Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
It was because I felt like the walls were closing in on me again.
For a week now, I’d successfully avoided Blaze. When he came to check on me, I made sure I would be asleep, which wasn’t hard to do. Depression let me sleep all the time. I was always tired and mentally exhausted.
But I needed out.
I needed air away from everyone smothering me.
I knew they were just trying to look out for me. I knew they were worried about me. But it was all just too damn much to be dealing with.
“I’m fine,” I muttered.
“Call me if you need me,” he told me.
I just nodded. I waited until I heard his car drive off up the road before I slipped out of bed and got dressed in something comfortable to go jogging in. I knew I shouldn’t be doing this, not after what happened the last time, but it was the only way I could clear my head.
I started out around our neighborhood, and then I ventured out, making sure to avoid Blaze’s neighborhood like the plague. I still wasn’t ready to run into him again, not after the way I’d broken down in his arms. I’d been a fucking mess that day. I never wanted anyone to see me like that, especially not someone like Blaze who was so well put together.
“Found you.”
A hand clamped over my mouth, and an arm came across my chest, yanking me back against a firm, hard body. Fear clouded my senses. I thrashed and bit my attacker’s hand. A husky laugh met my ears. The hand didn’t even budge though I could taste my attacker’s copper blood on my tongue.
“It’s just me.”
I blinked, halting my movements.
It was just Blaze.
He turned me around to face him, his eyes narrowed down at me. “What the hell are you doing out here by yourself again?” he demanded.
“Needed air,” I snapped.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Ever heard of just sitting the fuck outside your house?”
I shook my head. “I needed space. The walls, the house—it all feels too closed in.”
He gripped my arm and towed me around the front of his truck before yanking open the passenger door. “Get in,” he ordered.
With a heavy sigh, I climbed into his truck and plopped my ass into the seat, crossing my arms over my chest like a petulant child. Blaze snorted and shut the door before walking back around the truck and climbing into the driver’s seat.
“Buckle up.”
“No,” I growled.
He cast me a scathing look. “You want me to treat you like a fucking child, Montana?”
I glared right back at him. “Already are,” I seethed. “If I want to go jogging and potentially crack my head open on the cement, then I should fucking be allowed to do that.”
He wrapped his hand around my throat and shoved me back against the door. I swallowed thickly, my heart racing in my chest. “Cut the attitude, sweetheart. And no, you aren’t allowed to do that. I want you alive.”
My gaze glittered with malice. “Shouldn’t I get a say in whether I live or die?”
“Not when I’ve got an interest in you, no.”
He released me and then reached across me, grabbing my seatbelt. I huffed and stared out the windshield, refusing to look at him anymore. “Montana,” he called, his voice chillingly soft. I kept my gaze on the windshield. “Sweetheart, if you don’t look at me, I’m going to bend you over my fucking knee at my office and spank your pretty ass red. Look at me.”
I snapped my head around to face him, my lips parting at his threat. My pussy clenched. My heart hammered in my chest.
“You’d do that?” I found myself blurting.
He didn’t even smirk. “Sweet girl, you’ll find I’ll do a lot of fucking things if it means bringing your ass to heel.”
I gritted my teeth, my needy mood now gone. “I’m not a fucking dog.”
He shrugged and started his truck. “Then start behaving like a woman, Montana.”
I screeched and slammed my hands on my thighs, beyond agitated with him. “I hate you,” I snarled.
This time, he did smirk. “Remember that fine line, sweetheart.”
* * *
When we got to the building that Blaze worked in, I felt like I was under immediate scrutiny by his employees. They were all impeccably dressed, whereas I was just in a t-shirt, a pair of leggings, and running shoes. My hair was in a messy ponytail, and I knew my face looked as tired and worn down as I felt.
I didn’t fit in here.
“I hate it here,” I whispered to Blaze as we waited on the elevator. “Why couldn’t you just have taken me back home?”
“Because your brother thinks you can’t be trusted to just sit your ass at home,” he retorted.
Had my fucking brother called him?
I yanked my phone out of the pocket of my leggings and quickly dialed my brother’s number. “Yes?” he drawled when he answered. I could hear an impact drill running in the background.