Part 14 (1/2)

”For what it's worth, my in belongs to you...”

”I'm either fighting with you or I'm f.u.c.king with you. There's no middle line, Teagan not between us...”

My throat closed up.

Every emotion and memory of him that I had spent years forcing into the darkest parts of my mind was resurfacing f.u.c.king flooding me. Noah Messina, the man who stole my heart, the man who shredded it right in front of my eyes...

”He saw me,” Hope wailed. ”Teagan, he knows you're here.”

”What?” My voice was small and frightened. I could feel my eyes bulging in my face. ”What did you say?”

Pus.h.i.+ng us both into the apartment, Hope swung around and slammed the apartment door before bolting the deadlock. With her back pressed against the wood, she let out a huge sigh of relief. ”There,” she half-slurred, half-hiccupped. ”That'll keep the big douche out.”

”A deadbolt?” Shaking my head, I clawed at my hair, as I looked around frantically. ”You really think a f.u.c.king deadbolt is going to keep him out ”

”Hope!”

I heard my roommate's name being roared out seconds before the sound of banging infiltrated my eardrums.

”Face him, Teegs,” Hope slurred. ”Just get it over and done with.”

”Like you faced Jordan?” I shot back heatedly, before rus.h.i.+ng over to help her barricade the door with my body. ”Hmm?”

”Hope, I know you're in there. Open the G.o.dd.a.m.n door, or I'll kick it in.”

Oh G.o.d, I needed to disappear.

My living-breathing nightmare had arrived on my doorstep and I needed to find the best d.a.m.n hiding spot that had ever been created in all of time.

Jesus, why couldn't I have been born with magic powers or an invisibility cloak like Harry Potter? Yeah, sure he was up against Voldermort, but I was pretty sure Voldermort didn't hold a flame to Noah Messina.

”Go away, you big a.s.s,” Hope screeched, stumbling away from the door.

”Hide,” she mouthed to me, and that's exactly what I did.

Running like a headless chicken through our own tiny apartment, I dove behind the couch just as the door of our apartment was smashed clean off its hinges.

”Is that any way to speak to your uncle?”

Pain, excitement and antic.i.p.ation flooded through me like a shot of heroin injected into the waiting vein of its faithful disciple. He had that much of an impact on me.

Steeling myself, I slowly rose to my feet. Inhaled a calming breath, I caught a quick glance of my comatose roommate pa.s.sed out next to the coffee table before locking my eyes on the cheating b.a.s.t.a.r.d in the flesh.

Standing in the doorway of my apartment, with his raven black hair all mussed up and disheveled, Noah knocked the breath clean out of my lungs. His dark brown eyes were focused entirely on my face as he ran a hand through his thick black hair.

Clad in faded denim jeans, a red and black plaid s.h.i.+rt unb.u.t.toned and hanging open to reveal a plain white wife beater, I felt my mouth dry up. Noah was here, back in my life, and just like that I was a wreck. My whole body shook at the sight of him.

Feelings I'd forced beneath the surface flooded me, burning my flesh, pus.h.i.+ng me towards him. I needed to get closer, the brown of his eyes called to me, and yet I needed to run as fast and as far away as I could. I was powerless absolutely f.u.c.king powerless just the same as I had been when I was seventeen.

Noah inclined his head in my direction before letting out a heavy sigh.

”Thorn,” he acknowledged in his deep, gravelly voice; eyes locked on mine with an intensity I felt right down to my toes. He called me by his old pet name and I felt like I had been sucker punched directly in the stomach.

My heart fluttered around recklessly as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge.

d.a.m.n him!

”How dare you,” I whispered. There were probably half a dozen more productive ways to handle this situation, but as usual, my emotions took over, clouding my common sense and I dealt with Noah the same way I always had.

I went bat s.h.i.+t crazy.

And then I attacked.

Somersaulting over the back of our couch, I launched myself at the big b.a.s.t.a.r.d in my doorway. ”How dare you come in here!”

”Hear me out,” Noah grunted after I'd delivered the first blow to his chest.

”Go to h.e.l.l,” I screamed before swinging my fists and hitting him again and again.

”I've been there, sweetheart,” he shot back. Grabbing my wrists to stop me from striking out at him, Noah turned us around. ”And it's not f.u.c.king pretty.”

I continued to struggle, kicking and flailing my arms, claws out and teeth bared in my murderous attempt at hurting the man who had ripped me to pieces so many years ago and in so many ways that I'd been unable to piece my pride or my heart back together.

”Agggghhh.” I tried to calm myself down, but it wasn't happening.

Rage, l.u.s.t, fury and excitement were thrumming in my veins.

My body was on high alert.

My brain had checked out.

I was running solely on emotion now and I locked onto his shoulder, biting down harder than I'd ever done before.

In that moment I wanted to rip the man to pieces.

If I had to do that with my teeth then so be it.

”Dammit, stop f.u.c.king biting me!”

”b.a.s.t.a.r.d,” I snarled, biting down harder.

Shaking me like a rag-doll, Noah pinned me to the wall by my shoulders, before pulling back quickly out of harm's way, I guessed.

”I see you're still as demented as ever,” Noah growled as he pressed me against the wall. ”But don't worry. I still find your psychotic tendencies a real turn-on.”

”I loved you,” I screamed. I was crying hard and ugly, and I was pretty sure my nose was dripping but, but I was out of control. I wanted vindication. I wanted revenge. I wanted a f.u.c.king explanation, dammit. ”I loved you, Noah.”

”I know,” he replied in a gruff tone, dodging my blows. ”I know, Thorn.”

Furious with myself for admitting such weakness, I lashed out at him. ”Get out of my flat,” I seethed, chest heaving. ”Leave me be!”