Page 204 of Forcing Fate

“No. You don’t want me,” he repeated.

My eyebrows met in a confused frown as he released me, and I staggered on wobbly legs.

He tugged at his trousers and glared. “You want a life mate.”

“I–” I blinked in confusion. Where had that come from?

“You’re a woman. Regardless of what you wear, or how you cut your hair, you’re a woman. You desire a life mate above all else,” he snapped, pacing.

“I want you,” I said, not understanding the small ache building in my chest.

“Oh, you think you do,” he sneered, coming to stand before me. “You think you want me until you see the real me. Until you realize I’m not some wounded soul, but a dark, twisted thing full of anger and hate.”

Venom laced his tone, and I blinked, bringing my hands to the cold boulder behind me to brace myself against his onslaught.

“Rafe, I know you. Have you forgotten what we’ve been through? I’ve seen you on your bad days. I know there’s more to you than that.”

“Bad days?” He laughed, a harsh and bitter sound. “You haven’t seen me tear out a man’s eyes while he’s still conscious. Or beat a man to death with my bare hands until his insides spilled out. You haven’t–”

I slapped my hands on his cheeks and used my nails as grapples to pull him down to me. “Rafe of Deomein. I know you—I know who you are, and what you’ve done.” I put every ounce of conviction into my next words. “You don’t scare me.”

He hissed like a wild animal and tore his face away, resulting in my nails scratching his left cheek. I grimaced, watching him pace.

“If you want to say now is not the time–” I started.

“It will never be the time!” he growled, whipping his head toward me. “You want a life mate. My life could end tonight. Your life could end tonight. We can’t promise each other forever.”

“Not forever,” I whispered.

That wild animal caged inside his body stopped and listened.

“Just for as long as we have.”

He offered me a cruel smirk and walked to me. Grabbing my hand, he shoved it under his tunic and over his heart. It beat a frantic rhythm, passionate and angry.

“Do you know how old this heart is? Have you given that thought?”

I tried to pull my hand away, but he held it on his hot chest. It felt like he was searing me with the anger under his skin.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t it? What if you want children? I’m not father material. I’m far too old for that.”

“No, Rafe–”

“A home, a life mate, a child—I can’t give you any of those things!” he snarled.

“Rafe, stop.”

“No, Vy. You’ve pushed me too far. You–”

“I’ve pushed you too far?” I hissed. My fingers under his tunic hooked into claws. “I wasn’t the only one burning up from desire. I didn’t mount you without help. Don’t blame this on me.”

“You’ve–”

“No,” I snapped, angry now. “If anything, you’re older. You knew where this was going far before I did. You knew not only what I was doing, but what you were doing! Don’t you dare blame me for this.”

He recoiled, and I knew from the look in his eye, I had hit home. He had known about my attraction far before I understood it. His enraged gaze softened and gave way to the Rafe I’d grown to love.

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