Page 38 of Lust and Honor

I pull the edges of my towel tighter around myself before sitting across from him on the edge of the bed.

“That’s what kids do,” I say softly. “They change everything.”

A faint, almost broken smile touches the corner of his mouth. He takes another drink, then sets the bottle on the table.

“Yeah…they turn everything upside down. Everything.”

I hesitate before speaking carefully. “You don’t have to change anything…”

His eyes finally shift to me, but he stays silent.

Hope flickers stupidly inside me anyway. “Help us start a new life somewhere else. If you want to, no one will ever find us. I’m sure of it.”

For several long seconds, he just stares at me.

Then finally asks, “Why did you keep her?”

The question catches me completely off guard.

But he continues before I can answer. “You knew her father was a monster…why didn’t you get rid of the pregnancy? You could’ve had an abortion and kept your life unchanged.”

My heart clenches at the mere thought of not having Aurora and I look at her.

“Abortion is a great sin.”

He doesn’t even hesitate. “You know that’s bullshit.”

I tear my gaze from Aurora and meet his eyes. He leans forward slightly.

“You kept her because you were lonely? Weren’t you?”

My throat tightens. I swallow hard, fighting back tears.

He leans back in the chair again. “You want Aurora growing up with the same loneliness and fear you lived through? No family. No father to protect her. No friends?”

Tears spill down my cheeks. I shake my head.

He takes a slow breath. “And that’s exactly why you didn’t make that call to the nun today. That’s the smartest decision you’ve made in a long time, Ava.”

I wipe my tears away and don’t bother asking how he knows about the call.

Of course he knows.

His gaze returns to Aurora. “My daughter isn’t growing up broken and miserable,” he says quietly. “I won’t allow it. She’s gonna grow up like a princess. Safe. Loved. Spoiled rotten.”

“You want her because you’re lonely too?” I whisper, almost accusingly.

He locks eyes with me, his voice dark, possessive, and full of absolute certainty, “I want her because she’s mine. She’s a part of me lying in that bed. My responsibility. And I’m not the kind of man who runs from his responsibilities.”

“I’m scared, Maxim,” I confess honestly, my voice shaking. “I’m terrified that one of the monsters from my world or yours will hurt her.”

His eyes narrow. He nods slowly. “You have every right to be scared, Ava. There are evil people around us. Ruthless killers, child predators, bloodthirsty psychopaths, hired assassins—all looking for a way to hurt us. But there’s something you don’t know yet…something you’ll learn very soon.”

“What?”

He stands and walks toward me.

Towering over me.