Page 406 of Dark Love

Don’t stare at her. She’s sick. She’s not playing games with you.

“All set.” Dahlia stands up, rushes around to the other side of the bed, and climbs in. “Are you—Do you—Is this—”

“Dahl, relax.” I’m anything but relaxed. Has she noticed the beer in my hand?

That’s doubtful.

“I don’t do that very well.”

Yet another thing we have in common. Though I’m better at hiding it.

With a controlled stride, I walk over to her side of the bed and set her glass of milk down on her nightstand, giving her a clear view of the beer in my hand.

She gives me nothing.

But her focus is off. Instead of placing the flowers on the dresser, I set them next to the nightstand, moving the bottle in my hand right into her line of sight.

There’s no guilt or fear on her face, just those jittery nerves and an innocent smile.

“Thank you.”

Those words hit me harder than any punch to the gut I’ve ever received. My throat constricts, making it impossible to speak, so I nod.

Whoever she bought this beer for is gone from her life, starting right now.

This woman is mine, and I don’t share… ever.

I fill the bowl with popcorn before settling into the bed next to her.

A cloud describes her bed perfectly. Dahlia likes her bed just as soft as she is.

“A blanket—” Her hand goes to the coverlet. “I’ll go get you one out of the chest. I don’t have any weighted ones, but I have some quilts that I use in the middle of winter that are heavy.”

Why are we having this discussion again? “I don’t need a blanket.”

“But we’re going to watch movies, and you might get cold.”

Cold? Her house is hot. If anything, I’d take some clothing off, but she’s not ready for that. “I’m fine.”

“It’ll just take a second.” Dahlia shifts her body.

“I’m fine.” But I’m not. The cold bottle in my hand burns my soul. “Where’s the remote?”

“Over in the nightstand next to you.” She lifts her body like she’s going to climb over me to reach it.

One thing she needs to learn early is that the control of the remote isn’t up for debate.

The drawer opens to a tablet instead of a remote. Is she fully integrated like me?

“Um… The remote is under… my um…”

Interesting. What is she worrying about? I have to see.

The tablet opens right up without requiring a password.

That’s a security breach. I could use this to hack into her desktop or laptop.

An image of a purse fills the screen. Did I really expect anything else?

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