I grinned like a fucking idiot. Especially when tiny bumps erupted across her skin. I wanted to trail the tips of my fingers over every single one of them, then go back and do it all over again with my tongue.
“Tristan.”
The way she said my name, so soft, so damn breathless, had me closing my eyes and rolling my lips over my teeth to keep myself from begging her to do it again. Or from demanding that mine was the only name she ever said like that.
Itwas wrong, so fucking wrong.
I didn’t give two shits. I couldn’t. Not when every cell in my body screamed this was where she was supposed to be. In my arms, saying my name in that sexy, breathy tone.
I’d almost said as much when an ear-splitting crash came from the kitchen, directly followed by a bloodcurdling scream. My heart stopped dead.
Both Kate and I set off running. The only difference was when we entered the kitchen, Kate knew what to do while I stood frozen in place.
Rushing to Millie’s side, she scooped her up and carefully stepped over the broken pieces of glass to put her on the counter.
“I’m sorry, Kate,” Millie whaled. “The vase...” More cries. “It slipped. I’m sorry.”
Millie kept crying, but Kate was so calm.
Cradling Millie’s cheeks between her palms, she kissed her forehead. “It’s okay, Bug. It’s just a vase. I’m more concerned about you. Did you get hurt?”
Without waiting for a response, she checked Millie’s feet, then her legs and hands.
“No cuts,” she said softly, placing another kiss to Millie’s head.
That fucking beating thing behind my ribs hurt so much, I almost couldn’t breathe. This kid wasn’t her blood. She didn’t give birth to her and yet she was more gentle, more kind to her than the one who gave me life had been to me.
Kate didn’t care about broken things; she kissed theboo-boosand made them better.
“Are you fucking blind?”
“I’m sorry, Mommy. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”
“Yes, I’m sorry too. Sorry I ever gave birth to you.”
Pinching my eyes shut, I willed the memory away.
I couldn’t be there.
Couldn’t be reminded of what I’d never had. Of what I’d worked so hard to forget.
“I gotta go.”
I didn’t know if she heard me. I just got the hell out of there.
Chapter seventeen
Kate
That piece of shit asshole.
I was going to kill him. Wrap my hands around his stupid throat and choke the life right out of him. Then I was going to punch air back into his lungs just so I could do it all over again.
“Ma’am.” Joshua, the doorman whose name I finally knew, tipped his head and opened the door. Because I was reserving all my wrath for Tristan fucking Blake, I gave him a sweet smile and walked, as opposed to stomped, into Blake Tower.
Today, I hated this place even more. It was pretentious and over the top...like the idiot owner.
Ezekiel was in his normal spot. But instead of stopping by the desk to say hi, I poked my index finger in the air. He gave me a quick nod and a very concerned look. I ignored it and marched my ass to the elevator.
