Love and Decay, Kane's Law Read Online Free

would no doubt push my efforts to get
her to trust me back… way back.
    Finally, I convinced my bewitched body to
separate from hers. I snagged her small backpack as I stepped away,
pulling it easily from her shoulders. I let my fingers trail down
her spine, linger on her lower back and imagine what waited for me
beneath her thin t-shirt. Smooth, hot skin… a body that would mold
to mine, fill my hands and erase the pain and regret from the last
two years… a body that would take me to a different plane of
existence, rescue me from my grim reality and bring me
salvation…
    “Touch me again and I will murder you,” she
promised.
    And she was absolutely serious.
    Probably, best I listen. Trust, after all,
was my end game.
    Still, I couldn’t stop the amused chuckle
that rumbled in my chest. How long had it been since I laughed at
something, since I found something actually funny?
    Too long.
    Her muscles tensed again, but it was
different this time. She had been rigid in my arms while my fingers
grazed her skin, but that had been fear that stiffened her body.
This new tension was born from the urge to punch something. She
didn’t cower in fear of me, she wanted to fight me.
    I tucked my gun into the waistband of my
pants and tossed the heavy pack to Creed while Austen finished
detaining Vaughan. I grinned at her back, keeping my amusement
silent so I didn’t incite her wrath again. Little
firecracker. I couldn’t exactly take her warning seriously
though, so I reached for her dangling hands and drew them carefully
behind her back. I bent them into the right angles while she worked
with me compliantly. As soon as the cuffs were clicked into place
she began pulling on them, as if she didn’t believe I would really
confine her. She would rub her wrists raw if she kept that up.
    “Walk,” I told her simply.
    She didn’t move and either did her friend. I
put my hands on her shoulders, enjoying the way my long fingers and
wide palms concealed her delicate shoulders. I let the heat of me
sink into her skin and remind her of my strength and control. I
gave her the lightest push, encouraging her to walk and warned,
“Walk or I’ll carry you.”
    She immediately started moving. Her friend
was next to her in a moment. He kept wary eyes on me, watching as
though I would throw her down on the forest floor and rape her at
any given moment. The asshole saw way too much.
    Even though I would never rape a woman, never
take from her body if she were reluctant or refusing, I did own her
in a physical way now. But I wouldn’t steal from her. I would wait
for her to give me what I wanted; I would be patient until it was
what we both wanted. I would protect her until then, take care of
her, earn her grace and her desire. I didn’t like his judgment or
his unnecessary concern. Rape, sexual assault, whatever a man stole
from an unwilling woman was disgustingly cowardly. I was neither a
coward nor completely immoral. I was the good guy here.
    Reagan and her friend walked close together
in front of me. Their handcuffs made them bump and brush against
each other with every step. Jealousy burned through me so strong
and consuming I thought I would choke on it. I gave Creed a silent
command which he followed immediately. He tripped Vaughan without
any hesitation, sending the prisoner crashing to the rough ground.
He tried to keep his face out of the muddy earth, but with hands
tied behind his back, there was little he could do to protect
himself from the fall.
    Reagan stopped instantly to wait for him. She
hunched over and bent her knees at first, trying to figure out a
way to help him, no doubt. Her concern for him grated against every
nerve ending my body.
    Unable to stop myself, I pressed my hand on
the center of her back and demanded, “Keep moving.”
    She listened. She started walking again while
Vaughan struggled to his knees. We plodded our way through the
forest, toward home. Slowly at first, with her ear turned towards
Vaughan.