Free The Debt 3 by Kelly Favor

to let her go.   She wished
that he would fight for her as much as he seemed willing to fight against her.   If he would do that, she could tell him
everything.
    But right now, the risk of him turning
her away, the thought that he would simply wash his hands of her rather than
deal with the mess she was in—it hurt too much.
    “Let go,” she said, not knowing what else
she could say.   It was a lie anyhow,
since she didn’t want him to.
    “No,” Jake said.  
    “I’ll scream.”
    “I want you to scream,” he smiled.   “Just like you did last night.”
    Raven felt her entire body flush with
heat.   “It’s not right,” she
said.   “We’re not really together.”
    “Aren’t we?” he smirked.   “I think we’re together right now.   We’re certainly not apart.”
    “You know what I mean,” she said.
    “Where were you, Raven?” he said,
grabbing her other wrist and pulling her into his body, so that he pressed
against her, his lips almost touching her lips, his forehead against hers now.
    “I…I can’t talk about it,” she whispered.
    “Why not?”
    “Because, I’m scared.”
    “You’re scared of me?” he asked.
    “Yes,” she answered, finally.   Her chest was rising and falling
rapidly.
    “That’s too bad, Raven ,”
he told her, letting her wrists go.   “Because I really thought we had potential.”   He sighed.   “But you seem determined to ruin
everything.”
    “That’s not true,” she replied.
    “I can’t do this,” he said, shaking his
head and starting to the door.   “Not when I can’t trust you.”
    She laughed at him as he walked past
her.   “Why am I not surprised?”
    He turned and looked at her.   “Don’t even try and put this on me.   You know you lied.”
    “The second things get complicated, you
run faster than a scared little rabbit,” she told him.   “How could I risk telling you anything
that matters to me?”
    Jake came towards her again.   “I’m not running anywhere,” he
said.   “You’re the one who’s made it
impossible.   You asked me to trust
you, just like…” he seemed to catch himself, and his cheeks turned a deep shade
of red.
    “Just like what?” Raven demanded.
    “It doesn’t matter,” he muttered.   “This is a waste of time.”
    “You’re the most frustrating person I’ve
ever met,” she replied.   “You let me
down every single time and somehow blame me for it.”
    “I let you down?” he laughed.   “How have I let you down?”
    She wanted to scream, she was so
frustrated.   None of the ways he let
her down could be spoken out loud.   How could she tell him he’d let her down by not wanting to actually be
her boyfriend, by refusing to ever kiss her, by not caring about standing up
for her to Club Alpha when they’d gotten her fired?  
    And she knew he’d only let her down if
she told him the truth about his manager, Kurt, not to mention the newest
developments with the club.
    Jake was acting jealous, acting the way a
boyfriend might, but it wasn’t real.   “You’re just fake,” she said, finally, the best answer she could give,
all things considered.
    He flinched a little.   “I’m fake,” he said, shaking his
head.   “I’m fake?”
    “Yes.”  
    “Let’s see how fake I am, Raven,” he
said, and then he’d grabbed her around the waist, his strong hands touching her
hips, pulling her close.   And
suddenly his lips were on her lips, and he was kissing her, and she moaned and
shuddered in his arms.
    This was more than she could have asked
for.   Jake’s lips were soft and when
they molded to her mouth, it was like excitement had been shot throughout her
entire body—like a drug had been injected into her veins.
    His tongue was sliding into her mouth,
and his hand grabbed hold of her butt, while the other slid up and grasped her
breast through her blouse.  
    He stopped kissing her momentarily.   “Is that real enough for you?”
    She blinked at him, her