Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 129756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 649(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 649(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Vinnie, Tate, and Luke later made a brief appearance, checking on Mila and relaying that the cheetah was now very much dead and hadn’t known anything more about the bounty than the jackal or snake shifter had. No surprise, really.
Valentina cooked Dominic and Mila a meal and then, wanting to give them time alone, went home with James. And now, as they ate at Mila’s small dining table, Dominic couldn’t help replaying the earlier incident over and over in his mind. He kept remembering the incapacitating fear he’d felt when Mila had become deadweight in his arms, kept remembering how her lips had turned blue and how her heartbeat had slowed and faltered.
He hadn’t felt that kind of fear in . . . well, ever. It was the fear of losing something essential to you. Something you knew you wouldn’t be happy without.
And that fucking terrified him.
He’d known he cared for her, known she was important to him. But he hadn’t realized that he’d come to need her. Hadn’t thought she’d dug her way that deep inside him. Oh, he’d figured she might burrow her way there someday, but not so damn soon.
Dominic had avoided putting too much thought into what might lie ahead for them, but he had believed everything would move at his pace. He figured that if she did get past his defenses, he’d be in control of when it happened. He thought she’d only get there if he consciously opened the door wide enough.
He was wrong.
She’d somehow made herself indelible. Wasn’t quite inside his protective walls, but she had wedged her way through a crack she’d made in them. And now he felt . . . threatened. Which was stupid. But not one single soul had ever made themselves essential to him. Not one. He wasn’t sure he liked it. Every self-protective instinct he had was telling him to leave.
Maybe one night apart wouldn’t hurt. They were constantly in each other’s space, and that wasn’t always healthy, was it? It would probably do them both some good for him to—
“You’re quiet.”
The flatly spoken observation cut into his thoughts, snapping him to the present. She was staring at him, her gaze far too perceptive, too knowing.
Feeling uncomfortable and exposed, Dominic picked up his glass. “It’s not good to talk when I have food in my mouth.”
“You want to leave, don’t you?” The accusation was soft. Empty of resentment or judgment.
Shit. He sipped the wine that Valentina had poured. “Why would you ask that?”
“It wasn’t really a question. Your muscles are bunched tight. Like someone coiled to spring . . . or to jump up and run.”
He arched a brow at the taunt. “I don’t have reasons to be tense, considering the day we’ve had?”
She leaned forward, her eyes narrowed. “I know you. And I know that right now, the thing you want most is to get the fuck out of here. Tell me I’m wrong.”
Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Baby, there’s just a lot of stupid shit going through my head. And no, I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t need to.”
Mila marveled over how someone could be only a few feet away from her yet seem so damn unreachable. Honestly, she might as well have been speaking to him through plate glass. He hadn’t just withdrawn, he’d withdrawn from her. Had become distant and remote. And his “I don’t want to talk about it” was said with such finality that she knew there would be no getting him to share. No, he’d pulled down all the shutters. And she felt . . . alone.
“I imagine you’re thinking you should go home to process it all,” she said with a mocking edge to her tone. Oh, he’d be making excuses to himself about why he wanted to leave; he’d be telling himself it would be good for them. “You’re thinking you should spend a night in your own bed for a change, right?” She pursed her lips. “Maybe that’s true.”
“If you want me to leave, just say so.”
“If you want to go, go.”
“Jesus, what’s crawled up your ass?”
Her chuckle was void of humor. “Oh, I’m not gonna make this easy for you, Dominic. I’m not gonna be provoked into tossing you out of here. If you want to leave, you’re going to have to make the choice yourself. But if you do leave, don’t come back.”
Dominic frowned. “You’re saying I can’t ever leave this apartment unless I intend to end the relationship?”
“You’re going to play stupid now? Really? This is the ditch you want to die in?”
“You just said if I leave, I can’t come back.”
Her cat rumbled a growl at his derisive tone. Yeah, Mila didn’t like it much either, but she also knew the disrespect wasn’t real. He just wanted to provoke her.