Page 36 of Violent Little Thing

Second Time For Everything

DELILAH

“ A donis, you just shot somebody!” I hiss, my hands striking his back in hits that don’t faze him as he walks us to an unknown destination.

“Don’t worry, he won’t die. Unless you want him to.”

With one hand holding my glasses in place, I use the other to catch my clutch before it falls to the ground behind him and wheeze out another breath.

The world sways as I go from over his shoulder to upright again, and the queasy feeling in my gut gets tamped down when I see my surroundings.

We’re in a room that could be a carbon copy of the one we just left. My heart knocks in violent beats in my chest, an unfamiliar and unwelcome hurt spreading through my upper body.

Adonis corners me, using his towering height and muscular frame to cage me against the wall.

I’m dizzy .

More lightheaded than I’ve felt in a long, long time. But I don’t tell him that. I don’t want to tell him anything.

“What the fuck were you thinking, Delilah?”

“I was thinking that you’re getting married.” My throat burns as the words slip out and I hate that ball of emotion sitting in my throat.

“Why would you bring me here, knowing people would laugh at me?”

Shame singes my skin until it feels like a million fire ants are crawling over me. And I don’t want to look him in the eye. Don’t want to see him sifting through what’s in his mind to come up with a lie when he could have just told me the truth.

“Nobody’s laughing at you, Delilah.” His angry voice gentles as he steps in closer. “And if they did, tell me who it was so I can shoot them.”

“Get away from me, you’re a liar.”

My mind is stuck on the interaction with that beautiful woman in the bathroom before it skips to the moment he shot Percy in the fucking leg.

What is this night and why does it feel like a nightmare I can’t wake up from?

The last time I was here was fucked up, but at least I hadn’t walked in with a man who was about to get married.

More pain stabs at my insides, and it takes everything in me not to double over.

“Delilah, what’s wrong?”

I can’t breathe and there’s three of him right now even though I have on my glasses, that’s what’s wrong.

And he’s still the last person I want to tell, the last person I want to see. So, I seal my lips and wait for my world to stop spinning.

“I want to go home, Adonis. ”

Without any elaboration, he knows what I mean and shuts it down faster than I can catch my breath. I want to go back to my studio with Indigo. Away from him. Away from this.

“No.”

There’s too much of him in my space. In my nose. In my veins. I need him to back up, but he won’t listen to me. He just stares at me like he doesn’t understand why I’m upset and that tips me over the edge.

Unzipping my clutch, I pull out the weapon I slipped from Percy’s possession and wait for him to back down.

But he doesn’t back down. He doesn’t do anything but stare me down while I use my shaking hand to aim the gun right at him.

“Why did you bring me here?”

“Because I wanted you with me.”

“Why?” The tremors in my hand get worse and the only way I can suppress them is by gripping the gun harder. “Was it so you could embarrass me? To show your friends how easy it was to get Weston’s little sister to believe whatever you said?”

He only responds to one part of my question. “These people aren’t my friends, Delilah. I don’t give a fuck what they think.”

Lips trembling, I stare at him until the tears in my eyes erase him from my sight.

“Where did you get the gun?”

“Percy.”

“Why were you talking to him?”

“He told me about the auction. He was going to clear my brother’s debt with his bid, but you stole me before he could,” I get out, using the back of my other hand to swipe my tears .

“Is that why you stole the gun? To shoot me?”

“Yes,” I sniff.

“Does he know you took it?” I loathe how calm his voice is. He’s talking to me like I’m a caged animal about to pounce. It’s equal parts patronizing and dehumanizing. But of course, Adonis knows that. He knows a lot and didn’t tell me.

Angry tears betray me, and Adonis’ eyes bore into me.

“Stop looking at me. I don’t want to see you right now.”

“Give me the gun, Delilah.”

It’s my turn to tell him no.

“No. Leave me alone, Adonis.”

He’s not backing up.

He’s not doing anything but getting closer to me and I hate it.

I hate him.

For lying to me.

For making me look as naive as I am.

I hate him.

I hate him.

I hate him.

“What else did Percy tell you, Delilah?”

“That he would pay me double if I agreed to be with him.”

“And what did you say?”

“Yes.” My answer comes without any hesitation.

Those eyes darken to a shade I’ve never seen before and the disgust on his face confuses me.

“What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy. The faster I get your money, the quicker I’m out of your way. If I clear my brother’s debt, you have no reason to keep me.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Yes, I do.” I tip my chin, wobbling and all. “I don’t know if you heard but people are willing to pay a pretty penny for this pu?—”

My other words die a suffocating death when Adonis shoves his hand over my mouth.

