Chapter eighteenth

" May I help you? "

Nick looked at the guy in front of him. The guy who had been with Crystal, and it took all his might not to punch him in the face or break both his arms and legs. Just like he'd done to the freaking guards.

How dare they try to stop him, saying something about a stupid invite.

He went to walk past the brown haired male in front of him but the guy blocked his path.

The nerve!

"Look, you have five seconds to move aside or else I'm gonna break your nose, dislocate your shoulder and render you paralyzed for the rest of your life. "

And he was planning on doing just that, in exactly the same order.

The guy crossed his arms and angled his neck to the side. Not the reaction Nick was expecting.

" Is that so? "

" Why don't you try me and you'll see! " Nick replied and it was then that he realized that Crystal was no longer where she had been.

"Shit! "

He walked right past the guy and looked around for her. Jackpot. She was dashing out the back exit.

The doors were made of glass so he could see her clearly.

He went after her as fast as he could, realising how concentrated everyone was on him. How they whispered to each other in the ear.

He finally caught up with her as she was waving down a taxi. She opened the door and he slammed it shut. Then he glared at the driver and ordered him to drive off.

"What is wrong with you? " she shouted, her amber eyes the most fierce he'd ever seen them.

" I should be the one asking you that! "

She searched for words, found none and grunted instead.

"I hate you! " she yelled as she fisted her hands.

Then she attempted to walk away but he swang her around.

"Where the hell do you think you're going? "

"That's none of your business! "

" Of course it's my fucking business! "

They were causing a scene but at the moment, neither seemed to care. Nick had always been in control of his emotions. But she just had a way of making him lose it.

Crystal tried yanking her arm away and when that didn't work, she bit him.

Hard.

"Hey! Stop that, calm down. You're being childish! " he ordered but she didn't.

It was like she'd gone crazy. Struggling against him like some wild wounded animal. Shouting and calling him names.

"I said stop! " he snapped and she calmed down for a while. Though he still held on to her.

"I swear this time I really will scream, " she threatened and Nick told her to go ahead.

" Why didn't you tell me you were coming here? "

"Because I don't owe you any explanations, now please.. " she tagged at her arm continuously.

"Keep doing that and you'll hurt yourself, " he stated.

Crystal grit her teeth then mumbled something under her breath.

How did he manage to do that? Make her lose it and still remain unaffected.

Art was what she lived for. All she had left. And he was trying to take that away from her as well.

The thought wanted to make her shed tears and the fact that he didn't seem to care only made her feel worse.

"Let's go, I parked out front, "

He pulled her along with him but she resisted. Planting her feet on the ground.

"For Christsake! Stop being so fucking difficult! "

"Then stop trying to control me! "

Nick let out a breath. He had been an assassin since he turned eighteen and now he was having trouble dealing with a girl.

"You know, there are only two ways this might go. One.. you come along and we skip all the drama. Or two, you continue being stubborn and I'll MAKE you come along, "

She didn't reply.

"You decide! " he added.

Crystal looked around, and for a moment, she seemed to calm down. Nick even considered letting her go.

"Make a choice. Thanks to you we have to be stuck in traffic and I wanna get out of here as soon as possible. "

And here Crystal thought he actually cared.

She looked down and breathed out. Then she slowly tucked her hair behind her ear and she looked okay.

Nick was glad she had snapped out of it.

But then she suddenly screamed. Just shouted her lungs out for no specific reason.

The people passing by all stopped to stare. They probably thought he was some sort of kidnapper.

"You have got to be kidding me, " he mumbled.

Then he did as promised, just bent down and hauled her over his shoulder.

She hit him with her fist and tried kicking her way free, but it didn't work.

Man! Now he was being all irrational. But what else was he supposed to do? She hadn't given him much of a choice.

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The drive back home was quiet. But her thoughts were as clear as they could be.

It had not been his intention to hurt her. And he still didn't think that he had. He was supposed to be the fuming one.

What would have happened had she gotten hurt. He looked at her from the rear view mirror. She still had her focus outside the window.

Like there was even anything to look at out there.

And to make things worse, his fears came true when they were stuck in traffic.

"Perfect! " he uttered as he looked at the time. It was twenty minutes to midnight.

Crystal kept her forehead rested on the cars window as she tried to not let her emotions get the best of her. She would wait till she got home, then she would lock herself up in her room.

And if she still felt crappy by then, she would cry it out like a normal person.

The sky was completely bare, no hint of stars. And the lights from the other vehicles headlights was almost blinding.

But she was determined to not look away from the nothingness she was staring at. If loss of sight would be the price she had to pay then so be it.

"You can't ignore me forever, so you had just better stop silently moping and talk, " Nick said a few minutes into the silence.

He was not intending on letting the matter go. He waited for her to say something but she didn't.

" You should have told me you were planning on going out. Why didn't you? "

Silence.

" You could have gotten killed, "

More very frustrating silence.

"Will you please just answer me, " please was not a word he often used, if ever.

Still.... she said nothing.

Nick had had enough. She couldn't do that to him. Make him lose his mind and then shut him off as if it was no big deal.

"Answer me goddammit! " he growled, hitting the steering wheel in the process.

She turned to him, and that's when he realized.

She was crying.

Silent tears flowed down her now flushed cheeks and the tip of her nose had turned pink. She blinked and the tears that were still welled up in her eyes rolled down, she made no move to wipe them away.

