“Can we just stop?” He holds his hand up while rubbing his temple with his free hand.
“Whatever.” I throw an arm over my eyes, wishing I could blink us all somewhere away from this bullshit before it destroys everything. If I thought the woman would allow it, I would ask Simba to do it for me.
The people in this place are going to fuck up any chance we have of making this work—I guarantee it.
“Fun times at the Pridelands—another day, another trauma,” Taurus mutters.
I growl low because it happens often enough for us to be bitterly sarcastic about it. “I want to tan her hide. I hate when she flies off in a tizzy and leaves me to pick up the pieces. It gives me a bloody headache.”
That’s true, but I’m still more pissed at him and can’t really articulate it yet.
“Try it from this end. The cat’s so much a part of me now that the smallest ripple brushes across the surface of her pond and it rockets up my spine.”
“No bloody thanks,” I snort. “It’s bad enough getting a bleed when she siphons off of me.”
“As a bonus, your wife can rip open my skull on a whim. Face it, Sampson, you got off lucky if all you get is a bleed every now and again.”
He really doesn’t know, does he? Damn, he’s oblivious.
I give him a pointed expression. “You have no idea how much of Talia’s emotions I feel, do you? Shields or not, it’s not a bloody picnic. I wouldn’t trade it for the world, but it hits pretty bloody hard.”
“I hope you wouldn’t trade it,” he grumbles as he slumps in his chair more.
“Of course not. I wouldn’t trade any of you, despite how much trouble you are in.”
That earns me a tiny smile, and I consider it a victory. “Me neither. I love my wife in ways I can’t wrap my mind around. The goddess is something entirely different and enormous in her own right. You are, too, when you’re not annoying me to death because you didn’t give me the smackdown I wanted.”
This topic is off-limits if I want to remain sane, so I shrug as if it doesn’t matter. “I know from experience it won’t fix anything, nor will it make you feel better.”
“Figures it would be a lesson that you won’t let me learn for myself.”
My brows furrow, and I shake my head, my expression haunted. “It’s not a lesson I would wish on anyone. And I will not force someone to learn it by my hand because that shitty lesson changes everything.” I look away, struggling to get myself under control as the bile rises. When I do, I murmur, “You didn’t want it badly enough. You didn’t push me far enough to force my hand. You could have, but it would have—it would have changed everything.”
I’m being more vulnerable than I’d like, but now that he triggered that pain, I can’t help it.
Taurus jumps out of the chair, and I shrink back, unsure what’s coming. “Fuck! Do you know how much it rips me up inside when you talk like that?”
“If you had pushed me to where I beat the shit out of you, it would have changed things forever. That’s the flat truth. What else do you want me to say?”
Looking at me for a long minute, Taurus stays quiet. Finally, he turns to head for the French doors and swings them open, crossing the yard in bare feet. I didn’t expect that, but of course,he has very different reactions than my wife or primary. I guess distance is what he needs to process my admission.
Unfortunately for him, that activates something else in me, and I do not like distance when I’m hurting.
I stride after him, grabbing his arm. My expression is earnest, but my voice is rough. “You would have had to say things about—you would have had to reopen wounds to get me to do it. Maybe I’m a fool, but I don’t think you’d do that.”
His eyes fall on my hand, and I feel the heat of that gaze, but don’t let go. “You know I wouldn’t.”
He needs to hear this, though.
“To get me to beat on you, you would have had to cross that line. I’ve felt the need you were feeling. I knew what you were doing, and I didn’t let you.” I squeeze his arm, hoping it helps him realize that I’m trusting him with something important.
He sighs, looking out into the garden. “I want my family to work, Sampson. Right now, we don’t, and I want us to work.”
“I do, too. I want us all to be together and happy.”
Taurus turns back to head inside, forcing me to let go. Once he’s free, he goes in and drops into the armchair again. I follow him, flopping out on the bed since he definitely refuses to touch me.
“You and I earlier—not a pleasant scene.”
