Page 57 of Ruthless Commander

Her bodyguard slowed and turned to me. He wanted a piece of me, wanted to keep me far away from her. He was smart. But I wasn’t. I was beyond being smart now…beyond playing it safe. Because she wasn’t…when she wasn’t with me.

I lifted my hand and pierced him with a savage glare. “I’m not going to hurt her, so stay the fuck out of this.”

I saw the moment he thought about making his move, and saw that he knew it’d be his last. I lifted my gaze to her as she ran. I wasn’t going to hurt her…I wasn’t…

Then her bodyguard stepped to the side and muttered something about he hoped she'd shoot me. Then I was lunging, driving my body through the winds as I ran after her. I caught her at the edge of her building. Fuck, she was fast…faster than I'd expected.

Her black hair lashed the air behind her, skimming my hand as I grabbed her shoulder. “Xael!STOP!”

She did, shoving her hand out as momentum and the heavy gusts caught her, sending her against the wall. Instinct took over, punching my hand out to cushion the impact of her shoulder against the wall…and all of a sudden, I was back in that moment when I'd lunged through the doorway of my apartment on the mainland and caught Xael waiting for me, barely clothed and looking defiant.

But it wasn’t just defiance I saw as she spun and hit her back against the wall of the building.“WHAT?”she screamed, her eyes full of disgust and hate.

Was that for me?

Did she hate me…

Either way, I couldn’t stop the words from tearing from that savage desperation inside me.“Get to my fucking office, Xael…now.”

She froze for a second…stunned.“Why?” She lashed out, driving her fists against my shoulders. “So you can humiliate me some more?”

I grabbed her hand when she hit again, my fingers wrapping around her wrist as I shoved one hand against the wall beside her head. I wasn’t as gentle as I wanted…this wasn’t what she deserved. My phone vibrated in my pocket. Chaos was about to descend on this island…even more than the cyclonic winds could unleash. But I had to have her…I had to keep myself from unraveling.

I swallowed hard and stared into her eyes. She wasn’t scared of me, she’dnever been scared of me.Even as I stood there at that window at the gala and caught her as she helped herself to my single malt Laphroaig she didn't even flinch.

"You want to break my fucking heart all over again?” she growled, baring her teeth in a snarl.

Fuck…me….

My heartbeat was deafening in my ears. The phone was dancing against my thigh for the third fucking time. Everything was falling apart,everything but her.“Office…now.” I forced the words through clenched teeth as my phonebeeped again. “I’ll be there in five minutes. You don’t want to know what will happen to you if you’re not there when I get there, Xael.”

Then I shoved away from the building, turned, and walked away.

23

Xael

Get to his office?

I sucked in the rain filled air and tried to remember how to breathe as Mateo walked away, shoving his hand into his pocket and pulling out his phone.

Get…to his office?

Why, so he could berate me about Damien? He'd seen…he'd seen something, that I knew. He'd seen the moment Damien saw me…a man like Mateo missed nothing. But it wasn’t rage I'd felt from him just now. It was something else.

Something darker.

Something far more dangerous.

“X…you okay?” Rhys glanced over his shoulder as Mateo disappeared into the night. “Did he…did he hurt you?”

I just shook my head and met his gaze.Physically? He only meant physically…because the man who'd just walked away from me had caused maximum damage to my heart, the kind no one else saw. “No,” I answered. “No, he didn’t.”

“What the fuck did he want?” he pushed.

Boom…

Boom…