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No wonder he has a hard time letting people close. He barks orders at his enforcers. He is cold when he addresses Mabel. I can’t imagine any other person gets the warm side of him either. If memory serves he has multiple clubs, a casino and a couple of dive bars for the seedier side of town.
The torture in his eyes breaks my heart. I take his face in my hands and lower my forehead to his. I stay like that, letting him feel my warmth and my love until the sun fully sets.
Love. I mull the word over and keep it close to my heart when we rise from the bed. We shower in silence. And though I can see him wrestling his demons into submission, he gently takes the time to wash my hair. When he finishes rinsing the soap out, he lathers every inch of my body.
The man is wildly misunderstood and suffering all alone. Water cascades over us as I take his lips in a kiss. I fuse our connection with all the compassion and love I can pull from my soul and hope he can feel it. I brush the strands of hair from his face and he does the same for me.
“Thank you,” I say against his lips. “Thank you for talking to me and trusting me with so much of who you are. I will never take that for granted. Ever.”
“I trust you, little rose.”
After we’ve toweled off and my hair is fully dry, Valerian comes to find me in the bedroom pulling on a pair of sandals that match the light pale yellow sweater dress I slip into. I don’t know why I feel the need to put something pretty on. Maybe he will let me play a little piano for him. That always soothes the heartache away.
“Mabel has no doubt left dinner for us in the kitchen. Maybe we can grab something to eat and then check on the rose garden after last night’s storm?” I can’t say I’m all that hungry. My head swirls with too much information and I need to find the right time to ask about my father. There’s being blunt, honest and then compassionate for another person’s pain. I have mine and I will make my heartache known, but I can wait a while longer.
He’s pulled on a pair of black slacks and has another dress shirt on. It hangs open, revealing a swathe of tan skin and delicious taut muscle I’ve had the pleasure of touching. He moves in and I circle his waist with my arms. I’m not helpless or powerless, but in his arms I don’t feel the constant need to always be on guard. Not like when I lived with my father. He protected me from his way of life, but no one could protect me from the worry I held for him or the loneliness I suffered through when I left for school abroad.
“I like how you make me feel, Valerian.”
He eyes me somberly. “Let’s see if you still feel that way after tonight. You need to know the full truth about me and where I’ve been for the last three weeks. I want to show you something. Will you come with me?”
There is a seriousness to his voice that has my hands moving to rest over his heart.
I wanted to ask since he showed up last night but I was afraid of the answer. I guess I’m about to find out.
My voice drops to a low quiver. “Of course.”
Why do I feel this night is about to take an unwanted turn?
CHAPTER 10
BELLA
We step outside but instead of getting into a waiting car, Valerian slips his hand into mine and leads me past the rose garden below my window. When I think we are heading back to the atrium, which is the only place I’ve seen out here, Valerian takes a detour down a small gravel path tucked in behind a row of towering Arborvitae hedges. Last night’s rain makes the leaves stick to my thighs as we brush past them. On the other side, it’s an endless sea of manicured lawn with large trees at the top of a crest.
While I’m in awe of his estate, Valerian seems more interested in me.
I tremble under the caress of his heated gaze on me as we walk. His cool, gorgeous eyes linger on my lips a moment and then fall back to the gravel. It’s not long before his attention moves back to me and then he raises my hand for a kiss against my warm skin.
His free hand moves to slip through my loose hair. The strands fall and for a moment he looks mesmerized by the red of my hair mixing with silver light. He leans down, his lips brushing my ear as he rasps deeply, “Your glow outshines the moon. Lovemaking looks good on you, my beautiful rose.”
“Valerian, let’s go back to the house.” My plea comes out in a throaty whisper, and suddenly he pulls us to a stop and sears my lips with a kiss.
“Soon.”
He sounds as though he would like to take me up on my offer, but he continues walking for the large tree on the hill. Had I known we were going on an evening stroll so far from the house I would have opted for something warmer. Cool air seeps into the fine knit of my dress, forcing me deeper into his arms.
I take a shaky breath, my eyes tracing the lines of his scars before dipping over the open top buttons of his dress shirt.
For several moments, there’s only the sound of the wind feathering through the leaves of some nearby trees and the crunch of rocks underfoot. A part of me wants to fill the quiet with questions about what happens from here, but I am more interested in what has brought back the scowl on his face when it wasn’t there a moment ago.
“I became an expert reader in body language by the time I hit puberty. It took me a while to catch on when my father was lying, but I figured out his signs. His was dodging my gaze. Yours is how you turn your body away from me. You’re holding something back, Valerian. Just like my father did time and time again. I don’t like lies. What’s all this drama and show for?”
I stop walking, and his hand slips from mine when he takes several more paces.
Long inhale.
Slow, patient exhale.
