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As tears prickle behind my eyes, I bite hard against my lower lip, determined not to show any cracks in my armor. My first instinct is to call Syd because I really could use a shoulder to cry on, but I need to get out of here before the panic that’s beginning to ebb turns into sheer terror. On the verge of an avalanche of tears, I turn around, dead set on rushing out of here before anyone sees me lose it, but I don’t go very far. I slam right into a wall of muscle.
“Careful there,” a deep voice says, before strong hands grip my shoulders.
“I–– I’m sorry,” I mumble, my eyes trained to the floor.
I’m not going to cry.
I repeat the mantra over and over again, but it’s in vain. My body starts to tremble.
I’m fucking crying.
“Are you okay?” the man asks.
Huh?
I recognize that voice. It’s the same deep, sexy voice that murmured filthy things in my ear in a luxurious suite at Dark Compulsion while the unwavering alpha fucking me made me come over and over again.
I look up and my heart stops.
Unforgettable aqua blue eyes stare down at me.
I blink.
I blink again.
I blink one more time for good measure.
The gorgeous man staring down at me has been the main star of my dirty dreams for the past two nights.
Am I dreaming?
I’m having a shitty day so far, surely God wouldn’t be so cruel as to conjure up a mirage.
“Ignatius?!” I croak.
He blinks. His expression is a total mystery. “Wild Strawberry?” The club names sound a bit ridiculous in real life. He scans the surrounding space, then focuses on me. “Did someone hurt you?”
Suddenly, I’m fully aware of my sad, sad state.
“This is so embarrassing,” I avert my gaze, wiping away tears streaking down my face with trembling hands.
His strong fingers tip my chin, raising my face up so he can meet my eyes with his steady blue ones. He stares at me with careful sympathy, like he can read my soul. “Why are you crying?”
“It’s nothing,” I dismiss.
He cocks a suspicious eyebrow. “You’re a terrible liar, sweetness. What’s going on?”
My lips part, like I could spill all my hurt into the palm of his hands and he’d make it all better.
Ridiculous. I know.
Mom is dead.
Dad is dead.
My grandparents on Dad’s side died a few years ago.
Mom’s parents passed away when I was a kid.
