He spoke with a low, reverent tone, but his words did not belong to me. They were for the life growing inside me.
“No more chaos for you tonight, little one,” he said. “I’ll keep you safe. Both of you.”
My chest squeezed, emotion tightening my throat.
“You’ll be strong, like your mother.” He leaned close, pressing his lips to my bare flesh. “But I hope you never know her anguish.”
I closed my eyes, tears escaping from the corners.
The pain I carried had been inflicted by his touch.
How could he be so abhorrent one moment and gentle the next?
My world spun, splintering between the brutal reality and this impossible tenderness, and I hated him for making me ache for something I could never have.
Gods, I longed to believe there was good in him.
But I knew better.
He’d rather shatter me to pieces than let me stand on my own.
I didn’t want him — or fate — deciding for me. I wanted the choice to be mine, even if it led back to him.
Yet, even if I could choose him, he was still the man who murdered my mother.
“What are you thinking about?” His voice rumbled against my skin, startling me.
I dragged a hand over my eyes, wiping away the tears and hoping he didn’t see. “Nothing to concern yourself with.”
Ryker’s gaze lifted, pinning me in place. He looked softer somehow, his hair mussed, his lips still pressed to my belly.
“Everything about you concerns me, Cadence. Especially when you disappear into that head of yours.” His teeth grazed my skin, not quite a bite, but not gentle either. “Now out with it.”
I bit my lip, refusing to give in to my pain. I wouldn’t let him see how badly he’d broken me, how much I mourned the hope he kept snuffing out.
He shifted, the heat of his body sliding up mine. “You don’t have to hide from me, Cadence.”
Before I could think better of it, mirthless laughter tore free. Ryker continued his ascent, his mouth grazing the curve of my neck as he settled above me. He caged me in, his arms on either side of my head, forcing me to meet his gaze.
“You want to say something?” he said. “So, speak.”
“What’s the point?” I exhaled a sigh that felt too heavy, too sad.
Ryker clicked his tongue. “Why won’t you let me in?”
“You made me this way,” I accused. “You killed every shred of goodwill I had toward you time and again. And now what? You want me to be honest with you? Vulnerable? Grateful for the scraps of kindness you deign to offer? That’s not how relationships work, Ryker.”
My words hit him like a slap. I could feel it in the taut silence that followed. Ryker’s eyes narrowed, the softness draining out of him. The hand braced beside my head clenched tight, his knuckles whitening.
He bent closer, his breath hot against my face. The cuff on my wrist bit into my skin, and I twisted away, but his grip locked me in place, pinning me to the mattress like prey.
“You want to believe that you’re a prisoner?” His voice scraped over my skin, making my flesh pebble. “Fine. Hate me for it. Bite. Claw. Scream. It’s better than watching you die. But don’t ask me to apologize for the lengths I’ll go to keep you safe.”
He dragged his nose along my jawline, breathing me in as if he’d never tasted air before. The sound that left his throat was pure hunger.
“You don’t get to be indifferent, Temptress. I won’t allow you to slip away from me.”
His fingers gripped my jaw, forcing our gazes to meet.
