Page 101 of Sienna Rossi: Beyond Shattered Trust

“Jayce, can you at least-”

“I said we’re not having this fucking conversation!” he snarls, spinning around so fast I almost knock into him. I look up at him, his eyes blazing blue as they lock onto mine.

His aura surges, the force of it suffocating, but it only fuels the anger and frustration already rising within me.

He turns and storms towards his bike.

My brows draw together as I close the distance between us swiftly, reaching him just as he swings his leg over his bike.

“And I said we are,” I reply, my voice quiet but firm as I stop directly in front of him, blocking his path.

He revs the engine, the sound loud in the silent street, his expression dark as he glares down at me.

“Well then, you can continue this conversation on your own,” he says harshly. “I don’t owe you any fucking answers.”

“You do when it involves me,” I shoot back, placing my hand over his on the bike handle before he can pull away. “And your denial is only fuelling my assumption about what I saw.”

He clenches his jaw, his eyes darkening as he glares at me.

I know I’m pushing too far, but I don’t stop.

“I told you to fucking drop it,” he snarls menacingly, his voice colder now. “Just because we’ve had a couple of conversations and I allowed you to mark me, don’t fucking overstep.”

“I’m not overstepping,” I argue, the frustration seeping into my voice as I cry out. “I have a right to know when you’re blaming yourself for me leaving!”

He stills.

It’s subtle, but I see it.

That flicker of something he didn’t expect me to catch on to.

I feel an icy wave through the bond as lightning flashes across the sky above us, illuminating the rage on his face.

My heart pounds, but I don’t back down.

“Sienna,” he growls in warning, his eyes glinting, and my instincts are telling me to stop.

“No,” I push, my voice steadier now, even as everything in me is bracing for his unleashed wrath. “You blamed yourself; I saw it. You’re not angry at me for leaving; you’re not even angry at me for rejecting you; you’re-”

“I said enough!”

The words tear through the darkness as he yanks his hand free from mine, the sudden force catching me off guard, and my nails tear through his flesh.

I gasp at what I’ve done, but he’s unfazed as he gets off the bike, turning his back to me as he rakes his hand through his hair.

“Jayce…” I step closer, reaching for his hand as blood drips down it, but he instantly wrenches free from my hold.

“I said to fucking drop it! We are nothing. So don’t fucking act like we are.”

“Because you’re afraid?” I whisper. I saw a snippet, but I need to hear him say it. “I thought you were angry at me for what I did, and you had every right to be, but more than that, you’re going to push me away because you’re afraid to admit-”

“Yes, I am! What do you fucking want me to say?! That, yeah, despite being the fucking Deimos King, that I can’t even keep my mate safe?!” he snarls, his words raw and harsh, the final restraint on his self-control snapping. If it wasn’t for the spell I cast earlier, we would have had an audience by now.

“I wasn’t able to protect you on our first date, I wasn’t able to protect you from Helios, and I wasn’t able to protect my mother! So, yes, I’m fucking afraid that the next time I may lose you! Being the mate of the Deimos King puts a target on your fucking back. So yeah, staying the fuck away from you is best for both of us!”

My heart thuds as I stare into his raging blue eyes, his aura swirling around him so intensely that I can barely breathe; but those words, even if spoken in anger, are his truth.

“If that makes me a coward, then so be it,” he adds, his voice rough but lower, his eyes burning into mine. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”