Stay Away from Pleasure

Chapter Thirty-Six

"So he blackmailed you with them?"

I nod, "he knows my ex and they had a deal. Apparently, he wants me back but Zack said no."

"That's probably because he's a good person."

I scoff, "Matt please. He only did it so he could have leverage. Now that he did that for me, I would owe him. He wanted me to break up with you in return."

He slams on the stable and stands. It's like his signature move now.
"And you did it! Just like that? Am I nothing to you?"

I do the exact same thing and mirror him physically, as well as channeling all that anger back at him. "Of course you mean something to me! I told him no! And you wanna know what your best friend did? He said he'd use those pictures against me. He'd leak them! Send them to businesses, to you, to my family, to my father..."

He shakes his head and walks further back down the terrace.
"Liar." He breathes.

"Me?"

He turns around and points his index finger at me. "Yes you! Liar! Zack is one of my oldest friends. He knows that would look bad on me too! He wouldn't do that."

I walk to him and push his finger away.
"Like I said, he's not what you think he is."

"So what now? We're back together, so what will he do with the photos?"

I actually hadn't thought about that.

"Look, my main issue is my father. I need to make him understand." I sigh.

"Do you wanna go now?" He slips his arms around me.

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all. Let's go." He pulls on my hand and leads me down the stairs.

Passing our waiter, he slips a few notes in his pocket. We're hit by a cool breeze as we open the door and leave the restaurant. He quickly opens the car door for me and I get in. He drives focused, as usual. So intense. Such power, authority. The way his hands are clenched so fiercely on the steering wheel. So graceful. He is everything.

"I don't think he'll leak the photos." I mutter almost to myself.

"Why not?" His tone is level and low.

"Because his deal was to stop Todd from getting to me."

"So you think Todd'll come back?" He asks and glances at me.

I put my head down and fiddle with my dress. "He already did."

Matt slams on the brakes as he pulls over. "What? When?"

"You didn't shoot Ace. You shot Todd. He dyed his hair, cut his hair, wore contacts and lost weight. He also hid his tattoos."

"Well he got what he deserved." He mutters under his breath.

I look at him intently again. His eyes are fixed on the road again. They're narrowed. A hard glare taunts the road ahead. His jaw is clenched, but not with anger. Both hands are on the wheel. They tense and relax frequently. His posture is erect with such form, but he still seems relaxed. He drops one hand. He isn't angry. He's very much satisfied. To prove me right, the corner of his thick lips curve upwards into a smug smirk; amused, as if he's pleased with something.

"You killed him, didn't you?" I breathe.

His eyes stay on the road.

Sudden realisation hits me.

"You always say you'd kill for me, Matt. Todd tried to rape me. I've seen you. On a bad day, I've seen you get so angry when a guy just looks at me. You stare at them with death. Murder within your cornea. He touched me. He had his hands all over me. He groped my breasts and was going to kiss them. He was going to rape me. For a man with a temper like yours and a protective, possessive mentality like yours..." I take a deep breath, "this would be the perfect time to kill."