Page 69 of Ruthless Chaos

I squash the thought quickly—I really don’t want to think about my mother again.

Melissa moves through the regular paces—checks her blood pressure, her heartbeat, her breathing, and does diagnostics to see if she has a concussion.

“Well, everything looks fine to me,” Melissa says. “The swelling should go down soon.” She smiles at Allie, who returns it weakly. “Here’s a prescription for two weeks’ worth of ibuprofen. Be more careful next time.” She winks.

I grin, taking the medication from her. Allie isn’t amused.

I help her stand up. Melissa’s eyes are on us as we leave.

Allie is less shaky than she was on the roof, but I still hold her close in case she loses balance. One missed step and I’m slinging her into my arms again.

“Why did you lie?” She hisses in a hushed tone when we’re out in the hallway. “Especially likethat.”

I raise an eyebrow.

Even when she’s sick she’s got the strength to be sassy? She’s a glutton for punishment it seems. “It was either the lie, or I tell her that you’re a klutz who dropped a glass, cut yourself cleaning it up, then hit your head because you were scared of a cock.”

Her mouth snaps shut and she folds her arms. Allie’s lips are set in a frown, her eyebrows creased. She’s gorgeous when she’s angry.

It’s fun to leech the rage from her, too.

“What are you upset about?” I press, closing the space between us. “You should count yourself lucky that people think we’ve had sex.”

She recoils like I’ve slapped her but doesn’t say another word.

Instead, she grabs the package of medication out of my hands and storms away. I follow her easily, amused at the turn our night has taken.

The duality of her is quite entertaining.

One minute she’s shy and coming apart in my hands, and the next she’s so angry she thinks being rude to me will make me leave her alone.

I play along.

She stomps the entire way to her room, which included a few seconds of “angrily” waiting for the elevator. By the time she’s got out her room key to open her door, I’m ready to burst out laughing.

I can’t think of the last time I’ve been this delighted.

“Are you going to leave without telling me goodnight?” I ask, holding the handle of the door so she can’t open it.

She scowls. “Nothing about this night has been good,” she says, trying—and failing—to open the door. “You’ve harassed me the entire time.”

I smirk. I have the urge to kiss the frown from her face.

The winner of this game we’re playing is already decided.

Allie doesn’t know though. She thinks she can gain the upper hand, somehow.

Her stubbornness makes it more fun, though. I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she realizes that I’ve had her caught all this time.

She’s mine now, and there’s nothing she can do about it.

“Is that how you really feel?” I ask, getting close enough to feel the warmth radiating from her skin. Her breath quickens.

Her pulse hammers away at the base of her jaw.

“Alexander, I—“

I cut her off with a kiss.