Now he wasn’t moving. Neither was Harper, as she sat right where he’d left her. On the edge of the bed, staring as water dripped onto the floor. Silent.
“How?” he muttered. “Jackie would never work with the Chains. She wouldn’t stoop that low. But she knew to be there, somehow. And as soon as things got hard, they ran back to her, the fucking cowards.”
Harper bit her tongue. She was so close to snapping something venomous in response to his stupid spoken thoughts, but she couldn’t. Couldn’t evenlookat him. She wouldn’t be able to hide the enmity in her gaze, and that would probably fall under the ‘attitude’ Kieran so detested.
Just keep counting. Ninety-five. Ninety-six. Ninety-fucking-seven.
Kieran lowered his head and sighed. As though he was a general who’d just suffered a violent betrayal, rather than a warlord who’d overextended his reach.
He walked away from the window and sat next to her. She stiffened as he brushed aside her hair, baring the wounds on her neck.
“I can’t believe she did this to you.” He caressed her cheek. “I can only imagine how awful it was. The Chains are ruthless, especially to their enemies. They knew how it would affect me, giving you to her.” His body went rigid. “How did she hurt you?”
Harper pinched her mouth shut. He grabbed her chin and turned her towards him.
“What did that vampire do, Harper? Answer me.”
She did so many things. Had been a light in the dark. Had been warm when everything was cold. Had made Harper feel safe. So safe that she’d shared things she never said out loud.
And now she was gone.
No.No. Harper couldn’t think that. It would twist the hate in her chest into sorrow, and if that hit right, then she wouldn’t survive what was to come.
Kieran’s hand trembled.
“Answer me!” he roared. Harper flinched, despite trying her hardest not to.
When she still didn’t speak, he got up and marched towards the door.
“No!” She grabbed his arm, making him stop. “Don’t go. I’m sorry, I… I’ll behave.”
She didn’t want to give him even an ounce of the respect he screamed for, but unlike before, he wouldn’t turn his anger on her. He would bring it beyond the room. He’d take every hurtful, ruining idea he had and make Evie suffer it rather than her.
He’d finally found a threat that worked. If it wasn’t there, all this would be almost bearable. If she could just despise him openly, if she could defy his attempts at breaking her.
Instead, she had to fall in line. Had to do what she was told and play the demure role he requested.
She had to let him do whatever he wanted.
He sat next to her again. The anger drained from his face.
“I shouldn’t be scaring you. After everything you’ve been through.” He traced his thumb along the curve of her mouth. She almost bit him. “Soon, whatever she did will only be a memory. It’ll be like a bad dream. Once we find somewhere new to start over, far away, you’ll forget all about her.”
He caressed her stomach. “You’ll have plenty to keep you busy. Once our kids get here, you won’t have time to remember all the bad stuff.”
He spoke so matter-of-factly. As though they already had the conversation and agreed on the outcome.
They’d done the first half. Kieran had mentioned children before. He wanted a bunch of them, while Harper wasn’t sure she wanted any. She hadn’t thought he was serious about it until he ‘forgot’ to put on a condom one night. She’d taken Plan B the following day, and when she told him, he’d punched a hole in the wall.
“I’ve missed you so much.” His mouth found hers, skin grating like sandpaper. “I don’t know how I survived being apart fromyou. It was agony. It was like a piece of my soul was gone. I love you, and we’ll never be apart again. I swear it.”
He cupped her breast through her shirt, squeezing hard enough to sting. She stiffened, but he didn’t notice. Or didn’t care.
He bit her bottom lip. “Say you want me.”
Don’t fight it. Just think of something else. Anything else.
“I want you,” she said through gritted teeth.
