Page 13 of Sanctuary

“We split territory. I get everything north and west of Monument, and you get south and east.”

I stare again, stunned as I process what he’s suggested. “Are you being serious?” I ask in a hoarse whisper.

He frowns. “Yes. Of course. Surely it’s better than this constant conflict.”

“How gullible do you think I am? There’s nothing east of us but swampland and the flooded coast. Nobody lives there, which you know perfectly well. And everything south of us is threatened by that criminal stronghold. It’s much more dangerous travelling down there, which is why you’re now trying to foist it off on me. You’re pretending it’s a fair arrangement, but you’ve given me almost nothing.”

His mouth twists. “All right then. What kind of split do you suggest? I’m attempting to make peace.”

“Are you? Because it sounds like you’re trying to take advantage of me.”

“I just now asked you to make another suggestion.”

“You’re assuming I can trust anything you say.”

“Why shouldn’t you?” He looks almost—almost—offended.

“Why sh—?” I’m strangling on my outrage. “I’m not going to agree to a division of territory that leaves me with almost nothing, and I have no reason to trust you. If you weren’t so stubborn and territorial, we’d’ve come to a reasonable working relationship months ago. I’d rather not fight with you, but I’m not the one fanning the flames.”

I’m pleased that, despite my small breakdown earlier, my voice is clear and even. Unbreaking. I sound more confident than I feel. Aidan doesn’t have to know my weaknesses.

“And you’re arguing that undercutting me with James—on purpose, accepting half a fair payment—isn’t fanning the flames?”

“No. It’s not. It’s reasonable self-defense against the flames you already fanned.”

He rolls his eyes. His mouth curls in impatience. He’s back to being exasperated with me, although not nearly as coldly angry as he was earlier today. “And that’s your final word?”

“What is? That I’m not willing to back down to your pushiness? That I won’t agree to a supposed compromise that can’t be trusted? If that’s what you mean, then, yes, it’s my final answer. I’m not a hostile person—anyone who knows me will testify to that—but I won’t be bulldozed. And I won’t move merely because a man demands I do.” I meet his gaze bluntly.

His mouth twists, but now it looks more like resignation than impatience. “We should be able to do better than this, love. I never asked for us to be rivals.”

“I didn’t ask for us to be rivals either. Some people just butt heads, no matter what they do.”

He shakes his head and stands up. He’s wearing old brown work trousers, a blue henley, and a canvas jacket. His hair needs washing, and he’s got a few days’ worth of beard. There’s a smudge of dirt on one side of his jaw.

He shouldn’t still manage to be as good-looking as a movie star, but somehow he is.

It’s really the most aggravating trait of his, that despite everything he’s so undeniably attractive.

“So it’s still on between us then?” he asks, brushing off his ass and the back of his thighs from any stray dirt from the rock.

I stand up too, smoothing down the flyaways in my hair. “Yes. It’s still on.”

He makes another face before he walks away, heading back toward Monument.

It’s almost dark. He’ll probably spend the night there. Hopefully I won’t run into him again.

The only good thing about his appearance is that it distracted me completely from my breakdown about overhearing Del and Cole have sex. I shudder at the memory. The rhythmic banging of the bed. Del’s erotic cries. Cole talking her through it.

That’s an area of life that’s completely off-limits for me. I’m never going to have sex that wild and pleasurable. For me, it will always be tainted by the things I was forced to do in years past. All I want is to never have to fuck a man again for the rest of my life.

If I can get that much and retain my independence, then I can be content with the life I have.

I’m definitely not going to let Aidan get in the way of the decent future I can build for myself.

He might think he’s the center of the universe, but he’s not.

He’s not the main character of my story.

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