Page 3 of Love & Heart Braking

I was a descendent of Venus’s power, the second generation of her line, and when it came to the heart, I was an expert. I understood what my heart could bear and what it couldn’t. Stupidly, I’d gone against my instincts when it came to dating Devereaux in the first place.

Not again.

As a Hucs, Soleil was already involved, even if I wished it otherwise. Devereaux was not.

And that was the way it would stay.

“That isn’t what I’m trying to do.” I crossed my arms. “I meant what I said. We can’t date.”

He clenched his jaw. “I’m meant to stand back and watch you date other men?”

My chest tightened to almost painful levels.

I whispered, “I’m sorry. Yes. You know why.”

Devereaux’s eyes had switched to blue at some point, and they didn’t switch back. “I’m going to figure out what this is about, Cerys. Someone’s controlling you. They’re controlling you.”

Damn it. He’d always been too smart for his own good. “I’m asking that you respect my decision and don’t dig further.”

“You know what you can bear, sweetheart,” he answered. “And I know what I can bear too.”

We hadn’t been on a single date, and yet something about the berserker got under my skin the very first time we’d met. His pain hurt me.

Devereaux rotated his left wrist, and I studied his brown leather cuff. A trickle of blood flowed from beneath it, and I sucked in a harsh breath, my gaze flying to his.

He placed both of his hands into his pockets, out of view. The silence was tense, loaded. I didn’t know what to say.

How could I make things better without making them worse? Nothing was worth his life. The twelve would do to my berserker what they’d done to his father. This moment was only proving that I was Devereaux’s weakness. That when it came to me, his excellent control started to slip.

I wouldn’t be the reason for him being put down.

It would kill me.

Devereaux’s voice was tight. “I hope we can still be friends at least.”

My voice couldn’t be trusted. I nodded.

“I do need to see the Dethnels.” He didn’t look at me.

I swallowed hard. “Okay. When?”

“Now?”

I hesitated. “I can’t do tonight.”

“Because of your date?”

Shit!

Glancing across the table, my searching eyes encountered thin air. The gnome was nowhere to be seen. “When the hell did he leave?”

“No idea,” grunted Devereaux.

Guess I wouldn’t be loosening the curse any more tonight. Dang, and I’d been morbidly curious to see if the gnome would shoot all the way through my apartment ceiling.

I tore my focus from the stack of boxes the descendent had perched upon five minutes before.

“Looks like you’re free.” Devereaux cocked a brow.

---