Chapter 48
He stared at her, the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach hurting more than the bullet wound ever had. "I want you to find someone else." Her words hit him like a brick wall and immediately his hands had returned to his sides.
"No," he said flatly.
"Jack," she sounded as though she had truly believed he would consider it an option. That he would forget her once back in America and find himself another woman. And now she was standing in front of him, telling him she loved him and allowing her body to agree with her words when all she was thinking about was that when they returned, he would go and sleep with someone else.
She thought it was that easy. She thought, that if that happened, she could feel betrayed and that would be better? Jack wondered just how he had missed such a major and crucial belief. How dare she, how could she ever believe that he could? He stared at her harder, as though eventually his eyes would see through her and everything she'd just said would never have happened.
But she was still there, and the pleading look on her face wasn't going anywhere either. Jack felt the familiar adrenaline rush through his body as he recognized the sharp point of anger thrust itself into him. How could she be so selfish as to try to escape all this?
Apparently she hadn't noticed the anger in Jack, her eyes were borderline on teary and her hands moved slowly up to cup his face, the pleading on her face palpable. "Jack..." his name again, her shaky voice running havoc with his mind.
He recoiled though, disgusted with her easy ability to sleep with a man and then move on because it was obvious that she expected him to be able to do it. "Don't you dare," he spat back, his hand raising between them, fingers outstretched in a symbolic gesture as he tried to create distance.
Her face morphed, first to confusion, and then to bewilderment. The slight difference between the two creating the anger that would fuel her fight. Still she wasn't quite sure what she was up against: "Don't I dare what?"
"Try to justify this." He stared at her, his eyes like daggers as the disgust on his face sliced deep. "I don't care if it doesn't mean anything, but don't you dare try to justify this. Not to me."
She cocked her head to the side, "Jack, you do not want to argue with me," it was a warning and blatantly so but Jack ignored it, stepping closed, doing his best to loom over her. She tilted her head back to stare at him as he moved forward, his face above hers. "Jack..." his last warning.
"You've ruined my life, completely, I can never, ever, live life properly again. Not like I could before I met you. And yet, I still manage to love you. Yet you have the audacity to tell me to go and f somebody else. How can you even think -" He was cut off as her hand made sharp, fast contact with his cheek. He heard his neck crack as his head shot to the side, the hit far more powerful than he could have imagined.
He tasted blood in his mouth and spat it on the ground. He looked up to see the mixture of venom and shock on Irina's face as he pushed her roughly against the wall, his hands holding her there as they grasped her upper arms. "b."
"You asked for it." She retorted quickly. "How dare I??" she stressed the last word, leaning towards him while still pinned to the wall. "I only wanted to see you happy," she spat, "But obviously, you're not half the man I thought you were. How dare you!"
He glared at her, his face inches from hers, as his fingers squeezed tighter, the throb of his arm ignored, "I've done nothing except act the fool you needed me to be."
The rage that flickered in her eyes scared him, but not enough to make him back down. "I don't know your endgame, and, for the last few days, I didn't think you had one. But this...you've made it obvious you feel so little for me, you don't care what I do."
She struggled against him, trying to get away by wriggling free of his vice- like grip. "Let me go," she forced out from between her teeth, her hands coming up to grasp his arms, trying to pull his hands away from her shoulders.
"Over my dead body," he spat back, noting her fingernails almost ripping into his skin where she was working harder and harder at yanking her arms away.
The glare she threw at him was deadly and, as her nails began to slice into him, drawing blood, he was faced with two choices; either retaliate or give in. Choosing the former, he let go on her shoulders and, in the blink of an eye, giving her no time to react, had her wrists pinned above her head, his hands rough and uncaring against them as he moved closer in the hope she'd have less space to maneuver. "Stop trying to run."
Instantly, she stopped moving, her eyes grabbing his in a startled stare and her body going rigid against his. "You think I'm going to run?" she asked, voice harsh and with a blatantly livid edge to it.
"Why the hell else would you be trying to escape?" he threw back, his body still holding her against the wall, aware that she was doing her best to keep every inch of herself away from him.
"You bastard," she answered, and for a second he wondered if that was the answer. "You think, after everything we just went through, I'd still try to run?" Through the outraged cloud of passion inhabiting her mind, she saw his brow furrow and would have hit him again, had her hands been accessible. "What did you think? That I was lying, this whole time?"
Mistakenly, she took the sudden eye contact and comprehension that crossed his features as a yes and her anger doubled. Her words, coming out hard and unyielding, uncompromising and emotionless except for the passion that Jack knew lay just beneath the surface. "You were lying, weren't you? And I believed you, you didn't trust me, but you needed me to trust you so you tricked me and now that we're going back it doesn't matter if I know or not. It doesn't matter that I know that you used me because you don't give a s and never will."
