do.”
“Oh, yeah? And what danger is a twenty-year-old kid? Did it feel good to pick on someone seven years younger than you? You’re nothing but a bully.”
“Hey, watch it,” he warned, his nostrils flaring in anger. “I’m not a bully, and you know it.”
“Do I?” Feeling like we were getting off topic, I reiterated my need for him to leave. “You need to go. I don’t want to see you anymore. I can’t take your explosive temper. It’s gonna ruin me.” I had no idea I was even going to say such a thing until the words tumbled out, but there was no taking them back.
I thought he was going to explode again, but instead he looked completely shocked. His stunned expression told me that he really didn’t think there was anything wrong with the way he’d acted. In his mind, he was simply protecting what he thought was his.
Me.
But he was too volatile. I could somewhat handle him threatening Tripp or any of the other club members when he thought they were getting handsy, or flirting with me. They were all equals and could handle their own, to a certain degree; Stone was a trained fighter, so there was only so much fairness to an altercation if he was engaged. But to threaten a twenty-year-old was so far past the line, the line was nonexistent.
“What the fuck do you mean you don’t want to see me anymore?” he asked, his breath seizing in his throat while he waited for me to deliver the final blow. He was shocked and angry, but he was also afraid. I saw the emotion hiding behind his eyes. It disappeared before it battled to the forefront, but I’d seen it.
Calming myself even more because I didn’t want him to think I was spouting off irrationally in the heat of the moment, I inhaled some much needed oxygen and backed up a few paces. “Look,” I started, “we aren’t even a couple. Yes we had fun, but it’s time to end it. You need to find someone else who is better equipped to deal with you and your club life. I’m just not cut out for it. I’m sorry.” Every single goddamn word cut me like a knife. Picturing him with someone else almost made me take it all back right then, but I knew I was making the right decision. I just had to convince my heart of the same thing.
I locked up my emotions so tight I was surprised I was even still able to speak. One tiny crack and I would crumble.
Realizing Stone was too proud a man to beg, I knew he wouldn’t show that side of himself. If it even existed.
“Are you fuckin’ serious, Addy? Just because I confronted him?” He had no clue, and his words only drove home how much he was in denial.
“It wasn’t just that. It’s everything. We can’t ever be together for real, never mind the fact I can’t handle your temper anymore.” Averting my eyes, I declared, “This has to be good-bye. For real.”
An explosion of expletives left his mouth before he stormed out of my apartment, slamming the door so hard behind him I thought he’d splintered the wood. A few minutes later, I heard the roar of his bike, but I couldn’t bring myself to go to the window to watch him leave. It broke me to say good-bye, but deep inside, I knew Stone Crosswell wasn’t good for me.
Any part of me, especially my heart.
Stone
“You’ve been moping around here for days, Stone. What’s wrong with you?” Ryder asked, plopping down beside me on one of the couches in the common room, the beer in his hand almost empty. It didn’t take much to notice he was already on his way to feeling good.
“Fuckin’ nothing,” I grated, my nerves shot to all hell since Addy kicked me to the curb almost a week prior. I blew up her phone for five days straight, even stopping by her place. But she wouldn’t answer her cell or her door. She froze me out, and I couldn’t say I blamed her. My temper was uncontrollable sometimes, but I would never hurt her. I thought she knew that. Was she afraid of me? Of what she thought I might do if I really lost control?
The thought alone
“Oh, yeah? And what danger is a twenty-year-old kid? Did it feel good to pick on someone seven years younger than you? You’re nothing but a bully.”
“Hey, watch it,” he warned, his nostrils flaring in anger. “I’m not a bully, and you know it.”
“Do I?” Feeling like we were getting off topic, I reiterated my need for him to leave. “You need to go. I don’t want to see you anymore. I can’t take your explosive temper. It’s gonna ruin me.” I had no idea I was even going to say such a thing until the words tumbled out, but there was no taking them back.
I thought he was going to explode again, but instead he looked completely shocked. His stunned expression told me that he really didn’t think there was anything wrong with the way he’d acted. In his mind, he was simply protecting what he thought was his.
Me.
But he was too volatile. I could somewhat handle him threatening Tripp or any of the other club members when he thought they were getting handsy, or flirting with me. They were all equals and could handle their own, to a certain degree; Stone was a trained fighter, so there was only so much fairness to an altercation if he was engaged. But to threaten a twenty-year-old was so far past the line, the line was nonexistent.
“What the fuck do you mean you don’t want to see me anymore?” he asked, his breath seizing in his throat while he waited for me to deliver the final blow. He was shocked and angry, but he was also afraid. I saw the emotion hiding behind his eyes. It disappeared before it battled to the forefront, but I’d seen it.
Calming myself even more because I didn’t want him to think I was spouting off irrationally in the heat of the moment, I inhaled some much needed oxygen and backed up a few paces. “Look,” I started, “we aren’t even a couple. Yes we had fun, but it’s time to end it. You need to find someone else who is better equipped to deal with you and your club life. I’m just not cut out for it. I’m sorry.” Every single goddamn word cut me like a knife. Picturing him with someone else almost made me take it all back right then, but I knew I was making the right decision. I just had to convince my heart of the same thing.
I locked up my emotions so tight I was surprised I was even still able to speak. One tiny crack and I would crumble.
Realizing Stone was too proud a man to beg, I knew he wouldn’t show that side of himself. If it even existed.
“Are you fuckin’ serious, Addy? Just because I confronted him?” He had no clue, and his words only drove home how much he was in denial.
“It wasn’t just that. It’s everything. We can’t ever be together for real, never mind the fact I can’t handle your temper anymore.” Averting my eyes, I declared, “This has to be good-bye. For real.”
An explosion of expletives left his mouth before he stormed out of my apartment, slamming the door so hard behind him I thought he’d splintered the wood. A few minutes later, I heard the roar of his bike, but I couldn’t bring myself to go to the window to watch him leave. It broke me to say good-bye, but deep inside, I knew Stone Crosswell wasn’t good for me.
Any part of me, especially my heart.
Stone
“You’ve been moping around here for days, Stone. What’s wrong with you?” Ryder asked, plopping down beside me on one of the couches in the common room, the beer in his hand almost empty. It didn’t take much to notice he was already on his way to feeling good.
“Fuckin’ nothing,” I grated, my nerves shot to all hell since Addy kicked me to the curb almost a week prior. I blew up her phone for five days straight, even stopping by her place. But she wouldn’t answer her cell or her door. She froze me out, and I couldn’t say I blamed her. My temper was uncontrollable sometimes, but I would never hurt her. I thought she knew that. Was she afraid of me? Of what she thought I might do if I really lost control?
The thought alone
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