Page 33 of The Predator

Why is it always a fight with her?I turn back to the hall and continue walking toward the rooms I'd given her after I found her sleeping in closets and hiding from ghosts.

I guess not ghosts, since I've faced them now, too. Next time, we'll face them together, and we'll win—if I can make her understand my side of things.

For now, I'll put her here until she feels safe again, and then, when I've made her understand how good we are together, how much we need each other, I'll bring her back intoourbed. I flip on the light switch and cross the room to the fireplace, hitting the button and turning it on so it emits a soft, warm glow in the hearth.

The room has already been cleaned, the sheets turned down. It's cozier than the other room she'd been staying in; plus, my door connects to it so if she breathes a little too hard I'll be able to get to her.

She spins and stares at the bed, tugging her hand out of my grasp but gently this time. I choose to release her and hate the coldness on my skin at the absence of her touch.

"This will work for now, until you're more comfortable."

A door down the hall slams closed, rattling the fucking walls.Fucking Lee.Startled, Elyse jumps, her entire body flinching. Like she senses danger, she rushes across the room, putting the king-sized bed between us.

It’s amusing she thinks a bed will stop me from getting to her if I want.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Ely. At least, not in any way you wouldn't want me to."

Her forehead wrinkles as she studies my face, a red flush traveling up her neck and into her pale cheeks. I can only imagine the wicked thoughts popping into her head.

Leaning forward, I place one knee on the bed and inch closer. "I can see the pink blush on your cheeks, Little Prey. Have you been thinking about it? About us?"

She straightens her shoulders and looks away. "Of course I haven't. I don't... there's nothing..." She stops speaking then and keeps her gaze averted.

"Little Prey," I taunt, climbing across the bed to reach her.

Once I’m close enough, I gently stroke her cheek, and her eyes flutter closed. I don’t like how ill at ease she is with my touch now, but I don’t comment on it, either. There will be plenty of time to reacquaint her with my hands. For now, the fact that she isn’t running from me is satisfying enough.

"There is no denying you enjoyed the things I did to you in the woods and inourbed. I know you enjoyed taking from me, claiming me. None of that changes the fact that we are partners in this. We can do this."

She leans away from me, and I hate it. I hate her reaction to my proximity.

I want her to want me as badly as I want her. I want her to see me as the hero, instead of the monster she claims I am. I want her to know she can come to me no matter what, and even if I am a monster in her eyes, I’ll always behermonster.

Unable to let her slip further away, I grasp her upper arms and pull her against me, needing her closer. "Like it or not, we are together, and we’re stuck with each other. It'll be easier for both of us if you try to understand the direness of the situation, and maybe be a little more fucking agreeable."

Her eyes snap open, and I spot that old familiar fire there. The woman who shredded my clothes and my heart at the same time appears, giving me newfound hope.

"Agreeable? Are you kidding me? You've kept me locked up for a week like a captive, and now you're dragging me to your bed like a caveman. Who do you think you are?"

I can't help but grin at her—there’s my spitfire. The firecracker. Maybe Yanov didn’t snuff out all her light after all. Tipping her chin up, I stare into her pretty blue eyes. "There you are, Little Prey. I wasn’t sure if you were still in there or not? It’s nice to see you.”

“You infuriate me.” She doesn’t smile, but her lips twitch. She wants to.

“The feeling is mutual.” I smirk. “And to answer your question, you know who I am. I’m your husband. Your protector. If I want to drag you to the ends of the earth and back again then I will. Wherever you are is where I will be.”

Again she withdraws, tunneling back into herself. She walks over to the fireplace, and I have to force myself to keep my distance. “If all you want is my compliance then you have it, but this isn’t real. I don’t want to stay in this room with you. I think it would be better if I stayed with Drew and Bel for the time being.”

I try to remind myself that her rejection is okay, but my heart and head war with the idea this marriage was forced upon her, so I have to be patient. It’s hard, when I know deep down she wants me, wants us. She’s just afraid. Afraid of the future, of me, of the secrets I’m still keeping. I want to tell her the truth about that night, but I can’t risk losing her, not anymore than I already have.

Exploding on her won't help, either. I have no other choice but to sit inside my feelings. To give her the time she needs to come to terms with the situation. At least until I can’t anymore.

I shove the anger, the fear, the need to control and possess her, as far down as I can and I slip into the cold mask I wore for the months I'd spent seeing her everyday but not touching her.

She senses the change in me immediately, her eyes narrowing with suspicion as she studies me like a bug under a microscope.Keep watching, Little Prey. Keep trying to figure me out.

Like she hasn’t listened to a word I’ve been saying, she keeps pushing. “You can’t make me stay here. I promise I’ll go stay with Bel and Drew, or at the Mill, and I’ll be safe there.”

Why can’t she see how this is killing me? The tether of my patience snaps, all at once.