Page 70 of Tame Me

I’m incredibly—stupidly—hurt. It’s purely because of fate that he’s found us. I shouldn’t have gone for a walk today. I should have gone upstairs to feed Lukas. Then he wouldn’t have seen us. Disappointment slices into me. It’s the destruction of the last flicker of hope I hadn’t realised I still had. But I’m still weak enough to be attracted to him even when he’s ignored me till now. That I could be this crushed—again—is appalling. I’m as vulnerable as my mother and being that gullible—falling for a wealthy, good-looking cheater—was something I’d promised myself I wouldn’t do.

I tear my gaze from Dain and look down at my baby. He’s tiny, precious, so vulnerable and I’m overwhelmed by the need to protect him. I don’t want him hurt. Not the way I was. I’ll do anything to shield him from the wounds of being unwanted. I lean closer to him and breathe in his sweet baby scent. He has his father’s eyes. The midwife told me that baby’s eyes are often blue at first but that they can change, but that hasn’t happened yet, and I don’t think it will. He has Dain’s dark brown hair too. And his ability to consume every inch of my attention.

‘We don’t need your help,’ I mutter.

‘No? Then why are you sleeping on a park bench in the mid-morning, like you’re a homeless person?’

‘We were just getting some fresh air.’ But I’m overly defensive because if it weren’t for my boss, Romy, wewouldbe homeless. I live above her café. I know it’s not ideal. I work in the kitchen in the very early hours—baking the muffins and pastries for the day. I’m still building my channel and film at night in the café when it’s closed. But Lukas is a demanding baby and I can’t care for him at the café and disturb the customers downstairs during the day. That’s why I take him for long walks along the waterfront.

Now that I’d fed him I was letting him sleep for a moment before tucking him properly back into his sling so I could walk back. But I’m tired. I’ve done today’s baking. I’ve done my own work overnight so I snatch sleep in short shifts whenever I can. I’m doing okay and working my butt off to do better. Because I adore Lukas and I’ll do whatever necessary to provide for him. But it’s hard. Even so, I definitely don’t want Dain’s help now.

‘Talia.’

Bleary-eyed, I glance up at him again. He’sbeautiful. It’s like a boulder landing in my stomach—immobilising me. He’s also determined. And fiercely strong—physically and mentally. Panic sweeps, darkening everything in the world except for him—as if he’s in the damned spotlight—he’s all I can see. And what I feel is overwhelming.

I liked him. A lot. But he—like everyone—let me down. I know that the only person I can ever really rely on is myself. Lukas is relying on me too.

And I know giving in to whatever Dain is about to demand will be dangerous. If he wins now, he’ll think he can win always.

‘Let’s go to your home,’ he says. ‘We’ll talk there.’

I don’t want him to see how we’re living. I don’t want any of this. We live in different countries. We have vastly different lives. So I have no idea what he’s going to want or how it’s going to work. But I will stay in Lukas’s life and so I have to be calm and stay in control. I have to do my best for my son.

I don’t answer Dain verbally. I simply stand and start walking, cradling my precious son, hating the heat that’s coursing through my body as this tall, devastating man wordlessly falls into step alongside me. Well, he stalks really—like a barely leashed predator. For the first time in months I feel revitalised—fury fills me with the energy I’ve been lacking in so long. As we walk I lift my head and breathe deep and when we finally arrive...

I’m ready to fight.

CHAPTER SIX

Dain

I’VEHADONEserious concussion in my life from a skiing accident when I was fourteen. Back then I lost three hours but right now I’m more stunned and confused than when I woke up and found myself in a hospital hundreds of kilometres from the ski field. Today it seems I’ve lostmonths. I can’t see straight, let alone think. My thundering pulse deafens me to anything—any excuse—she might try to make.

She’s had a baby. Myson. And this is the first I’ve heard about it and that’s only because I happened upon them by accident.

I barely register the walk back to the café. She leads me through the crowded tables to the rear. Behind a door markedPrivatethere’s a narrow flight of stairs. Climbing them, I feel the echo of that small storeroom where we first met. The room at the top of these stairs is even smaller. The first thing I see is a narrow bed. A baby bassinet is pulled up beside it. Everything is clean and neat but spare—it’s minimal in decor, devoid of luxury. Bare necessities only.

Anger churns but desire adds a vicious twist right at the most wrong of moments. I want her on that bed. With me. Which is ridiculous because it’s nowhere near big enough for the both of us. Yeah, cognitive function is fully impaired and anger is the safest option.

‘How long have you lived here?’ I growl.

‘I need to change Lukas,’ she mutters.

I watch. She’s efficient as she cares for the baby. Of course she is. She’s done this hundreds of times. I wouldn’t know where to begin. My anger sharpens as she picks him up again. The betrayal is intense and when she smiles at the baby I snap.

‘You need to start packing,’ I hiss and shove my hands into my jacket pockets.

‘Packing?’

‘You can’t stay another night here.’

It’s noisy. It’s tiny. Which is probably why she has to go for walks during the café’s busiest hours. It’s appalling.

She stares at me with such mistrust it burns. What did I ever do to deserve it? But I rein my resentment in. I need her to agree with me.

‘We can’t talk properly here. Not with people trying to enjoy their coffee downstairs.’ And not in front of the child. ‘Did I ever give you reason not to trust me, Talia? Because right now I feel like I’m the one who can’t trust you, given you never told me I have a son.’

‘Itried—’

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