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Keenan stops and stares at me, his gaze so cold I barely recognize the man I’ve spent two days getting to know.
I recoil as a brutal vision leaps into my head. In it, he’s attacking a shadowy man, ripping out his throat and then destroying his body with such gleeful violence, I feel sick to my stomach.
“Vanessa, I’m sorry.” He drops to his knees in front of me. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”
“I can read your mind!” I exclaim, switching gears entirely with my new discovery. “I saw it clearly!”
“You saw an image of my thoughts because of the powerful emotion behind them.”
“Rage.” I’d felt it as though it was me having the feeling.
He nods. “I’m usually better at containing my baser instincts, but it was a shock to learn you were assaulted. What happened? Did he… was he able to…?”
He can’t seem to finish, so I rush to reassure him. “No, I fought him off and left. Pinky taught me some dragon defense and it worked like a charm.”
“Dragon defense?”
I grin at the memory, despite how awful that night was. “Yeah, I roared in his face and jumped off the couch where he pushed me, kneeing him in the balls on my way up. Then I grabbed my purse and left.”
Keenan’s expression is a mix of admiration and anger. “Dragon defense was a great strategy. I’ll have to use it next time I find myself in trouble.”
I eye his massive 6’5” body, bulky with muscles. “I can’t imagine you get into trouble often.”
His eyes crinkle at the corners. “You’d be surprised.” His expression grows serious again. “What happened to the guy? Was he arrested?”
I can’t help the bitter laugh that escapes my lips. “A man in a position like him can bury a nobody like me. I never told anyone. Pinky would have shown him what a dragon offensive looks like, exposing herself, and Laz would’ve gotten himself blacklisted from the business on my behalf. It wasn’t worth the risk.”
“So you kept it to yourself.” Keenan sits next to me. He lifts his hand, pauses, then caresses my cheek. “Until now.”
I nod. “Until you.”
“I’m sorry, Vanessa,” he says in a heavy tone. “I should have been there earlier, should’ve stopped him. If I’d known, I would have?—”
“What?” I interrupt him. “There was nothing you could have done and it wasn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.” He flinches and I regret adding the last part. “I mean, I’m over it now and everything’s good.”
“But he’s still walking around out there,” Keenan growls.
“And so am I.” I shrug. “I do what I can to warn other actors away from that agency.”
Keenan’s gaze softens on my face. “You’re a good person.”
“Not really. I’d say I’m more of a survivor.”
His features twist with grief.
I touch his arm and say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
He laughs bitterly. “You were the one who was attacked, but you’re worried about me.”
“We’ve had different experiences in life. I can’t possibly imagine what it’s like to be a wolf-shifter prince with countless responsibilities to an entire species. But neither can you know what it’s like to live in my shoes, a woman trying to make her way in an industry known for exploiting women.”
We both fall silent and I wonder what he’s thinking. He still looks upset, but I’m not sure why. I turn to him, hoping I’m not being too forward as I reach out to cup his cheek, feeling the softness of his beard, the warm skin above it.
His eyes are shuttered, but… I can see something in my mind. It’s me on the night of the attack, coming out of the building. I look distraught and now that he has context to the memory, there’s a mix of emotions. Guilt, shame, anger. No, not anger. White hot rage.
I do the only thing I can think of to push the memory from his mind. I gently kiss him. A shock goes through me like a thunderbolt, and he jerks back. I press my fingers to my lips as tears form in my eyes at his rejection. “I’m so sorry! I should’ve asked first.”
He grips my shoulders tightly and drags me to him, covering my lips with his. While my kiss was meant to be gentle and healing, his is scorching. I gasp, opening to him.
