Page 265 of A Vicious Love

“You’re tired,” he murmured, his hand moved, sliding around my hip, and he tapped my ass gently. “Bedtime, baby. You’ve had a long day.”

I gasped and looked up at him. His expression did not change, but his eyes warmed with amusement.

My whole face heated. “You cannot just tap me like that.”

“I just did.”

I tried to glare.

He lowered his mouth near my ear. “That was gentle.”

My heart was racing again. This man reminded me nothing of the man that I had stood beside for years. Every day that passed, I felt myself forgetting to be cautious. Because, that was who I was. I loved too hard, and often the wrong people.

He stepped back and reached for the tie at the side of my dress.

I caught his wrist.

“Is there another reason you’re here?” I asked.

He didn’t pull away from my hand. I heard the rain beginning again outside the windows, soft against the roof of House Alder.

“Sienna.”

“No.” My voice came out smaller than I wanted, so I tried again. “Please don’t say my name like that. I need to ask it.”

His jaw tightened.

I kept hold of his wrist because if I let go, I might lose the courage.

“You’re staying through breakfast and frogs and cards, and you keep saying you’re here for me, but…” My throat closed for a second. “You’ve never done this before.”

His eyes stayed on mine.

I pressed my lips together. “If there is another reason, tell me.”

“There are always reasons.”

My stomach sank. I sat down on the edge of the bed. Already preparing myself for the truth.

“No. Not like that.” He dragged a hand through his hair, then seemed to remember I still held the other wrist and lowered his hand again. “I mean in my life. But that isn’t why I’m in this room. I came to work on us.”

I let go of his wrist slowly.

“I missed you,” he looked almost angry to have said it aloud. “When you pulled away from me. I thought I wanted silence. I spent years telling myself you annoyed me.“

He stepped closer, slowly this time.

“I took all of it for granted because it was always there. You were always there. Reaching. Smiling. Trying to make me less of a bastard for rooms that didn’t deserve the effort.”

My eyes burned, and I fought the tears not to fall.

“I hated how much I wanted it,” he said. “So I acted like it irritated me.”

His hand lifted, then stopped before touching my face.

“It broke me. When you stood beside me and gave me exactly what I had trained you to give me. I thought if you were quiet, I’d feel free of the pressure. I didn’t. I felt the room empty around me every time you went still.”

A tear slipped before I could stop it.