Page 26 of Unburied

He could feel her putting distance between them with each minute that passed, and he hated it. Although he tried to fight it, she told him he should go back to his place and spend the night. It made sense in a way since he didn't have any clothes, but he hated to leave her when he’d screwed up again.

He couldn’t stand that things were so tumultuous between them. Though he wanted to fight for her—for them—he’d pushed her far enough already; any more and he could risk losing her permanently. Reluctantly, he did as she asked and gave her space.

It was a mistake. The next day at work was even worse. Gone was the warm, open, passionate woman he’d spent the night with. This Vivi ignored him at every turn. Any time he got within twenty feet of her, she turned tail and ran away like she didn't even want to be in the same room with him.

After yesterday, it stung more than he was willing to admit. He knew she still didn't fully trust him after he’d almost walked out the other night, but he’d spent the past twenty-four hours trying to alleviate her fears and prove to her that it wouldn't happen again.

By the end of the day, he could no longer stand it. Only Miles, Knox, and himself were left, and he didn't want to put off the inevitable another minute. He headed downstairs and cut across the lobby to look for Vivi. Her eyes widened when she saw him coming, but she was trapped behind the front desk and couldn't escape him this time.

He was intent on exploring things with Vivi. After the taste of her he'd gotten that weekend, he wanted the opportunity to see where things could go. But the first step in that was coming clean. He wanted to tell Knox man-to-man that he was dating his sister.

Vivi darted a quick look around as he moved beside her. “What are you doing?”

“I want to talk to your brother.”

She tipped her chin up to look at him, wariness evident in her pretty brown eyes. “About what?”

He threw her a hard look. “I've known him for years. I won't disrespect him by dating you without his knowledge.”

Already, Vivi was shaking her head. “Please don't say anything. Not—” She rested one hand on his chest when she saw the dark look on his face. “Not yet. Everything is still so new.”

He couldn't help but feel like a dirty little secret. He took a step backward. “You don't want him to know about us?”

Something like regret crossed Vivi's face, and her gaze swept the room before returning to him. “Can we not talk about this here?”

From the tone of her voice, it sounded like she didn't want to talk about it ever. He fell back another step. He wasn't going to lie. He kind of felt used, and it wasn't a good feeling. He could feel the walls going back up, could feel himself pulling away from her. He’d thought they were on the same page; apparently, he was wrong.

Vivi reached for him, her face pleading. “Let's just talk about this later. You can come over or I can come to your place, whichever. Please.”

It was that single word she tacked onto the end that had him reconsidering. He had to meet up with Jaxon to do some recon, but he’d meant every word he told her Saturday night, and he wanted to prove that she could rely on him. “I'll be there after I’m done.”

Before she could say another word, he turned and headed for the bullpen. Heart racing, he made a beeline for his desk to grab his keys. He knew he’d hurt her, but she refused to give him a chance to redeem himself. Every time he took one step forward, she took two steps back.

He knew she was into him, but he couldn’t figure out for the life of him how to get her to trust him. He’d have to keep picking away at that hardened reserve and hope she would eventually listen.

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

Vivi let out a huge sigh as Mason left through the front door, not sparing her another glance. She couldn’t tell if the strange feeling in her stomach was relief or disappointment. Up until he’d cornered her a few minutes ago, she had somehow managed to avoid him all day.

She couldn’t forget his reaction Saturday night. Part of her still couldn’t believe he’d run out on her. It felt like a dagger to the heart. One minute, everything was perfect. The next, the door had snicked shut, sending a spear of agony straight through her soul.

She had been crushed. Her heart still felt a little tender, truth be told. He had seemed so sincere, apologizing over and over after he’d come back to bed. But could she trust him? It was eerily similar to the night at the hotel. She had woken just after dawn, and the bed where he’d lain next to her half the night was cold and empty. What if it happened again? Would he just decide one day that she wasn’t enough, that he didn’t want to be with her, and walk out just as he had Saturday night?

She had caught both Knox and Miles eyeing her throughout the day, watching as if they thought something was different with her. She had managed to avoid both of them too for the most part. She couldn’t bear to answer any questions. She knew Mason wanted to tell her brother about them, and she understood where he was coming from. But she wasn’t ready—especially after this weekend. What was the point in telling everyone they were dating if it wasn’t going to last?

“What do you have going on tonight?”

She jumped at the sound of her brother’s voice and pasted on a smile as she turned toward him. “Just heading home. Gonna chill and pack some more.”

“How’s that going?” He leaned one hip against the desk and studied her.

She shrugged. “It’s kind of a process. There’s so much stuff I don’t know where to begin.”

“Want some help? I can grab a pizza and swing by.”

She thought about that for a second. It had been a while since she’d had some time alone with Knox. “Actually, that’d be nice. Thanks.”