she isn’t handling it well.” He laughs, but the sound is pained and filled with remorse. “I just need a little more time. A little more time to break the news to my daughter. Then to Luna.”
I nod, even though I don’t agree. How can I go against a sick man’s wishes? It seems like all Gavin Drake wants is time, but I don’t have the heart to remind him that his is running out.
After that painful conversation with Gavin, we spent the rest of the evening with a looming black cloud hovering over our heads.
I’m snapped out of my thoughts when I spot Selene pulling into the driveway. Tucking my hands into my jean pockets, I trudge through the grass on the front lawn, crossing the distance between us.
Her gaze keeps flitting to my face, then back to the windshield. I swear I see her lips moving, though I can’t be sure what she’s saying to herself. She seems to square her shoulders before she climbs out of the car and strides toward me with a look of pure determination etched on her face.
My gaze trails from those gorgeous doe eyes down to her dirtied shoes, and even though she’s been working on her feet all day, I’ve never seen anyone who has looked more perfect, more beautiful. Selene jerks to a halt before me, eyeing me through narrowed slits. Her plump lips purse as she works through something in her mind.
“Funny story,” she starts to say, not looking all that enthused. “Spotted Thomas after work walking to the bar. I couldn’t help but notice his black eye. Especially since he didn’t have one only hours prior.” She crosses her arms over her chest, and I glance down at the creamy expanse, wondering if the freckles there dusting across the bridge of her nose extend anywhere else. When her foot begins tapping, I realize she’s waiting for me to fess up.
I shrug my shoulders noncommittally. “That is a funny story.”
Her lip twitches, making it obvious she’s trying to hold back a smile. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“And if I did?” I challenge her.
She swallows, searching my gaze. “I’d tell you that it was stupid and irresponsible. Especially since you have a daughter.”
My gaze narrows. “I told you, no man is going to touch what is mine. Thomas overstepped his bounds today, saying what he did about you. He was embarrassing you on purpose to be a dick. And I’m well aware I have a daughter now. She was nowhere near us when it happened.”
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Saying what?”
Heat settles in her cheeks. “You said ‘what’s mine.’”
I eat up the distance between us, staring down at her, heat swirling in my gut. Her slender throat works a swallow, and for every step forward I take, she takes a step back, until her back collides with the passenger side of the car. Her eyes dart to the house behind me. All the lights are already off inside, Luna out for the count. The stars have long since scattered across the sky.
“Because you are mine, Selene. I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
Her breath hitches. Those plump lips part.
“You don’t mean that.” Her voice is a mere whisper. It almost sounds like a plea. She wants this to be a lie. She needs it to be a lie.
“Oh, I do, babe. I may not have been thinking clearly all those years ago, but I am now. I want you, Selene. In all this mess, that’s the one thing that hasn’t changed.”
She averts her gaze, unable to look me in the eye any longer. She’s so small that she barely grazes my chest, so she keeps her gaze settled there, trained on the material of my shirt.
“What if I don’t want you, want this anymore?”
I press my lips together in frustration. “Who do you want then?”
“Julia’s thinking about setting me up on a date with one of her friends.”
My hands fist at my sides, and I step into her. Her soft body grazes mine, and I hover above her, caging her against the car.
“Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t want this.”
Slowly, she flicks her gaze up to mine, that bottom lip trapped between her teeth in contemplation. “I…I…”
“Say it,” I grit.
“I can’t,” she whispers, and my composure snaps.
“I can’t.” The words fall from my lips, and my heart jumps into my throat at the look on End’s face. It’s pure animalistic hunger.
He