A small flicker of heat moved through his eyes, but he kept it leashed. She saw it. Felt it. And damn him, it didn’t help one bit.
“Like what?” he asked, and there was just enough Sloan in his tone to make her narrow her eyes.
“Don’t you dare make me say it.”
His mouth twitched, but the amusement faded quickly as his gaze moved over her face. “I’m not going to touch you unless you ask me to.”
The words hit her harder than she expected.
Becky blinked, her throat tightening. “Sloan, that’s not...I’m not afraid of you.”
“I just need you to hear me.” Sloan sat on the edge of the bed beside her, close enough for his heat to wrap around her, but not close enough to crowd. “After everything that has happened,after everything you’re feeling, you need to know you are in control of this. Of me. Of what happens between us.”
Tears filled her eyes again. “Sloan?—”
“No.” His hand slid down, his fingers wrapping gently around hers, careful of the cracker she still held like some kind of emotional lifeline. “You want me, I’m yours. You need me to hold you, I’ll hold you. You need me to sit across the damn room and keep my hands to myself; I’ll do that too.”
A tear slipped free before she could stop it. Becky cursed to herself, she was so damn sick of crying.
“But don’t you ever think wanting me is wrong.” His eyes darkened, not with anger at her, but with a promise she felt clear down to her bones. “You’re my mate. Wanting me, needing me, missing me… that belongs to us. No one gets to take that from you.”
Her lips trembled. “I have missed you. So damn much.”
Something shifted in his face then, a crack in all that control he wore so well.
“I know,” he said quietly.
“No.” Becky shook her head, her voice breaking. “I mean I’ve really missed you. I’ve been right here with you, and I’ve still missed you. Does that even make sense?”
“Yeah, baby.” Sloan leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers. “It does.”
She closed her eyes, breathing him in, letting the warmth of him settle some of the chaos inside her. “I hate this.”
“I know.”
“I hate that I don’t know what’s okay to feel anymore.” Becky felt like a broken record, repeating and repeating, but she couldn’t help it. She was so messed up.
His fingers tightened around hers. “Then don’t worry about what’s okay. Just feel it.”
“That sounds dangerous.” She frowned.
“You are safe with me.” His voice was a low rumble against her.
“I know that.” She whispered touching his face. She didn’t know how to fix the mess waiting outside this room. But she knew him.
And maybe, for this minute, that was enough.
CHAPTER 13
Katrina walked the outside of the warehouse while Blaze and Jared cleared the inside. Pulling out her phone, she glanced at the screen to see if she had any missed texts or calls from Becky.
Nothing.
She was worried about her, but she also knew things were going to work out. Sloan loved that woman more than life itself. Anyone with eyes could see that. Still, Katrina knew Becky was dealing with a lot. She couldn’t even imagine the emotions tearing through her right now. She was also dying to know what the test showed. Was it positive or negative.
In truth, Katrina had always wanted kids herself, but her bastard of a father had totally screwed that up for her. May he rot in hell. She would have loved to have a child with Blaze, but even if she was still human that wouldn’t be a possibility unless they adopted. Still just imagining a little boy with his attitude or a little girl with his smile was something she did sometimes. But she knew that dream would never come to pass, so she hadshoved it down deep with all the other dreams that had faded into nothing.
Cursing under her breath, Katrina shoved her phone back into her pocket. Her mind was too damn full, and that wasn’t good. She needed to focus on the job. Walking around the side of the building, her eyes scanned the area, but she didn’t see anything or anyone. With a sigh, she leaned against the old broken-down chain-link fence and stared out into the dark.
