Page 52 of The Last Dance You Saved
Those words brought back Fallon’s face in the kitchen this morning when she’d all but made herself invisible and the things she’d told me in the barn about her dad not having a heart. She needed to see him like this, all but torn apart because of the complications his life had wrought on hers.
“She thinks it’s because you don’t want her,” I said softly. “That no one has ever wanted her. She sees herself as a mistake that ruined your family.”
He inhaled sharply, and his voice was almost a growl when he asked, “She told you this?”
I shook my head. “Not exactly, but I could read between the lines.”
“Having her was never a mistake.”
“You should tell her that.”
He didn’t respond, but we sat twined together, giving each other some comfort. The adrenaline had gone, and while the haze of lust that always burned like an endless flame between us was still there, it was now accompanied by something much fiercer.
I wondered if this was how my siblings felt while holding the person they loved. As if somehow, in a world filled with billions of people, you’d managed to find the one soul who could truly know you. See you. Love theyouthat existed at your core.
Except, this wasn’t love with Rafe.
It couldn’t be.
Sure, we’d formed a bond, a deep friendship and unearthly attraction, but just yesterday, he’d looked at me with disgust and mistrust. Love couldn’t bloom in its place that quickly, could it? What would I do if it had? With no easy answer to those questions, I shoved all my thoughts into a closet in the far recesses of my brain and locked them away before they could take permanent hold.
Chapter Eighteen
Rafe
AIN’T NO LOVE IN OKLAHOMA
Performed by Luke Combs
Sitting with Sadie on my lap, twined in my arms, felt right and wrong and everything in between. She’d gotten her scars by defending her niece. The bravery of her actions, the self-sacrifice of it, turned me on almost as much as those stunning eyes flashing with desire. The fact she’d almost had her naked flesh attacked by a snake because of me tore into my veins with a brutality that left me nearly breathless.
Having someone come for me was one thing, but coming after people I cared about was entirely different. It wouldn’t be tolerated. I would find and punish whomever it was just as I’d wanted to punish the person who’d shot her.
The person who hated me the most, who I knew wanted revenge, was Puzo, but I hadn’t made my company into what it was without racking up a few more enemies along the way. I needed to talk to Steele and start making our way through that list, as well as find out if he’d found Puzo’s thug or discovered more about Puzo’s business in Rivers.
Except, tangled up with Sadie, having her arms around me, her warmth in my lap, and her compassion draped over me, I found it incredibly difficult to move. Holding her, I had a glimpse of something I’d never thought I’d have again—a relationship with a woman that was more than sexual release. Having that, having her for more than a few nights, was more than I’d earned or deserved.
But the truth was, I couldn’t keep her, not even for the handful of days I’d originally suggested. Not when she might be collateral damage if whoever had placed the snake in my bed came for me again.
What could I do to prevent it? What could I do to stop the ache in my chest and loins? I’d never wanted to finish what we’d started as badly as I did now. The need to hear her gasp and moan and see her naked and shivering because I’d taken her over the edge was almost blinding in its intensity. And maybe it was just that, the strength of those emotions I always tried desperately to leash, that had me standing up and setting her aside.
I made my voice as cold and impassive as possible, saying, “I’ll walk you back, and tomorrow, you should leave.”
Anger and hurt flashed across her face. Good. Those emotions were sure to send her running.
Except, if she ran, what would Puzo do? I couldn’t imagine he cared one iota about her potentially being a long-lost cousin. No. His interest was for another reason. Maybe it had grown because of my angry reaction to seeing them together. Simply seeing me lose my temper over her might have put her in his crosshairs.
Or maybe the snake had nothing to do with Puzo and everything to do with what had happened to Spence. Maybe this was Adam, and maybe Fallon really was right that my brother’s death wasn’t an accident. Then, I remembered the email on Adam’s computer with the Puzo name, and my blood went cold. Perhaps Puzo really was responsible for all of it.Fuck. That just meant Sadie and everyone here was in more danger than I’d ever expected.
The idea my choices and my life might have bled into all of theirs set acid boiling in my stomach.
“I’m not leaving until Sunday,” Sadie said, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re not my boss, Rafe. Don’t confuse my letting you control our sexual encounters with you being able to control me. Even if what we just shared didn’t mean something to me, I wouldn’t leave. I told Lauren I’d help with the wedding, and I told Adam I’d answer all his questions, and I always meet my commitments.”
Her words struck at all those tender spots inside me I was trying to bury.
After glaring at me for another few seconds, as if waiting for a response I couldn’t give, she turned on her heel and headed out the door. She stormed out without even a glance to see what was in the dark waiting for her. My teeth ground together, and I had to jog to catch up to her.
“It’s not just the snake, Tennessee. I have enough to watch over while I figure out what’s going on here. I can’t add you to the list,” I told her.
