Page 33 of Perfect Liar

“How could my life get any worse?” I asked.

I pressed against him and stroked the back of his neck.

“Do you want me, Will?”

His body responded, his eyes burned, his arousal strained between us. He lowered his head. His mouth was near mine.

“You deserve better than what I am.”

His slight whisper, the rumbling of his throat, it made me ache. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted his hands on me. I wanted to touch his face.

But I did nothing.

He’d taken something from me, and I planned to take it back. My decisions were mine. No one, not even Will would take that away from me. I had already lost too much.

I reprimanded him softly, with my lips so close to his.

“Here’s the thing, Will. I decide the level of emotional risk I’m willing to take. You manage the physical risk, and I’ve accepted that. But everything else is still mine.”

With my hands on his chest, I launched myself away and started walking.

“I decide what I deserve,” I shouted.

“That’s far enough, goddamn it,” he shouted back.

An overwhelming urge to run from him rushed through me. I wanted to get away from him. I wanted to get away from the responsibility of caring for Lissie. Get away from my losses.

So I ran. I raced along the beach.

For just one minute, I wanted to not care that someone wanted to kill me.

I never looked back at Will. I just ran.

But only seconds had passed when he grabbed me from behind and lifted me mid-stride.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Let me go, Will, damn you!”

I twisted to get out of his grip, but he held on too tightly.

“Say you won’t run off again.”

“Go to hell!”

Without any warning, this man tossed me over his shoulder and carried me back to the beach house. He crossed his arm over my thighs to restrain my legs and then gathered my wrists, holding them in one hand behind his neck.

“Christ, Elle, you have a fucking temper.”

I called him names and demanded he let me go, but he just ignored my insults. When he reached to open the kitchen door, I pounded on his back and called him a big bastard again.

He put me down with a furious jolt, pinning my wrists against his chest.

“You will stop this tantrum, or I will smack your arse.”

I pushed him further.

“Fuck you, Will.”