Page 7 of The Carver

“Take off the coat.”

I obeyed, only because I was smothered in the heat.

“Explain.”

I saw the red flags and felt the drums of warning pound in my chest. So afraid of getting hurt again in any capacity, I was steering clear of any chances for regret. “You’re dangerous.”

He cocked his slightly like he didn’t understand. “I’m very fucking dangerous, sweetheart. But I’m not dangerous to you.”

“You just said you would kill someone if I fucked them.”

“Yeah, I would.” He doubled down, didn’t backpedal, didn’t gaslight me.

“So, I would get someone killed…and I would have to carry that guilt.”

“Don’t fuck anyone else, and you’ll save lives. You’re a superhero.”

I didn’t find this one bit funny. “I’m being serious.”

“You aren’t the type of person to fuck around, so this hypothetical situation is pointless.”

“But everything you said…shows me who you are.”

He stared at me for a long time, eyes narrowed and lethal. “Let me tell you who I am, sweetheart. I don’t believe in forgiveness or second chances. For those who think they can outsmart me and cross me, I cut them into slices of bacon and feed them to the dogs on the street. My ruthless temper precedes me, and my reputation is its own empire. But there are lines even I don’t cross. I would never hurt a woman or a child, for any reason whatsoever. And I would never hurt you, not just because you fall into that category, but because of how deeply I care for you.” He stared for several beats, his gaze molten-hot as it burned into mine. “That’s who I am. You’re the last person on this earth who needs to be afraid of me.”

I looked out the window again.

Despite the fact that he was starving, he continued to focus on me and let his food grow cold. “Sweetheart.”

I wouldn’t look at him.

“I still don’t understand the issue here.”

I turned back to him. “You’re dangerous.”

“I’m not dangerous to you.” His temper flared. “How many times have I said that?”

“But you’re dangerous by association. What happens when someone wants to avenge the person you turned into human bacon? They’re going to come after me. I’m the one who’s going to be used to get to you. Being on top means everyone belowwants to take you down. The target on your back is also on mine. So, yes, you’re very fucking dangerous, Bastien.”

In silence, he stared at me, his expression hard as a statue.

I hadn’t expected dinner to unfold like this. It all happened so fast. “I walk into an empty restaurant, and you’re doing a deal right across the room.” Adrien’s words haunted me too, but I didn’t dare say that out loud.

Bastien was quiet for a long time. “It’s an unspoken rule—families are immune. We don’t come for wives or children. It’s dishonorable, and no one wants to work with a dishonorable man because he may turn around and do the same to you. Being with me doesn’t put you in danger. And even if someone ever tried to start something—” he looked me hard in the eye “—I would never let anything happen to you. I would die for you. I would let my body be pumped with a hundred bullets before you got a single scratch. I would slice my own fucking throat to spare you any discomfort.” His eyes shifted back and forth between mine. “You understand me?”

My eyes flicked away again.

“Eyes on me.”

I sighed before I looked at him again.

“You were fine with this, and now you aren’t. So, where is this coming from?”

I didn’t want to say.

He continued to study my face, searching for the answer. “It was that little bitch, wasn’t it?”

How the fuck did he do that?

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