Page 118 of Infernal

“No, you don’t get to do that,” his gritted out, his eyes glimmering like two onyx stones. “You don’t get to deprecate all over yourself to avoid this.” His eyes lingered on mine, and suddenly, I wanted to crawl away and hide. “You didn’t even have the courtesy to take the stake out yourself,” he said, his words painfully low and wounded as he pushed off the door and walked away from me.

He’d only made it a few steps before I was right there behind him, chasing him down in the hallway like a junkie looking for her fix.

“Dominic, stop! Don’t walk away from me,” I said and grabbed his shoulder.

He spun on me, laughing.Laughing. “Why not? You did.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You were going to compel me to—"

“To stop you from killing yourself,” he cut in, his face a hairsbreadth away from mine.

“Right,” I said, my breathing coming out ragged from his impossible closeness. “But that wasn’t your choice to make.”

“If that’s what you think, angel…if you think I had any other choice but to do anything and everything in my power to stop you, then you don’t know—” His words cut away as his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, seemingly swallowing down whatever he was going to say.

I waited for him to finish, for his words to come back up, but they never did come out again.

“I’m just trying to apologize to you,” I said, though this time, I didn’t actually say the word. I’d said it so many times tonight, it didn’t even sound like a word anymore.

“That’s all you’re looking for, isn’t it? A means to clear your conscious.” His mouth upturned at the corners, as if to smile at me knowingly, but there was so much hurt in it, it looked more like a frown. “Well, then, princess,” he said with an exaggerated bow. “Your wish is my command. You are forgiven. Now kindly get the hell out of my house.”

I recoiled from his words, angry tears spilling onto my cheeks in droves. Was that what he really thought of me? That I was only here to satisfy my own selfish need for clemency?

Was that the reason I was here?

Did I just want to clear my conscious before I severed all ties and disappeared from his life again?

No! God, no.

“That’s not fair, Dominic. That isn’t why I’m here, and you know it.”

“No? Then why are you here?” he asked, his voice gruff as he closed in on me, walking me backwards until my back hit the wall. My heartrate spiked as he clicked his fangs out and then lowered his head to mine.

“Is it for this?” he asked, licking his lips as his fingers moved up to my throat. “Did you want to slum it with me one more time before you pick up and leave tomorrow?”

I looked up and met his gaze, and suddenly, I could see the pain circling in his eyes, feel it through our connection. And it hurt like hell. And I couldn’t stand it. “You know I’m leaving?”

“I have exceptionally good hearing,” he said flatly. “Unfortunately, my taste in women leaves much to be desired, but I reckon I’ll get a chance to work on that while you’re gone.”

My body prickled with what felt like fire—with anger and embarrassment and regret. “You know what, Dominic? Fuck you! Fuck you and your stupid fucking face!” I spat incoherently, messy tears dripping down my face as I pushed him back and raced out of his house, slamming the door shut behind me on my way out.

Hopefully in his face.

41. STRIPPED DOWN

I stomped down the street in the rain, cursing under my breath and ruing the day I met him, though I made it all but thirty steps from his house before my regret caught up with me. The faster I tried to walk, the more it burrowed under my skin, distracting me and poking at me, until my feet stopped moving altogether.

I’d come here with the intention of apologizing to him, of saying goodbye to him, and instead I told him to kick rocks and stormed out of his house. Was I really going to leave things between us like this after everything we went through together? So, he was rude and arrogant and out of line. What else was knew? That wasn’t all he was, though. He was also hurt and upset, and he was pushing me away because it was easier to let someone go when you were mad at them.

Because he loved me.

I muttered a string of curses under my breath as I turned around and started back up the road towards his house.

It seemed that I was going to have to put on my big girl pants and take whatever fire he decided to throw at me, because I needed to tell him how sorry I was, and just how much he meant to me, and I needed to do that knowing and accepting the possibility that he may not forgive me.

Because that’s what big girls do.

Because if I didn’t make this right tonight, I’d be closing this door forever.

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