She stared at him with a broken defiant look. Her lips parted slightly as if she was planning on saying something. But then she turned away from him and resumed her earlier position.

He felt it.

It was not pity, neither was it confusion.

It was guilt. And he felt it as the guilt turned into pain. Never before had he hated himself like he did at that moment.

She was crying, and it was because of him.

" Crystal..." he said the name as if it held a significance only he was aware of. And he said it with caution and a care he did not know he willed.

"Crystal look at me, "

She sniffled back a cry but refused to turn to him.

Nick had never been in such a situation. He did not know what one was supposed to do but he chose to just do what he felt was right.

He reached over and gently moved her hair back, then he held her chin and angled her towards him. He was grateful that she didn't try to fight him off.

" It's all I have left, " she said and her pain was evident in her words. They echoed the sadness she was feeling inside.

"All I wanted was one night where I could do something that I loved, " she added more firmly this time.

He used the back of his hand to delicately wipe her tears away. Handling her like a fragile piece of expensive glass he was weary of breaking.

" I have no issue with you doing what you love, " he cupped her cheek and made her look at him.

Even with her skin flushed and her lashes glued together, he still thought of her as the most beautiful female he'd ever seen. And he had seen quite a lot of them.

"On the contrary, I WANT you to do whatever the hell it is that makes you happy, " she flickered her gaze across his eyes. Studying him unsurely, as if trying to confirm whether he was truly being honest.

" What I don't get is why you had to lie to me and sneak out like that, "

Crystal looked down and closed her eyes. Intent on trying to come up with something to tell him.

Anything but the truth.

" Crystal... tell me, why did you do that? "

She swallowed. The effects of his hand on her skin starting to sink in.

His hand was so warm.

And his touch was surprisingly comforting.

" I just..... " her mind was working full time to come up with a believe lie.

" You just?.. " he urged and she risked a quick glance at him before hanging her head down again. Lying had never been a specialty of hers. She was that one child that would be caught with her hand in the cookie jar and when questioned about it, she would do the whole " what cookie jar? " defense.

And that had never worked in her favour. She should know, she had done it her entire childhood before realising that it wasn't really helping her out.

" I didn't want to disturb you. I figured you were pretty tired from, you know.. standing and following me around all day, "

There. That sounded believable. Even she wouldn't have figured out that she was lying... well, sort of.

" Is that so? " his tone made it clear that he was not in the slightest buying that. So much for trying.

" Mmh, "

He ran his fingers through her hair.

" Are you sure? " he leaned closer.

" Of course I am, "

she nibbled on her lower lip. It felt as if his body was radiating heat. And that heat carried with it his scent. It was both dizzying and addictive. And it was all she could smell at the moment.

" You suck at this, " he said and she looked up, only to come face to face with his grey eyes. They were right there.

"At what? "

" Lying, "

"I'm not, "

His eyes fell to her lips then back up to meet her eyes. All in the flicker of a second.

"Yes you are. And I thought we established that this morning, "

That was the last thing she needed. Just how evil could he be? Forcing her to remember that at a time like that!

" I'm sorry, I should have told you, " she intended to dilute the situation. Maybe bring the conversation to an end.

"You're right, you should have. So why didn't you? " his voice was back to that low, whisper like and arrogant tone she found herself attracted to.

"I already told you why? "

"And now I want you to tell me again, only this time, the answer should be true, "

He lowered his hand to her neck and curved it around her nape. She felt awareness prickle down her spine. The he inched even closer and simply studied her.

Intently.

Almost curiously.

His lips brushed against hers for a second. A second she wanted to relish.

"You want to kiss me. "

It was not a question. He said it as if stating a fact they were both very aware of. And she even hinted a hinge of amusement in his tone.

" No I don't! "

Yes she did!

But there was no point in telling him that.

" Yes you do. "

Could he be any more arrogant? His ego was outrageous.

She attempted to look away. But then he inched closer again and brushed his lips over hers again.

But this time he did not pull away.

He kissed her. Soft... slow and heartbreakingly tender. His lips explored hers in a way that stole her breath. When she opened her mouth for a little gasp, his tongue was right there ,seeking but not demanding entrance . He lapped gently and Crystal found herself inviting him in. Opening wider to receive him. And she even sucked his tongue when he slipped it inside her.

She wanted to deepen it even further but then he pulled away.

" See? You did want to kiss me, " he casually stated.

Then he leaned back onto his seat as if nothing had even happened.

Crystal brows knit together in confusion. She did not understand him at all. One moment he was all sweet and then just like that he was back to being the stuck up, quiet and uncaring guy.

She wanted to call him out on it but then the traffic started moving and he went back to driving. It's like he had some kind of personality disorder.

Beside her, Nick was fighting a silent battle of his own.

Christ! How he wanted her. But he had to remind himself that he was not what she needed. He was not what she deserved.

And though it was slowly killing him inside, he had to do what he knew was right. For once in his unlawful life. Because what would she do when she found out who he really was. When she got to learn of the things he had done. The things he would surely keep on doing.

That was the only life he'd ever known.

And despite how hard and tormenting it was, he had to keep his distance. Although he doubted that he was capable of keeping his hands to himself when she was concerned.

But he had to try. For the sake of her, he had to.