Page 61 of Sienna Rossi: Beyond Shattered Trust

I try the door handle, and it opens. I open it just enough to slip inside before shutting it behind me and look at Jayce, who is fast asleep, his heart thumping loudly, his eyebrows furrowed.

Gods, Grandma Red was even asking if it was safe for him to be sleeping without anyone observing him, but he had said he would be fine. This man, I swear. I walk over to the bed and sit down on the edge, placing my hand on his bare chest.

His hand shoots out, wrapping tightly around my wrist.

“Jayce?” I whisper, brushing his hair off his forehead.

His eyes flutter open, and he looks around, his eyes blazing blue.

“It’s just me,” I murmur, letting my aura unfurl around the room before I cocoon it around us. “Just me.”

He seems to understand what I’m saying, looking around as if taking in his surroundings. “What are you doing here?” he asks.

“I dreamt of the dome again… Can I stay here?” I ask, my heart hammering as I ready myself for the possible rejection. He seems to let what I said sink in before he looks down at the bed, releasing my wrist before moving over.

“Fine, the last thing we need is you touching that egg.”

I smile and nod before he turns his back to me, but in the process, he’s freed up half the bed for me. I slowly get in; the spot is warm from where he had just been lying, and I smile as I snuggle into the duvet, his scent enveloping me.

This is home.

I stare at the plains of his back; his shoulders are stiff. He’s awake and tense, but I can’t help but smile as I reach over, placing my hand against his back. I have hope in us, hope that we’ll fix things.

“Go to sleep,” his rough voice comes.

My smile simply grows. “I will… Jayce, can I ask a question?” I ask softly.

“That is one.”

I roll my eyes. “Another.”

“Pillow talk really wasn’t in the offer. What is it?” he asks curtly.

I know…

“If we can’t find another solution…” My voice comes out softer than I mean it to. “Would you consider letting me mark you?”

The air between us grows heavy, the tension rising.

“I know it would complicate things,” I continue quietly as I stare at his back. “You already gave up your chance to mark anyone else when you marked me to bring me home.”

Even saying it makes something sharp twist in my chest. The thought of him marking someone else hurts so much. It’s wrong; I shouldn’t feel like this. I don’t have the right to feel like this, not after how I hurt him. And yet, that hurt and jealousy eat away at me. I want him, and I know if he ever chose someone else, it would kill me.

He rolls onto his back before slowly turning fully to face me. His thigh brushes mine beneath the duvet, the contact sending tingles through me as he places his arm under his head and observes me.

“Since when…” he begins lazily, arching a brow arrogantly, “Do you care about whether I mark someone else? I didn’t realise my future prospects concerned you.”

His voice is calm but almost mocking.

I look into his eyes, which are now a bright blue.

“Call me selfish, but I don’t want you to find someone else,” I admit quietly, my throat tightening around the words. “I love you. And I know I destroyed your trust. I betrayed you; I left you when you begged me not to. I know that.” My heart aches, but I don’t look away from him. “But I also know that you marked me out of responsibility, not because you truly wanted to.”

“I recall making that very clear,” he replies callously, his words edged with frost.

I nod, a strand of my hair falling in front of my eyes. “And although you’re the only person I would ever mark, I would rather it happen because we both want it, not because we’re forced to. Not like this; that isn’t fair to either of us.”

He doesn’t answer straight away. He just watches me, his expression unreadable as he looks at me.