Page 86 of Tricked By Jack

“Damnit!” I roar, slamming my fist into the table hard enough for the plates and cutlery to rattle. “I don’t fucking care about your abilities. Don’t you fucking get that I don’t want anything to happen to you?”

“Why?” she shoots back, darting out of her chair. “Because you’re the only one allowed to hurt me?”

What in theever-loving fuck has gotten into her? It’s like she’s dragging us backward, splintering every inch of progress until it fractures to dust beneath our feet.

“Say that again,” I demand, my tone low and dangerous.

When she presses her lips together, I’ve had it. With two large strides, I round the table and close the distance between us. I wrap her hair around my hand and twist so she’s forced to look up at me.

“Why are you doing this?”

“I’m not doing anything,” she insists.

I force myself to take several deep breaths, doing my best to calm down. “Don’t you get it?” My voice cracks raw, hoarse with restraint. “I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you, Eve.”

“Why?”

“Do you understand me, Eve? If anyone after me, or Nick, gets their hands on you, it won’t be quick. They’ll stretch it out, tear you apart piece by piece. And I’ll burn this fucking city to ash before I watch that happen.”

“Why?”

I snarl under my breath, beyond annoyed at the way she keeps repeating the same question. But as vulnerability sneaks into her expression, I finally fucking get it. Letting go of her hair, I wrap my arms around her.

“Because you’re mine, Eve. You’re my fucking wife, and…”

“And?”

“… I fucking love you. And that means if anyone touches you, I’ll silence them so completely the world will forget they ever breathed.”

A strangled sound escapes her as she throws her arms around my neck, dragging me down until her mouth collides with mine. The kiss is hard and bruising, all teeth and fury. She bites like she wants to wound me, like her mouth is the only weapon she has left.

I growl into it, my hand twisting harder in her hair until she whimpers against my lips. It isn’t soft. It isn’t tender. It’s a punishing affection, a collision of rage and possession so sharp it leaves both of us breathless.

When she finally drags back for air, her gray eyesburn, wild and wet. “I hate you,” she whispers, but her voice trembles like it can’t decide between curse and confession.

I bare my teeth, still fisting her hair. “No, you don’t.”

“No, I don’t,” she agrees so softly I almost miss it.

“You love me back,” I rasp, low and certain, like it’s a verdict.

Her chest heaves against mine. She doesn’t deny it. She can’t. The silence between us is a vow, thick as blood, heavier than any admission she could give. Using my hand, I force her chin higher so she can’t look anywhere but at me.

The corner of her lip trembles, still swollen from the kiss, still painted with the taste of me. I could devour her all over again, sink my teeth into her until she remembers nothing but who owns her.

“You’re coming with me,” I say, voice flat, unarguable. It isn’t an offer anymore.

It never was. Her lips part like she wants to argue, but then she closes them again, biting down on the sound. Smart. She knows I’ll win. She knows I’ll drag her into the fire whether she consents or not, because I’ve already decided she’s mine. Forever.

Her fingers flex against my chest, restless, and finally she exhales, sharp and shaky. “Then I need to change,” she mutters.

My brow arches. “Change?”

“If I walk into that place in your shirt or anything Carolina brought from my place, I’ll look like a fucking target.” She tilts her chin, defiance sparking again. “Take me to my apartment. I have some clothes there I can wear.”

While she rushes to get ready, I text Ned to meet us at her place with weapons and the spare key. The things Eve left behind at the Sanctuary after getting into her wedding dress are all with Shelby, and I haven’t bothered to get them back yet.

Once Eve’s ready, we leave and head straight to her place. Luckily, there isn’t much traffic, so it takes no time until I pull into one of the parking spots in front of her complex.