Page 132 of Brutal
“Have you?”
He clears his throat. “No.”
I look back at the lock. At the chain biting into metal like it’s been pulled tight too many times. “What’s behind it?” I ask.
“Something that should stay buried.”
My pulse kicks.
Not fear.
Something sharper.
“I don’t like things I’m not allowed to see,” I say.
“I know.”
“Then you know I’m going to open it.”
Something almost like a smile touches his mouth. “Not without me.”
“And with you?”
He narrows his amber eyes. “That depends on whether I decide you should.”
My skin heats. I should push back. I should fight him on it.
Instead I take a step closer. “You keep deciding things for me.”
“I decide what keeps you alive.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“It is here.”
“Then maybe I don’t want to stay alive the way you define it.”
“Careful,” he says.
“Or what?”
“You won’t like the answer.”
My heart is beating too fast. Not from fear. From arousal. “Try me.”
He moves.
Fast.
One step.
Then another.
Until there’s no space left.
My back hits the door.
The chain rattles softly behind me.