She paused to take a breath, hell-bent on continuing with her tirade, and would have, had she not been cut off by Jack's mouth as he lunged towards her, closing the few centimeters between them with crushing force and not waiting for her to respond but instead prying her lips apart with his own and swiftly allowing a hand to leave her wrists. His remaining hand, with all fingers splayed apart, still holding her place; while the other moved down to angle her head against his granting his tongue the greatest possible access.
Irina had little time to react and her first instinct was to ignore the fact that seconds ago she had wanted to kill him and instead, just let him take as much of her as he wanted. This was the only thing that stopped her from wrenching her hands free, now that she was able, and knocking him unconscious. Of course, her second instinct, which was to do exactly that, entered her mind a second later.
Jack knew he'd taken too long to back off the moment he felt her move. Only thirty seconds ago, he'd known he was going to have to kiss her. The passion and sudden realization that they were arguing over very little forced him to kiss her, it was...she was...unavoidable. But, with only a hand keeping her fists at bay and most of his body close enough to sustain serious damage, he had warned himself that if he wasn't a good ten feet away from her when she realized he'd kissed her, he was going to sustain that very serious damage.
And now, the feeling of her teeth running over his tongue brought him hurtling back to reality and, as he moved back, pain-stakingly slowly, both hands now on her wrists again, he hoped to God she wasn't thinking about biting his tongue off for his misbehavior. Though he may have deserved it, he realized. Withdrawing to a point where he was no longer in danger of being a mute for the rest of his life, he stopped.
She had to wonder, his lips only inches from hers, his hot breath still on her face, what was going on inside his head. She noted with some anger that her wrists were once again pinned above her and asked, not surprised that her voice came out low and raspy, "Are you going to let me go?"
His answer was quick and simple, his voice hoarse like hers but playful as well, "Never." Her eyes narrowed at his reply but his lips were pursed and he had obviously decided not to speak.
"I'd advise you to let me go," she told him with force behind her words and her hands becoming fists.
He shook his head slightly, "No." The eye contact was beginning to get to her and she angled her chin up in a show of defiance.
For a split second she felt a soft pair lips, hot and wet, on the side of her neck, teeth scrapping over the tender skin as she recognized the mistake she'd made in raising her chin. Recovering from the shock quicker this time she quickly snapped her head back down, expecting her chin to make contact with Jack's cheek and, quite possibly, break it.
Instead, she made contact with nothing but thin air. She narrowed her eyes and glared at the triumphant smile before her. "Don't do that again," she warned him.
He ignored her and asked, his voice heavy with passion that he was doing his best to hold back, "What exactly are we arguing about?"
Reviews if you may, i do love them dearly and I'll need something to get me out of bed tomorrow.
He stared at her, the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach hurting more than the bullet wound ever had. "I want you to find someone else." Her words hit him like a brick wall and immediately his hands had returned to his sides.
"No," he said flatly.
"Jack," she sounded as though she had truly believed he would consider it an option. That he would forget her once back in America and find himself another woman. And now she was standing in front of him, telling him she loved him and allowing her body to agree with her words when all she was thinking about was that when they returned, he would go and sleep with someone else.
She thought it was that easy. She thought, that if that happened, she could feel betrayed and that would be better? Jack wondered just how he had missed such a major and crucial belief. How dare she, how could she ever believe that he could? He stared at her harder, as though eventually his eyes would see through her and everything she'd just said would never have happened.
But she was still there, and the pleading look on her face wasn't going anywhere either. Jack felt the familiar adrenaline rush through his body as he recognized the sharp point of anger thrust itself into him. How could she be so selfish as to try to escape all this?
Apparently she hadn't noticed the anger in Jack, her eyes were borderline on teary and her hands moved slowly up to cup his face, the pleading on her face palpable. "Jack..." his name again, her shaky voice running havoc with his mind.
He recoiled though, disgusted with her easy ability to sleep with a man and then move on because it was obvious that she expected him to be able to do it. "Don't you dare," he spat back, his hand raising between them, fingers outstretched in a symbolic gesture as he tried to create distance.
Her face morphed, first to confusion, and then to bewilderment. The slight difference between the two creating the anger that would fuel her fight. Still she wasn't quite sure what she was up against: "Don't I dare what?"
"Try to justify this." He stared at her, his eyes like daggers as the disgust on his face sliced deep. "I don't care if it doesn't mean anything, but don't you dare try to justify this. Not to me."
She cocked her head to the side, "Jack, you do not want to argue with me," it was a warning and blatantly so but Jack ignored it, stepping closed, doing his best to loom over her. She tilted her head back to stare at him as he moved forward, his face above hers. "Jack..." his last warning.
"You've ruined my life, completely, I can never, ever, live life properly again. Not like I could before I met you. And yet, I still manage to love you. Yet you have the audacity to tell me to go and f somebody else. How can you even think -" He was cut off as her hand made sharp, fast contact with his cheek. He heard his neck crack as his head shot to the side, the hit far more powerful than he could have imagined.
He tasted blood in his mouth and spat it on the ground. He looked up to see the mixture of venom and shock on Irina's face as he pushed her roughly against the wall, his hands holding her there as they grasped her upper arms. "b."