“Shut up, Delilah. Shut the fuck up.”

The intensity of my rage catches me off guard, but not so much I miss my chance to finally pull the trigger.

Adonis is only an arm’s length away from me and his eyes narrow at the realization.

My finger tugs the trigger toward me.

And nothing.

Nothing happens.

Adonis is still standing. I’m still shaking. And this night is still getting worse.

While I mentally run through what just happened—or didn’t happen—Adonis uses my distraction to his advantage and pries the weapon from my hand, taking it apart right before my eyes.

He holds up a long, black rectangle.

“This magazine is empty, menace. Percy is a fucking fraud. Everything he does is for the appearance of looking like he’s harder than he is. You could probably beat that man with your bare hands.” He scoffs, then he drops the dismantled gun at our feet and pulls out his beloved Beretta.

Between one rasping breath and the next, the cold metal is under my chin, holding my head up to force eye contact between us.

“That’s the second time you tried to kill me, Delilah.”

He walks the Beretta over my collarbone and stops when the head is resting at the hollow of my throat.

“I’m starting to get offended. ”

“Then we’re even because I get offended every time I look at you, Adonis.”

He bares his teeth in something I refuse to call a smile and drags the gun over my other collarbone.

Fear doesn’t swell in my veins like I expect. Instead, a rush of adrenaline and a new sensation overtakes me. It’s the closest to normal I’ve felt all night and that’s fucked up. This is all so fucked up.

“That’s not true, menace. Is it?”

The metal coasts over the small swell of my cleavage and I suck in a breath when he lets it linger around my heartbeat.

I’ve never seen Adonis like this. I’ve never seen myself like this. We’re both so keyed up and dialed in to this exchange, the apocalypse could be happening outside those doors and all I’d care about is what he parts his lips to say.

“Use that smart ass mouth of yours and answer me, menace.” He lifts the gun, inspecting the hammer before it grazes beneath my chin once more. “Come on, Delilah. Tell me why you’re upset. You have my undivided attention.”

I don’t know when I started sweating, but I have to push my glasses back up over the slick bridge of my nose before swallowing hard.

Am I in a trance? I have to be. This must be what it feels like because Adonis uses his free hand to push my hair away from my face and I almost melt into the floor.

This man has me at gunpoint, but there’s an earnestness in his stare that makes my words flow from me like water.

“I don’t like finding out people know something I don’t when it involves me.

I hate that feeling. And it’s happened all my life.

People don’t tell me anything, fucked up shit just happens.

I’m the punchline to jokes I don’t even know about and I’m sick of it.

I’m so fucking tired, Adonis. I just want somebody to be on my side for once. Why isn’t anybody ever on my side?”

“You think I’m not on your side?”

My eyes won’t focus on him, and I don’t make them. I stare at the rose on his lapel. It’s barely hanging on after tonight’s foolishness.

“I just wish you’d told me the truth,” I tell the rose.

“You want the truth, Delilah?”

I nod. It’s all I want.

Adonis licks his lips, tucking his gun at his waist. He lifts his arms above my head, caging me in.

He’s so close I can feel the vibration of his voice when he confesses, “I shot your brother because he put his hands on you. I wanted to kill him, but every time I’m in the same room as you, my ability to do anything right goes out of the fucking window. ”

He shakes his head.

“I am so helplessly obsessed with you it feels like a sickness. You are my weakness, Delilah. My only one.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s true. I took you for selfish reasons. That was fucked up and I can admit that. But I never had any plans to hurt you, Delilah. Everything I’ve done since I got you has been so no one ever feels comfortable hurting you again.”

Moving away from me, he pushes his hands through his neat locs and sends them into a state of disarray.

Silence consumes me while I wait for him to keep going.

“My only goal is for you to be able to walk in any room, no matter where you are, and know that you’re untouchable. Nothing else matters to me but that. You deserve to know you’re protected, Delilah. And I’ll do anything to make sure that’s true, no matter what it is. Do you understand me?”

Still caught up in a trance-like state, I move my head up and down. “If you really felt that way, you’d let me go.”

He laughs again, a low rumble that sounds more intimidating than playful.

“No, Delilah. It’s because I feel that way that I can’t let you go. Not until I kill every man responsible for hurting you and not until you know exactly what you do to me.”

“What do I do to you?”

“This.” It’s the last thing he says before his lips slam into mine.