Page 65 of My Ghost

Her gaze flicks to the tablet lying on the table then up to my face, and wariness creeps into her eyes while the door clicks quietly shut.

I finally break the silence, my voice calm and controlled.“Is there something you want to tell me?”

Guilt flickers briefly over her face and my anger threatens to boil over.

“What are you talking about?”she asks, but the small tremor in her voice gives her away.

I don’t answer as I tap the screen of the tablet and the video feed begins to play on the big screen behind me.The footage is grainy and from far away, but clear enough to show the scene.I don’t need to watch the footage again.Instead, I look at her as she watches herself talk to Adam fucking Rourke outside The Bastion.

“You were talking to that FBI agent, Rourke,” I say, stating the obvious.“What did he want from you?”

She swallows audibly but when she looks back at me, her gaze is open and sincere.“He spoke to me and asked me to spy on you.”

The words slam into me like a fist.Not because I’m surprised but because they dared to approach her.My ghost.

“What did you tell him?”I ask through clenched jaws.

“I told him no, that I am only an employee, and I walked away.”She nervously licks her lips.“Look, Matteo, I know I haven’t given you any reason to believe me, but I’m not ly—”

“He’s fucking done,” I cut in, voice shaking from suppressed fury.

Her eyes widen.“Wh-what do you mean, ‘he’s done’?”

“That bastard won’t get near you again.”I’m up and on her in two strides and grab her waist to pull her flush against me.She stiffens and raises her hands to my chest to push back.

“You are not angry because he is investigating you?”She looks up at me with surprise all over her face.

“Of course not,” I snarl.How can I make her understand?“He’s been shadowing me for months, and he can go on until the end of days, he won’t find shit.But he’s crossed a line—he dared to contact you, he talked to you.I will burn his career to the ground and bury the ashes under so much administrative backlash that he won’t be seeing the sun again soon.”

Erin gasps.“You don’t need to make this into a big deal, he’s not a threat to me.”

Cold, sharp claws are wrapping around my heart.Is this…fear?

I snap.“Not a threat?Do you have any idea who that man is, what he wants?He’s a threat the second he breathes near you.”

She crosses her arms, annoyed.“He’s just doing his job, he asked questions.I didn’t give him anything.You’re overreacting!”

“Overreacting?”I grab her arms hard, wanting her to understand.“How can I protect you if you assume that anyone who talks to you means well?This is exactly why you need me to protect you, because you don’t see the danger until it’s too late.”

She is angry now, her eyes are blazing as she pushes back at my chest and struggles to break free.“I don’t need you to protect me!I can handle myself.In fact, I have been handling myself all my life without you watching every step I take.”

I grab her wrist before she can back away, my breath ragged.“You don’t know men like Rourke.One wrong word and he’ll tear through your life and crush you to get to me.”

“So what?Let him try, you can’t control every aspect of my life, I’m not your prisoner.”

“No, but you’re mine,” I growl as I yank her closer, my fury and fear tinging the edges of my vision in a red haze.“And I will fucking kill anyone before I let them touch what’s mine.”

Her struggle stops dead and she blinks up at me in shock, visibly horrified by the last admission.“Matteo.”Her voice is a broken whisper.Her lips part, her breath shakes, but she doesn’t push me away.“We clash and burn, we can’t go on like this or we’ll get hurt.”

My heart stops.

Little ghost, I am already beyond the fire and the ashes.I am so deep in hell I can’t claw my way back out.At this point, I’m ready to drag you down with me.

My voice comes out soft, but I can’t hide the raw undertone when I murmur, “Then burn with me.I’d rather set the world on fire, with me in it, than let you walk away.”

She is stunned speechless.Her chest is heaving as she stares at me with her entrancing violet gaze.

I lift my hand to her face to cup her jaw and slowly drag my thumb over her lower lip.Dark satisfaction coils in my gut when I hear her breath hitch and see her eyes cloud over with arousal.She wants me as much as I want her, and damn me if I’m not using this to my advantage.I know I’m a bastard, but I don’t care.