AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The little motherfucker who is seven minutes younger than me is just asking for a beat-down next time I see him. I can’t believe he wasn’t keeping better tabs on that shipment. It’s cost us so much cash.
But I’m not worried—I’ll get my cut even if I have to take it one chunk at a time.
When I walk into the kitchen, Serenity is sitting at the table, picking at her food.
I sink to the chair across from her. She shoots me a covert glance from under her lowered lashes.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her.
She nudges a cold pancake around her plate with her fork.
I watch her for a minute, and eventually she raises her gaze to mine.
Her eyes are swimming with tears, the depths made even bluer.
“I don’t know if I can be treated like that…how you just treated the person on the phone.”
“That was Linc. But you don’t have to worry about that, Serenity. I’ll always treat you with respect as long as you respect me.”
A tear spills over the rim of her eye. Without thought, I reach out and cup her face, catching the droplet with my thumb and swiping it away.
I hate that I’ve frightened her with my outburst with Linc. Seeing her so upset reminds me that the past decade since I’ve seen her has taken a heavy toll on her mental health. She isn’t the same carefree Serenity. She’s cautious—too cautious not to have seen some dark shit and experienced God knows what.
I get up and circle the table. I pull her to her feet and into my arms. “Please don’t cry.”
She buries her face against my chest, tucked under my chin in the spot where she always fit so well.
I thread my fingers through her long, loose waves of hair. When she tips her face up to meet my gaze, I clench my hand in the locks, holding her prisoner.
I tug, and she gasps out, her lips parting in an alluring beacon for me to claim them.
Slowly, I lower my mouth to hers. I don’t apply any pressure, but I do tighten my hold on her hair. She drops her head back farther, and I twine the length of hair around my entire fist as I tenderly work my lips over hers and down the tiny point of her chin to her throat.
Her pulse races under my mouth. I suck on the delicate skin, knowing the slightest scrape of my rough five o’clock shadow will mark her.
I want to mark her. Brand her.
Her breaths come in fast pants, and she digs her fingers into my biceps while I continue kissing paths up and down her throat to her collarbones and up behind her ears. I skate a hand down her ribs to settle on her waist. Thin. She’s too thin.
I release my hold on her hair, and she lets her head fall forward to bump against my chest.
“Let’s heat up the food you made for us,” I suggest.
She nods, rubbing her forehead against my chest. I know she’s more shaken than she’s letting on. She’s fragile, a flower springing up between cracks in the pavement, easily crushed underfoot.
The last thing I want to do is break Serenity more than the Connollys already have. But the way she’s looking at me, those big blue eyes glimmering with love, I know it’s too late.
Soon I’ll have no choice but to abandon her again.
Chapter VIII
Serenity
The entire day Heath treats me like I’m a bubble of spun glass, easily broken with a mere tap on the delicate shell.
And maybe I am. All the walls I’ve thrown up to shield me from the big, bad, cruel world crumbled the minute Heath opened his door to me.
After this is all over—and itwillend—it will take me months, perhaps even years, to find that inner strength again. But I don’t have any choice. I’m going to need it to fight on my own. The world is full of Nathans and Stepanovs. It’s doors waiting to be slammed in my face.
