“You knocked out your boyfriend?”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures. He’s a dud anyway. Now, get moving.”
“Okay. We’ll be there shortly.” I pulled away from the window, realizing that no matter where we went for the unforeseeable future, reporters would hound us. I wasn’t that girl. I couldn’t tolerate something like that. Besides, I hadn’t signed up to be his latest fling.
No matter the ruse I’d used on my parents only to have it thrown back in my face, I wasn’t his fiancée. I was just a girl who’d gotten caught up in a fantasy.
Or a nightmare.
“What is going on?” Steven yawned, stretching his arms.
“The press is coming. You need to get dressed. My best friend will take you wherever you want to go.”
What are you going to do? Are you going to force him to give up his career because… Just to take care of you?
Coffee.
Missing him.
Keeping my resolve because letting him go was the right thing to do.
“Huh? You don’t want to come with me?” His entire face was pinched in confusion.
I backed off the bed, immediately grabbing a robe from inside my closet. “Look around you, Steven. This is my home. I have a job I need to get to on Monday.”
“We’ll work it out. I promise you. We’ll find another place to live and things will be good. I’ll do whatever is necessary.”
“You shouldn’t have to do anything.”
He scratched his jaw and I realized just how much fur had grown on his face overnight. This shifter thing was real, but I couldn’t allow the mating to continue.
“Oh, for God’s sake, the crap about us getting married was a lie and one I never intended on being taken out of context. Whatever the hell that means. You don’t need to be tied to me or vice versa. Not because the press and whoever your social media guru is might like the coupling. My dad is out to get your kind.” I tied the sash as tightly as I could and continue breathing.
“My kind?” He crawled off the bed, snatching his shirt from the floor. “What does that mean?”
“It just means that you’re a shifter and I’m a human. We shouldn’t mix.”
“What is going on?”
“Nothing. I just…” How could I tell him what I knew in my heart and soul? How could I dare put that burden on him? I just couldn’t do it. That would be selfish and I wasn’t that way.
Bloodthirsty vampires.
Monsters.
Finding a way to destroy my father.
“This just isn’t going to work out. We had fun but that’s all it can be. Okay? Tawny will make sure you have your privacy.” Now I couldn’t look him in the eyes.
“What about your parents?” His voice was gruffer, his body stiffening as he jerked on his clothes.
“I’ll let them know we talked about it and everything was premature.” I couldn’t look him in the eyes, the ache so severe I wanted nothing more than to crawl under the covers. But this was the right thing to do. “That’ll sure make my father happy, but little does he know, I’m never speaking to him again.”
“Jesus, what aren’t you telling me?”
“Hurry, okay? According to Tawny, dozens of reporters are on their way. I know you need time and you don’t want to be caught here. That will further ruin your reputation.”
“What are you talking about, ruin my reputation? That’s ridiculous.”
