Page 50 of Beautiful Exile

He didn’t give a damn about Arden. Or rather, he cared a hell of a lot more about what her art could get him than her well-being. And his sheer disrespect of her only had my anger mounting.

Arden’s berry-colored lips pressed together but fluttered as they did, as if she were desperately trying to hold in a laugh. “You don’t like him? What are you, five?”

A scowl twisted my face yet again. “No, I’m not five. But Iamannoyed as all hell by his disrespect.”

Arden rolled her eyes. “It’s just him. He’s got a single-minded focus when it comes to The Collective. And he’s not used to seeing me with, uh, guys.”

That piqued my interest. “Not the relationship type?”

God, I hoped that wasn’t true. I had nointerest in one-night stands or shallow flings. I’d gotten that out of my system in college. It wasn’t for me. I craved real, true connection.

Arden lifted one shoulder and then dropped it, her T-shirt sliding down and revealing tan skin and the absence of a bra strap.

Fucking hell.

“Told you,” she said, her voice dropping. “Not really good with the whole people thing.”

“Bullshit.”

Those gray-violet eyes flashed. “Excuse me?”

“You’re great with people. When you want to be,” I challenged. “But that doesn’t mean connection doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”

Arden pulled the drawstring of her shorts tighter around her finger, the tip turning white from lack of blood flow. “Why do you have to see so much?” she asked, her annoyance clear in her tone.

The corners of my mouth tipped up in a half smile as I moved in closer, gently unwrapping the cord from her pointer finger. “I spent a lot of my life trying to figure out what makes people tick. Might’ve learned a thing or two.”

Arden looked up at me, searching for something. “You tried to work out why your dad was the way he was.”

My body stiffened. I tried to catch the reaction, knowing it gave too much away, but I couldn’t. “Yes,” I admitted. I wouldn’t lie, not to Arden.

“Did you ever figure it out?” she asked softly.

I didn’t release her fingers, couldn’t make myself. “No. But he’s the master of walls and subterfuge.”

Arden gave me a sad smile. “Sometimes, understanding why helps, but it still doesn’t change what they did.”

“No. It doesn’t.” I forced myself to release my grip on her. “What do you know about Denver?Reallyknow?”

Arden arched a brow. “Change of subject much?”

“It’s important.”

“I’ll let that one slide,” she said, a hint of amusement in her tone. “What do you mean what do Iknowabout Denver?”

“His history. Relationship ties. All of it. Maybe he’s the one who left the note,” I suggested. There were more than a few things I wasn’t crazy about with the dude.

Arden’s face transformed with a full grin. “He’s been my art dealer for almost as long as I’ve been selling pieces. Born and raised a couple of towns over and only a handful of years older than me. I highly doubt he was involved in murder for hire in Boston.”

She snapped her mouth closed at the last statement, her skin paling a fraction.

The reaction was like a knife to the gut. How hard would that be? To hide every part of your past twenty-four-seven? “That’s where you’re from?” I asked gently.

Arden rolled her lips over her teeth but nodded quickly. “No one’s supposed to know.” A little of the fear left her then, a hint of mirth lighting those captivating eyes. “But I guess you make me break all the rules, Cowboy.”

Fuck.

She slayed me. I wanted to break every rule with her. To smash down any walls between us. To pin her against one right now and take her. To lose myself in her body and brand myself on her bones.

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