well.” He looked at the knife still in my hand. “Put your pocketknife away, and let’s go.”

“This is a seven-inch blade.” I held it up again. “If I’d gotten another crack on you, you probably would’ve died.”

“I doubt it.”

“Why?” I asked incredulously. “Do you think you’re invincible?”

He shook his head slightly. “Immortal.” He walked to the passenger side of the car and tapped his knuckles against the window. “Let’s go.”

“I’m driving?”

“Yeah.”

“Where am I driving us to?” I sheathed my knife and returned it to my purse because he didn’t seem to be a danger if he was allowing me to drive. He also didn’t seem to be armed. Last time, he didn’t have a gun, and he didn’t have one now either.

“Dinner.”

I walked around to the driver’s side of the car and pressed the button to unlock the doors. “Are you crazy?”

“You just danced for two hours. Figured you’d be hungry.”

“Well…I’m always hungry. That doesn’t mean I want to get dinner with you.”

He rested his arms on top of the car and faced me, his shoulders wider than the entire door. “And you wanna keep talking here? Would you rather eat bread and enjoy your glass of wine? Plus, it’s a free meal. Consider it reparations for throwing you in my cage.”

I opened the door. “I prefer a gift card, but whatever.” It didn’t seem like this guy was going to go away until he had my attention, so I got behind the wheel and started the car.