“Aren’t you afraid of me?”She should be.
She bites her lower lip. “Umm... I was afraid of you. But then you started being nice, so now I’m not.”
“I’m not a good man, Princess. And you should stay away from me.”
“I know you’re not a good man. And I want to know what kind of bad man you are.”
“You’ll find out when I kill your father.”
She goes rigid for a moment, then nods stiffly. The warmth in her eyes dims into something I don’t like.
But that’s how it should be.She should look at me with nothing but fear and hatred—pain is the only thing I have to offer.
“You’re right. I should stay away from you,” she breathes, then turns and walks away.
I remain rooted, staring at the empty bench.
She plays as if she were born to create music that echoes in hearts.
Chapter 15
Elowen
I run my hand over Bruno’s back, my mind replaying last night on a loop.And every loop ends with the same question:Can I somehow convince him to forget about killing my uncle?And the same answer:I don’t think so. His hatred is too strong.
But I can’t give up without trying.
I groan in frustration and get up from bed. Bruno follows.
“You stay here. I have something important to discuss withyour human.”
I press a quick kiss to his head, then leave, heading toward my captor’s room. He must be in there this early in the morning.
I didn’t get much sleep last night. I was too restless. No matter how many reasons I give myself, I can’t deny the pull I feel toward him. A need to move closer. To see the man beneath the monster. I want to touch him—every broken piece he’s made of.
I knock on his door. It opens on the third knock.
He’s standing there in the same burgundy T-shirt and black sweatpants from last night. His hair is disheveled.
“Good morning,” I greet softly.
He steps back. I follow. The door closes behind me.
My pulse quickens as I move closer to him. We’re in a bedroom. Alone. My brain is throwing bad thoughts at me about this. Thoughts like turning him around and kissing him.
My total lack of experience doesn’t stop me from thinking about it, despite knowing full well that acting boldly would make me a fool. Avi told me no matter how many books we read, when we kiss for the first time, all that theoretical knowledge evaporates into thin air.
But there’s one fact I can’t ignore: he hates my family. And probably me, too. That’s enough to keep me from acting on my desires.
He turns to face me.
“I want to talk to you.”
“I can tell.” His voice is rough.
He’s definitely not a fan of me coming into his room to advocate for my uncle—while also carrying desires to do indecent things with him. He doesn’t even know any of this. My mere presence is enough to ruin his morning.
I don’t know what to feel about that.
