Scott takes two menacing paces forward and Gunnar hastily moves a half-step to the left, shocked, I’m sure, by the possibility of Scott lowering himself to physical violence.
“Wait!” I say urgently. “Before you throw him out, I need him to understand.” Scott turns to me, the question in his eyes barely recognizable beneath the fury.
“I need him to understand that he and I are over. That this isn’t some kind of ploy to string him along.” I look to Gunnar now. “I never needed those things from you. I took them because they were all you offered.”
“Don’t be –”
“Gunnar! Stop. You need to listen to me. Really listen. I don’t want to see you ever again. I want you to hand over the keys and I want you to leave – for good. Please, don’t call me. Please, don’t show up here. Please, don’t drop by my work.”
“No, I –”
“This isn’t a negotiation, asshole. She wants you gone from her life. Full stop. And so do I.”
Gunnar’s expression holds something akin to incomprehension, underpinned possibly with . . . pleading, something I’ve never seen from him. And I feel nothing for him. It might be a terrible thing to think, but it’s the truth. “Please go.”
“Is that what you really want?” he asks like he can’t quite believe I’m not choosing him.
“Yes, it’s what I want.”
Gunnar’s eyes travel from me to Scott and back again before he reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out two keys on a simple ring. Giving Scott a wide berth, he makes his way around the coffee table to place the keys on the kitchen island. “You know where to find me if you change your mind.”
“I won’t,” I tell him dully before he takes his leave.
The sound of the door closing rouses Scott into action as he follows Gunnar’s path and twists the deadbolt angrily, swearing under his breath. I drift forward and sink down onto the edge of the couch, wrapping my arms around myself.
“You okay?” he asks, passing me by to go into the bathroom and then the bedroom. When I hear him open my closet, I realize he’s checking for more intruders. I don’t call him out on the absurdity of his actions because I have to admit that finding someone inside my home like this has left me shaken. Scott reappears and throws back the curtains covering the patio door and proceeds to check the lock he installed all those weeks ago. When he’s satisfied, he doesn’t come to sit with me. He paces on the other side of the coffee table.
“That asshole has some nerve,” he says bitterly. “I can’t believe he had the balls to come in here like that.” He doesn’t give me a chance to say anything. “Has he done that before?”
“N–”
“Why, exactly, did he still have a key?”
There’s an accusation in that question and I don’t appreciate it.
“Or better yet, why didn’t you tell me he still had a key?”
“Are you finished?” My tone gets his attention but doesn’t soften his attitude.
“Fuck no, I’m not finished.” He grips his hair with one hand as he continues to pace. “Your goddamn ex-boyfriend was hiding out in your apartment in the dark. I mean, what the fuck?”
Okay, I get it. Scott’s pissed. But I’m rattled and he isn’t helping the situation. My arms tighten around my middle in an attempt to stop the slight tremors that have started up.
“What if I hadn’t been with you?” Scott challenges, pausing mid-step to give me a glare. Apparently he needs an answer to this one.
“Nothing would have happened,” I say truthfully. “He’s not violent.”
“Are you kidding me right now?”
Sucking in a deep breath to fortify myself, I get to my feet to stand in front of him. “I know you’re upset,” I say softly. “So am I. Look.” I hold out a shaky hand and he immediately takes it and pulls it to his lips.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” he says, placing the hand over his heart and then encircling me with his arms. “I’m the one being the asshole now.” He buries his nose in my neck and I hear him swallow hard. “I just . . .”
Lifting my arms from between us, I pull him closer, scratching my nails gently along the short hair at the back of his neck. “I know,” I soothe. “Let’s forget about it, okay?”
He pulls back to glower at me, and I can’t stop a tired grin from pulling at my lips. Even if his protectiveness is a bit over the top, it’s still welcome. No one’s ever cared about my well-being like he does.
“Jesus, woman. Don’t tell me to forget about it. You have no idea how tempted I am to follow him out and beat his ass.”
That gives me pause. “But you won’t, right?”
With a heavy exhale laced with disgust, he shakes his head.
“Because,” I go on, “I need you here, with me. Not out wasting your time on a man like that.” His frame still feels stiff in my arms, and I can see that he’s going to need some persuasion to move past this. Pushing up on my toes, I kiss the side of his mouth. “Didn’t we have other plans?”
His little grunt of agreement couldn’t be more grudging, but his expression softens slightly. I kiss the underside of his jaw, loving the scratchy feel of his five o’clock shadow as I trail my lips down his neck, sucking gently as I go. The shiver that travels through his body has me smiling against his collar bone.
Nuzzling at my ear, he says, “You distracting me, Opal?”
“Yes. Is it working?”
Without warning, his hands slide lower and pull me up by my thighs, forcing me to wrap my legs around his waist as I suck in a surprised breath. He carries me into the bedroom and then after a moment of hesitation, he places me on my feet. Gently, he disentangles my arms from around his neck so he can start with the pacing again. “No, it’s not working.”
I pull my T-shirt over my head, and reach back for the clasp on my bra. His steps slow to watch as I pull it off and reach for the button of my jeans. I smile at the exasperated sigh he lets loose when my jeans and panties come off in one fell swoop. Coming to a standstill, he takes me in from head to toe before stepping up to me. One of his big hands wraps gently around my throat and the other skims down over a hardening nipple.
The hand around my throat tightens. “You’re mine,” he states, sparking an unexpected thrill. “I don’t give a fuck what that asshole can buy you or where he can take you, you’re mine.”
Given the chance, I would have responded by spilling every ounce of the devotion I have in my heart for him. But he takes my lips in a rough and insistent kiss instead, as if he’s daring me to argue with the claim he’s staking. My knees become unsteady when his tongue slides against mine, every stroke pulling me more firmly under his spell.
I’m expecting him to move things along but he just continues to consume my mouth, gradually setting every inch of me on fire. When his hands finally start to wander, I melt further as his thumb finds my nipple, softly pressing it against his forefinger before trailing away. He shuffles closer, maneuvering one of his jean-clad thighs between my own and reaching around to grip my ass with both hands. The pressure he brings to bear on my clit sends pleasure rippling through me. With a deep groan, I start bucking against his thigh, chasing the highest of highs.