“Come here,” he commands quietly.
Xander isn’t the type of man who needs to be loud to get someone’s attention. He can do it with a whisper, and he knows it.
My gaze travels down to his glass again, and I slowly shake my head. I don’t want to talk to Drinking Xander. I want to spend time with the actual man. Not the one who’s numbed by liquor.
“Quinn,” he says sternly. A warning. “Come. Here.”
I look at him, my heart pounding. “Get rid of the whiskey.”
It only takes a second before he reacts.
And it’s the longest moment in my life.
Then…
Splash!
I gasp and turn to look at the pool where his glass is slowly sinking to the bottom.
“Come here, baby girl,” he says a little softer this time.
He just threw his entire drink in the pool. Because I asked him to.
Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I obey, my feet moving without even thinking about it. As soon as I’m within arm’s reach, he pulls me onto his lap and cradles me against his chest, hugging me silently.
His warmth envelopes me like a weighted blanket. I’m not sure how much time passes, but by the time he speaks, I’m struggling to stay awake in his embrace.
“Why did you cry today?”
His question catches me off guard.
How does he know?
Is he watching me?
More than just when I sleep?
I need to tell him to stop doing that.
It’s wrong to keep acting like I don’t know.
It makes me feel safe in a way I’veneverfelt before. I’m pretty sure I’ll never feel this way with any other man again. So, as much as I know I need to tell him to stop watching me sleep, I can’t. I don’t want to.
“How do you know I cried?”
He shifts slightly, so I’m sideways instead of with my back to his front. It puts me in a position of having to look up at him, especially when he leans me back and cradles me like I’m a freaking baby while staring at me with his brooding eyes.
“Because I can see on your face. Tell me why, baby. I want to know everything. I’ve let you keep secrets long enough. We aren’t leaving here until you tell me everything that’s happened in your life since the day you were born to this moment.” His jaw flexes as he watches me, studying my face. “And do not lie to me, sunshine. You won’t like the consequences if you do.”
CHAPTER 25
Xander
A SAVAGE WILL BE COMING FOR THEM
If my girlthinks I won’t put her over my knee right here, in the middle of my brother’s backyard, and spank the truth out of her, she hasn’t realized the kind of man I am yet. I’ll never hurt her, but I’m done allowing her to hide from me. Something is very wrong in her life, and I’m going to find out what it is and fix it. Whatever Quinn needs to live a happy, carefree life, I can at least give her that. That’s enough, isn’t it?
“If I tell you what made me cry…” she stares up at me under the night sky, her eyes sparkling against the moonlight, pleading, “Will you tell me whatshedid to you?”
