He picked up his glass and went to his chair.He put his bare feet on the desk and regarded her.“Sometimes.”
“Tonight?”
“You’re being—”
“Direct.”She grinned.“The word is direct.”
With the force of a combine, she cut through his defenses.
Over the next few seconds, her smile faded.“I know it’s not about me.”
“What in the hell?No.”He leaned forward to slam the glass on the wood.
“I watched you for a while before interrupting.And I went over everything.I know you want to talk about me being a brat—”
“Sofia, that’s not—”
“I know that,” she reaffirmed.“Everything between us was fine…the sex.The shower.But there was something in your eyes…” She met his gaze again.“I thought I was being fanciful, making it up.I’m not, though, am I?It’s still there.”
“I warned you to stay away.”
“Yeah.You did.Brats aren’t always well behaved, I’m guessing.”
Despite himself, he gave her a half-smile.
“I’m still here.”
“You should go back to bed.”He picked up the whiskey then took a sip and waited for the liquid amber to warm its way down.
“Still here.”
“Doesn’t surprise me.”He rolled the glass between his palms.
She eased herself from the windowsill and moved toward him.
“Sofia.”The word was a growl, a warning, a plea.“Don’t.”
She sat on his desk, crowding his space, only inches away.“Whatever it is, the night makes it worse.”
“Does it?”
“That’s when my birth father would come home, sometimes in drunken rages.”
Now he wanted to soothe.Men were made to protect those they loved, not make them live in fear.
“During the day I could go to school, pretend everything was wonderful.At night, there really was a monster, and he would come out.”
He heard no self-pity in her tone, only the harsh reality no child should endure.Not just in the BDSM they’d shared, he admired her strength.
“It took us all years to learn how to sleep peacefully, without an eye on the door, jumping at every little sound.”
“I’m sorry you went through that.”
“We got closer because of it, the three of us.The day he abandoned… Well, Mom didn’t really know at the time that he was gone, that he’d stay gone.It’s her I admire.She moved us to Corpus Christi, and she eventually met John McBride.”She had a small smile.“I learned some men were hard workers, that they gave a damn, that they could be trusted.He took in another man’s children and helped provide for them.When I look back, that’s what I remember.The good.”
“It’s not always that simple.”
“No?Tell me about your dad.”
