Page 52 of Knotted their Beauty

“Hush. That shit doesn’t work on me. I’m a bigger dick than you are, Baron. Get used to it.” I examine the material around my wrists, frowning as I stare at it. “Huh. Duct tape is an interesting choice. That’s gonna hurt like a bitch coming off.”

Baron’s jaw is almost unhinged as I lift my wrists to my teeth and begin looking for a tear to pull from.

“I’m not mentally stable. You really should know who you’re dealing with before pushing them, Baron.”

“Your file doesn’t say fuck all about this,” he mumbles.

“Cute. I can tell just by looking at you that you have anger issues. I hide my crazy better than most.”

I’m not surprised he’s looking into me. I’ve never been hospitalized for my mental health before, which means there isn’t a paper trail to be found.

“My PI will flip out if he can’t find me at my hotel. I haven’t paid him yet, and that’s pretty decent motivation to track someone down,” I add.

“I didn’t think very far ahead before this. I did my version of panicking. Don’t fall off the face of the earth again and we won’t have more problems. Better yet, I’m going to Velcro you to my ass.”

“Ah, did you hit your head?” I ask. “You…don’t…like…me. Maybe if I say it enough, you’ll reboot or something.”

Baron chuckles and it’s almost scary. God, maybe I fell into a rip in the matrix. Something isn’t right with him.

“You have until I get this tape off to explain yourself and then I’ll hitchhike back to Malibu with my dog. I’m out of patience and liable to hurt your feelings when I’m in this kind of mood. Don’t bring me anywhere near Arlo or Ves.”

“You keep talking about hurting yourself and that hurts me,” he growls. “I was going to tell you you’re being a huge baby and that it takes work to gain the trust of people, but⁠—”

“What fucking trust?!” I scream, a tear escaping in my anger. Dammit. “How does that work if I’m treated like a pariah? For fuck’s sake, my own performance troupe is nicer to me than you are. I was all in from the jump, while you both pouted because you didn’t want to fucking share. Now you’re digging through crime scenes together and playing some form of happy fucked up family. I don’t want to do this anymore, Baron. I want to leave.”

Sucking in a breath that’s dangerously close to a sob, I tear off the first layer of duct tape, cursing a blue streak when I find there’s more. Hands cover mine pulling my wrists away from teeth and I snarl at Baron.

“Just…wait. You’ve been watching us while you disappeared. That tells me you haven’t stopped caring, but that you feel way too fucking much. I’m not great with people, Lenny. I get impatient and impulsive, and typically say the wrong thing. It’s why I say so little. However, I got really worried when you disappeared. I can share, it just took time for that concept to sink in.”

Baron’s thumb catches the errant liquid shit traveling down my cheek and sucks it off in a way that shouldn’t be as hot as it is. I’m both turned on and sad. What a combination.

“I’ll get someone to get your van and pack up your shit in the hotel room. However, you’re not going back there. I think you need a healthy dose of an adorable six year old and hours of Bluey to make you feel better.”

“Are you trying to torture me?” I ask, aghast. “I told you not to bring me near them. I don’t trust myself, Baron.”

“Yeah, well, I do,” he says, pulling out a bottle and showing me the label. It’s acetaminophen.

“I don’t need it.” I’m being stubborn. The pain in my head is a low throb by this point. I’ll survive.

“It’s almost as if we’ve been body snatched, but you’re a lot more foul than I am right now. Take the fucking pills, Lenny.”

“It’s Lennox.”

Baron shakes out two pills and I roll my eyes. I open my mouth to allow him to drop them in, maintaining eye contact as I swallow the pills dry.

“That should not be as hot as it looked,” he mutters.

Pinching my chin, he slams his lips against mine, his teeth scraping and nipping until I open my mouth. Our kiss deepens as our tongues go to war with each other, and it may be the single hottest thing I’ve ever experienced.

Baron drags his nose along mine as he breathes in my scent, his gaze intense.

“Drink your goddamned water.”

Squishing my lips together, he shoves the top of a refillable water bottle into the opening and squirts it in. I half inhale it as he forces me to swallow, and he continues to push the liquid into my mouth until he’s satisfied.

“For the record, drowning would suck,” he grunts, crawling back into the driver seat before he mumbles to himself, “I should know.”

“I wasn’t gonna do it,” I cough out.