radicalducati 2.74
2.74
Lucas’s POV
“Stop the car” she said coldly.
“Why? Changed your mind already? Damn I’m good!” I said sarcastically.
She shot me a glare and said through gritted teeth “You’re a smug asshole but you’re not that good. You’re not driving me anywhere Lucas! You’re going to stop the car right now, call Mathew over here, and let me ride with him to Fairbanks”
“Why don’t you want me to drive you then? Afraid I might actually convince you to change your mind and come back home with me? Why is that such a bad thing?” I asked tauntingly.
“You won’t change my mind!” she snapped at me.
“Then it shouldn’t matter to you who’s going to drive you” I said smugly.
“It matters because the whole reason I’m leaving this town is to get away from you!” she screamed at me.
“You can’t get away from me, I won’t let you” I said possessively.
“What’s the point of driving two hours if you’re not going to let me go my own way in the end? Might as well go back and lock me up in Mathew’s house, you’ve had no problems doing that before” she scowled at me.
“I don’t like repeating my moves. I’m more of a new experiences, no routine kind of guy” I said dryly.
“Ok I’m done! Stop the car right now or I’m going to jump out” she threatened in exasperation.
“Go right ahead” I said with a shrug.
She didn’t waste a second as she unlocked her door and pulled the handle, or tried to.
I smiled at her surprised exasperation darkly “I locked the door from the side after you climbed in. You’re not going anywhere, Angel” I said while wiggling my eyebrows at her.
She sighed and ignored me completely for about five minutes as she kept her eyes glued to the road ahead.
I wanted to hear what she was thinking or just hear her voice as it always brought me a sense of joy to listen to her talk even if she ends up cursing me half of the time, but on the other hand, I needed her to calm down for a bit so I didn’t mind the silent treatment so much.
“What do you want from me Lucas? You know you can never force me into something I don’t want, right?” she asked warily.
I answered fiercely “Never Angel. I would never do that to you”
“Then what do you call this?” she asked tightly.
“Protection” I said in a clipped tone.
“Excuse me? Protection from what?” she scoffed at me.
“You did hear what the asshole said before he died right? He said someone else will come save you and make us pay” I said in a strained voice.
From the corner of my eyes I saw her clutch her hands tightly and her breathing became erratic as she said nervously “I thought he was just….bluffing. Besides, I recall you said everyone here and in Canada is dead now”
“They are. But I can’t be sure if he was bluffing or if he really did have another man he was dependent on that wasn’t present during the meeting we set up in Canada. We can never be too sure when it comes to him. You’re not safe out there all by yourself, Angel. And whether you want to give me a second chance to redeem myself and get close to each other again or not, I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me. You want to leave? I’ll leave with you, you want to stay? I’ll stay with you” I said sincerely.
“No you won’t. I don’t want you to” she said determinedly.
“Too bad, you’re still stuck with me” I said bitterly. Her continuous refusal to accept my protection of her was stinging a little bit. It left me a little doubtful of whether she truly wrote me off for good because of that one mistake, or if she was just fighting her feelings and being all stubborn and strong headed about it.
“This is freaking useless!” she said in exasperation.
“Why do you hate it that much? My company isn’t that bad, Angel” I asked curiously.
“Again, you’re a smug asshole” she said strongly while staring ahead.
I laughed under my breath and muttered “This is gonna be a delightful trip”
“Lucas come on, I’m serious. I’m not going back to Snow ok? You guys are better off without whatever mess I have coming after me. And I don’t want you getting caught in the crossfire with me” she said reasonably.
“Here is what you don’t get Angel, or what you keep trying to deny despite me telling you over and over again, we all care about you. We’re not going to leave you to fend for yourself. So the way I see it, if you truly want no harm to come to any of us, the best way is for you to stay with us, to stick together where we can best defend ourselves. We have the man power and loyalty to stop any danger from coming our way” I said firmly.
I wanted to tell her it’s also because I have feelings for her that I’m so hell bent on not letting her go on her own; which I’ve also conveyed multiple times to her before, but I didn’t want to push on that subject… for now. She doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge that after the stupid lie we told her. It completely shattered whatever trust I was able to gain in the past three days and it’s going to take some time to reestablish that back and never letting her doubt my intentions ever again.
She doesn’t respond and instead, she turns her head to her window, hiding her face from me.
“What do you say, Angel? Should I turn around or keep driving to the city?” I ask firmly.
She sighed and said strictly while still looking at the window “I’m not going back”
I suppress my groan and focus on the road ahead.
It was actually for the best. We both needed some alone time away from the family if we’re going to sort our shit out and come back completely on the same page. Oh and I was positive about both her coming back home with me and becoming totally in love with me as I am with her. Call me a smug asshole all you want, I’m just that confident of our strong connection and attraction to each other.
It does kind of remind me when Alex took; or more like kidnapped, Jenny on a trip to Fairbanks and both of them came back totally whipped and enchanted with each other ever since. There was something damn special about that city, I was starting to gather.
Here is to hoping I can come back home with the same result.
Come on Fairbanks, don’t run out of luck charms for me when it’s my turn now.