“Ophelia.”
She hummed an acknowledgment with her eyes closed as fatigue threatened to drag her back toward sleep.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
CHAPTER 33
Sam hoveredin the doorway of the bathroom as Ophelia groomed herself after her brisk shower.
“You should have talked to me first,” she barked, pointing her brush in his face.
“You’re angry.”
“Of course I’m angry!” She ran the brush roughly through the wet ends of her hair and slammed it down on the bathroom counter.
“I did not know you would be so agitated,” he admitted, grimacing and shifting from foot to foot. “I would not have acted without speaking to you if I’d anticipated your reaction. I will not do it again.”
She whirled on him, glaring.
“Somehow, I don’t believe you,” she growled. “It’s not like you’re compelled to honesty, anyway.”
His eyes narrowed. “What are you saying, Ophelia?”
“I’m saying that I don’t know where it ends with you! If you have no moral core, do you have any morals at all? You lie like breathing! How am I supposed to believe it’s different with me? How do I trust anything you say? You’re always talking socasually about murder, it’s probably just a matter of time—and I’m the closest available victim, aren’t I?”
Frustration speared at him. All of his efforts had still amounted to such a low opinion.
He bristled, drawing up to his full height from where he’d been leaning against the door frame. Stepping into the small room, he crowded her back until the ledge of the counter dug into her spine.
He braced his arms on either side of her, caging her in as he ducked his head to meet her gaze. “Is that what you think? That I’m a feral dog and you’re a toy that I’ll shred down to the stuffing when you cease to amuse me? I would offer you words of comfort, but what difference would it make if I’m the liar you believe me to be?”
His anger abruptly dissipated, leaving something like grief in its wake. He skimmed his hand up her arm and over her shoulder, locking around her nape in the possessive way he favored.
“Tell me how to make you understand.” Pressing his forehead to hers, he huffed. “If my words and my touch are not enough, what’s left to me? I won’t have you looking at me like a stranger for the rest of your life, wondering when I’m going to snap your neck.”
His hand flexed around her neck as he spoke the words, his body pantomiming his words, and a shudder passed over him. She closed her eyes, swallowing hard against his palm.
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
He made a sound of frustration, dragging her against his chest. His arms wrapped around her as his chin settled atop her head. “I’ll never hurt you.Never.”
She burrowed deeper into his arms, a sign of her weakening resistance. Her body knew what it wanted even if her mind wavered.
“And I’ve never lied to you. Not once. I never will. I would lie, cheat, and steal from every other human on this planet, but only in your service. Don’t you understand that? It’s all for you. All of it, always.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” she said, her voice muffled by his chest.
He pushed her away, holding her out at arm’s length as he frowned at her. “What doesn’t make sense?”
“This,” she bit out, gesturing between them. “Look at you! You’re a robotic sex god, and I’m just—I’m just?—”
“Just what?”
“Nobody!” she blurted, shrugging out of his grip. “I’mnobody! I’m a mentally ill, naïve trainwreck with a dysfunctional family. I should have known it was strange when Logan told me he loved me so quickly. It never made any sense. Do you have any idea how stupid I feel for believing him? And now you’re asking me to make the same mistake without even a breather to recover from the emotional trauma.”
His brow furrowed, eyes dancing back and forth between hers as she ranted.
“I want it too much.” Her hands clutched at the collar of her shirt in a strangling grasp. “I want love like water in an endless desert, and it makes me stupid. I’m not even sure it exists. I would be insane to believe that this is how I get to have it.”
