Page 82 of The Beast's Heart

He growls and helps me up. Wordlessly, he guides me under the ropes and helps me down from the ring.

We’re almost out of the room when he looks over his shoulder at the still-stunned Geoff. “You’d better not be here when we’re done.”

I think he means the gym, but Geoff asks, “You’re firing me?”

“No. But I don’t want youhere. Sort it out with New York.” And then he turns away.

The house. He means for Geoff to leave the house. “It’s really not a big deal,” I splutter. “Really. You don’t have to do that.”

Adam grunts.

He takes me through to the third floor bathroom. It’s a small serviceable room with tiled floors and that same weak orange light.

I sit on the toilet seat. My lip is bleedinga lot. Much more than I would have expected. I cup my hand over my mouth and chin. It must look terrible. Adam has to tuck his elbows in as he runs water into the basin. This room is really too small for him, it’s definitely too small for both of us together. He grabs a wad of loo roll and wets it, then kneels at my side.

“Let me see?”

I remove my hand and he winces, then dabs lightly at the cut. I squeeze my eyes shut when it stings.Who was I fooling even attempting something like boxing?

“The face generally bleeds a lot,” Adam says soothingly. “Lots of blood vessels close to the surface. In the business, we’d cut ourselves on the forehead—give ourselves color, we’d call it. It looks pretty darn dramatic. But you should be fine.”

I take the wad of paper from him. “I don’t think Geoff even meant to hurt me. He was jealous.” I feel terrible for coming between them. “I’m sure if you just reassure him?—”

“—Reassure him?”

“I know you’re angry, and hewasout of control. Far too much testosterone going on. But it’s only because he cares about you.”

“Belle, I mean this in the nicest way possible, but what the hell are you talking about?”

He surely can’t be that oblivious? “Yesterday, I think when Geoff saw us together… I mean, you were holding my chin.” I glance up at him, trying to read any look of surprise on his features. “He got the wrong idea. He felt territorial. You know, the whole alpha wolf thing?”

“Territorial? Of me?”

“Yes.” Finally, he’s getting it. “So if you just assure him that I’m not a threat, problem solved. I tried to, but he didn’t believe me.”

Adam drops his head and lets forth a string of curses. “I amnothis territory.”

“Poor choice of words on my part. I only meant that perhaps he takes what the two of you have a little more seriously than you do?”

He looks up at me. His eyes are a deep green in the yellow light. Like gemstones. “Just what is it you think the two of us have?”

I shift on the seat, my stomach writhing with squirmy things. Which was worse? Getting punched or this conversation? “Well… in the kitchen that time, after the article? I kind of put it together. And then Ray confirmed.”

“Whatdid Ray confirm?”

I concentrate hard on my lap, unable to look at his face. “Well, I saw it for myself. After the picnic. The two of you were… you have a sort of on-again, off-again thing every so often… don’t you?”

“Let me be clear.” Adam’s voice is that low growl again. “It hasn’t beenonin over a decade.”

My gaze snaps to his. My heart swoops. “But, but I saw you.”

“What you saw was Geoff hitting on me.”

“Oh.”

I want to say, ‘But you went back upstairs to him that night’, ‘But you continued things where you left off,’ except clearly he didn’t. When we said goodnight, Adam went up that steep hidden staircase to hisemptyroom and slept alone.

No one else knows I live like this.

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