Page 42 of Dismantle & Prevail

I am so engrossed in my report that when I feel him grow closer, my head snaps to the side in surprise.

Ari’s lips hit my cheek millimeters from my mouth and my entire body freezes.

“I–I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to be so close.”

A small smile spreads across his face, and he leans in close. “Don’t apologize. Because the only thing I would feel if my lips touched yours would be incredible.”

What. The. Hell?

I feel my cheeks heat and, desperately needing to change the temperature in the room, I hit my shoulder against his. “Smooth Ace. Now be quiet and let me work, please.”

With the shake of his head, Ari stares at me for a moment before shifting to lie down. I expect him to turn over and face the wall, but he doesn’t. Instead, he adjusts his pillow and faces me, a look of content all over his handsome face.

“Goodnight Butterfly. Don’t stay up too late.” His voice is full of exhaustion and something I can’t place.

“Night, Ace. Try not to steal all the covers tonight.”

His head turns, and he looks up to the ceiling, his chest rising and falling as a chuckle escapes him. “Okay, Miss I Take All The Blankets and Leave Ari to Freeze.”

Reaching behind me, I grab a pillow and smack him in the face. “Go to bed, you big liar.”

Ari doesn’t bother to move the pillow and all I can hear is his now muffled chuckle.

With his face covered, I allow myself to get a good look at him for the first time in weeks. Slowly, his usually toned body is coming back and I can’t help but linger on the tattoos cascading down his muscular arms.

My mind drifts to the almost kiss and that mixed with the idea of his tattooed arms wrapped around me has my cheeks flushing and my legs squeezing together.

Suddenly Ari tosses the pillow off his face and the second our eyes connect, his chocolate eyes plunge further into darkness.

A smirk spreads across his face and his eyes move down my body before making their way back up to mine. “Goodnight Butterfly. Sweet dreams.”

With that, he turns over to face the wall and my head falls back against the headboard.

What the hell is wrong with me? And why do I wish I would have moved an inch to the right and found out what Ari’s lips would have felt like against mine?

Chapter Eighteen

Aries

“Forthelasttime,I told you I’m fine, Boone.”

Sitting across from me in The Heart, Boone gives me a look like he does not believe a word I’m saying.

Ever since the incident at the Thompson mission, everyone has been walking on eggshells around me and I’m sick of it.

According to Dr. Link, it will be months, if not years, until I truly feel a sense of normalcy again. While I understand I went through a very traumatic experience, part of me wishes I could just forget everything and move on. But that is far from possible when the masked demon haunts my nightmares and has me scared for the only person who clears my mind.

“Aries. Take a few more weeks off. We have everything handled here. You know we have your back, brother.”

Anger rises in me and I know I need to tamper it down because he is just looking out for me, but I’m sick of being babied. I’m sick of closing my eyes and seeing only that dark, disgusting basement.

While the nightmares have become not as frequent and graphic, they are still terrifying nonetheless. And that translates into a lack of sleep and not being in the right headspace to go on missions.

Which pisses me the hell off and is probably the reason I have been snapping at everyone.

But most of all, I want nothing more than to tell the girl I’ve been in love with for what feels like forever, how I feel about her. The day I left on my recon mission, I knew she was pissed. I knew she wanted to go, but I didn’t let her.

I felt the same way about her that day that I do now. Only problem is now, the feelings are blazing inside of me, itching to burst through and dismantle the walls of her ironclad heart, and hoping there is space for me inside.