"You asked for it." She retorted quickly. "How dare I??" she stressed the last word, leaning towards him while still pinned to the wall. "I only wanted to see you happy," she spat, "But obviously, you're not half the man I thought you were. How dare you!"
He glared at her, his face inches from hers, as his fingers squeezed tighter, the throb of his arm ignored, "I've done nothing except act the fool you needed me to be."
The rage that flickered in her eyes scared him, but not enough to make him back down. "I don't know your endgame, and, for the last few days, I didn't think you had one. But this...you've made it obvious you feel so little for me, you don't care what I do."
She struggled against him, trying to get away by wriggling free of his vice- like grip. "Let me go," she forced out from between her teeth, her hands coming up to grasp his arms, trying to pull his hands away from her shoulders.
"Over my dead body," he spat back, noting her fingernails almost ripping into his skin where she was working harder and harder at yanking her arms away.
The glare she threw at him was deadly and, as her nails began to slice into him, drawing blood, he was faced with two choices; either retaliate or give in. Choosing the former, he let go on her shoulders and, in the blink of an eye, giving her no time to react, had her wrists pinned above her head, his hands rough and uncaring against them as he moved closer in the hope she'd have less space to maneuver. "Stop trying to run."
Instantly, she stopped moving, her eyes grabbing his in a startled stare and her body going rigid against his. "You think I'm going to run?" she asked, voice harsh and with a blatantly livid edge to it.
"Why the hell else would you be trying to escape?" he threw back, his body still holding her against the wall, aware that she was doing her best to keep every inch of herself away from him.
"You bastard," she answered, and for a second he wondered if that was the answer. "You think, after everything we just went through, I'd still try to run?" Through the outraged cloud of passion inhabiting her mind, she saw his brow furrow and would have hit him again, had her hands been accessible. "What did you think? That I was lying, this whole time?"
Mistakenly, she took the sudden eye contact and comprehension that crossed his features as a yes and her anger doubled. Her words, coming out hard and unyielding, uncompromising and emotionless except for the passion that Jack knew lay just beneath the surface. "You were lying, weren't you? And I believed you, you didn't trust me, but you needed me to trust you so you tricked me and now that we're going back it doesn't matter if I know or not. It doesn't matter that I know that you used me because you don't give a s and never will."
She paused to take a breath, hell-bent on continuing with her tirade, and would have, had she not been cut off by Jack's mouth as he lunged towards her, closing the few centimeters between them with crushing force and not waiting for her to respond but instead prying her lips apart with his own and swiftly allowing a hand to leave her wrists. His remaining hand, with all fingers splayed apart, still holding her place; while the other moved down to angle her head against his granting his tongue the greatest possible access.
Irina had little time to react and her first instinct was to ignore the fact that seconds ago she had wanted to kill him and instead, just let him take as much of her as he wanted. This was the only thing that stopped her from wrenching her hands free, now that she was able, and knocking him unconscious. Of course, her second instinct, which was to do exactly that, entered her mind a second later.
Jack knew he'd taken too long to back off the moment he felt her move. Only thirty seconds ago, he'd known he was going to have to kiss her. The passion and sudden realization that they were arguing over very little forced him to kiss her, it was...she was...unavoidable. But, with only a hand keeping her fists at bay and most of his body close enough to sustain serious damage, he had warned himself that if he wasn't a good ten feet away from her when she realized he'd kissed her, he was going to sustain that very serious damage.
And now, the feeling of her teeth running over his tongue brought him hurtling back to reality and, as he moved back, pain-stakingly slowly, both hands now on her wrists again, he hoped to God she wasn't thinking about biting his tongue off for his misbehavior. Though he may have deserved it, he realized. Withdrawing to a point where he was no longer in danger of being a mute for the rest of his life, he stopped.
She had to wonder, his lips only inches from hers, his hot breath still on her face, what was going on inside his head. She noted with some anger that her wrists were once again pinned above her and asked, not surprised that her voice came out low and raspy, "Are you going to let me go?"
His answer was quick and simple, his voice hoarse like hers but playful as well, "Never." Her eyes narrowed at his reply but his lips were pursed and he had obviously decided not to speak.
"I'd advise you to let me go," she told him with force behind her words and her hands becoming fists.
He shook his head slightly, "No." The eye contact was beginning to get to her and she angled her chin up in a show of defiance.
For a split second she felt a soft pair lips, hot and wet, on the side of her neck, teeth scrapping over the tender skin as she recognized the mistake she'd made in raising her chin. Recovering from the shock quicker this time she quickly snapped her head back down, expecting her chin to make contact with Jack's cheek and, quite possibly, break it.
Instead, she made contact with nothing but thin air. She narrowed her eyes and glared at the triumphant smile before her. "Don't do that again," she warned him.
He ignored her and asked, his voice heavy with passion that he was doing his best to hold back, "What exactly are we arguing about?"
Reviews if you may, i do love them dearly and I'll need something to get me out of bed tomorrow.