Urban Climber 2 by S.V. Hunter Read Free Book Online Page B

Laura. He’s just a guy that you had sex with . Nothing more. Nothing less. “Oh, hey,” I mumble, dragging my bag up and off the ground.
     
    “How are you, stranger? You’ve been gone forever.”
     
    I smile weakly. That’s exactly how I feel—like a stranger, now that I’m back. Maybe I should have left with Hugo when I had the chance. Gone back to everything that’s familiar. I should be finalizing the last parts of the wedding anyway; that’s where my focus should be—on the happiest day of my life. Not my studies. Not on trying to avoid a guy that I’m so into I’m scared of what I’ll do if I’m alone with him.
     
    “Aren’t you hot? Why are you wearing so many layers?”
     
    I shrug, my eyes darting away from his. “The air conditioner makes me cold.”
     
    “You were late. You’ve never been late in your life, have you?”
     
    “No, Ash,” I sigh. “That was the first time.”
     
    “You wanna look at me? What have I done to you?”
     
    “Nothing.”
     
    “Then why haven’t you been returning my calls?”
     
    “I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”
     
    “You gonna take off your sunglasses?”
     
    “No.”
     
    He pulls them from my face, and his face splits in two. “Fuck. I’ll kill him.”
     
    “Ash, don’t.”
     
    “What happened to you?” he snarls, pulling me to him.
     
    “Ouch, don’t. Please, be gentle with me.”
     
    He pulls off the cardigan that’s draped around my shoulders. His eyes dart down and across the cuts and bruises that blemish my pale skin. “Christ! Tell me where that thug is, and I’ll see how he likes getting smacked up.”
     
    I shake my head. “It’s not a big deal, Ash.”
     
    “Not a big deal?”
     
    “He—he lost his cool, okay? I don’t want to talk about it.”
     
    “You look like you’ve been hit by a truck, and you want me to sit back and let the police deal with it? What the hell are they going to do? You know how useless they are. They can’t even stop me from climbing.”
     
    “I just want you to forget what you’ve seen. It doesn’t matter.”
     
    “You can’t be serious, Ra. You’re a fucking mess.”
     
    “I am serious. I’m not pressing charges. It was all my fault anyway. I resisted, and well, things got heated.”
     
    “What are you going to say if someone does report it?”
     
    I shrug. “I was drunk. I walked into a door. Case closed.”
     
    He can’t stop laughing. “Laura, please. You walked into a door if the door was over six foot and human. I know domestic violence when I see it. The bruises on your arms, the damage to your face, that didn’t happen because of a door.”
     
    “I’m clumsy when I’m sober. I didn’t bother turning on the light, and I should’ve. That’s believable isn’t it?”
     
    “Why are you doing this? Who are you trying to protect?”
     
    “No one.”
     
    “Ra, look at me and tell me again because I answered the phone when you called me on Sunday. And I heard you scream my name before the phone cut out.”
     
    My eyes lock with his. “You did?”
     
    “Yeah, I did,” he whispers. “And I’m worried about you.”
     
    “You don’t have to be.”
     
    “I don’t have a choice, Ra. Let me protect you.”
     
    “Stop trying to be some superhero, Ash. They don’t exist. Got it? There’s no good guy/bad guy thing going on here.”
     
    His lips turn up as he leans in towards my lips. “There’s that fire that I love. It’s still burning, no matter how much he tried to snuff it out.”
     
    “Stop it. I’ve got to go to my next class,” I snap, pulling away from him.
     
    “Do you know what it was like hearing you scream and not being able to do anything about it? I’ve never felt so out of control in all my life. Do you have any idea what you do to me?”
     
    I look back over my shoulder, my eyes wandering down over his hoody. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
     
    “As soon as I heard you scream, I got on my bike and