Page 18 of When It Reins
There’s a hard edge to her tone, one I’m not sure how to decipher. So I reach forward, grabbing her hand in mine, and stalk out of the party and down the hall. I ignore the catcalls and whistles. Everyone thinks they know why I am dragging her down to my room, but they actually have no clue.
Juniper comes with me, no hesitation in her step. If I wasn’t so pissed that she is here, I might feel ten feet tall with the amount of trust she is placing in me.
Shutting the door, I finally let her hand go, even though I would love to keep it. I turn to her, fury on my face, and she…doesn’t look at me at all.
No, instead, she’s taking in the bare room, the bed that is made, and the closet that has a couple of shirts hanging in it. Just some extras in case I need a change of clothes, but nothing else. Nothing sentimental.
“You need a decorator,” Juniper says, giving me a far too fucking cute look over her shoulder. She has on a long-sleeved blue top that makes her eyes glow warmly.
She is way too pretty to be alone with me.
I lean against the door for a moment, staring her down and not giving in to the way she is trying to distract me.
“What are you doing here?”
It’s the third time the question has been through my mind, and she still hasn’t answered me. Juniper takes a seat at the edge of my bed, and my manly impulses rage, just seeing her on a bed I’ve slept in.
Hell.I need to get a hold of my damn self.
“I have some questions.” Juniper hedges, crossing her legs and folding her hands as if we are in some sort of business meeting. “And I think you might be the only person who has answers for me.”
“Why would I answer any of your questions?” The gruff question is out before I can control myself. It’s my standardresponse to anyone in the clubhouse. Even my brothers here get the same treatment.
Juniper flushes, just a little on her cheeks, and says, “Because I know, deep down in that heart of yours, that you do give a shit about me.”
Of course I do. I care about her more than just about anyone. She is right up there with any member of my family.
If I am honest with myself, which I rarely am, she is higher than that.
“What do you want?”
Juniper stands, walking a few feet toward me until I can just barely smell the perfume she wore.
“I want to know if the rumors I’m hearing are true.”
There’s a look in her eye I hate, one that speaks to her vulnerability, and I hold her gaze. “Depends on the rumors.”
She swallows, and I can tell this is hard for her, that whatever rumors she heard—which I highly suspect I know, given that we started them—will probably hurt her.
Selfishly, I didn’t really think that all the way through when the plan formed. I knew David would get burned by the community, that he would become even more of a black sheep than he already is, but I didn’t think about how it would make people treat Juniper.
“That David is…” She blinks quickly and folds her arms over her chest, like she’s prepared to shield herself from whatever is about to be spoken. “That his company is taking out an entire community?”
So the rumor mill was churning well today. I hate it is hurting Juniper, but selfishly, I know that her finding out her boyfriend is a trash human who kept his job secret from her is a good thing.
“What did you think he was doing here?”
Juniper’s brows furrow at my question. “I don’t know. Land development.” She lets her arms drop and says, “But that canmean so many different things. He could be buying plots of land for new housing developments. He could be checking out stuff for a new shopping center. How would—” She cuts herself off, her expression growing more and more upset.
She marches up to me and looks at the door behind me, licking her lips, her breath coming in angry spurts, and I can see she’s trying not to cry. “Excuse me.”
“Starling…” I don’t move, but gently reach out to grab her arm. She turns to me, her eyes landing on my chest, and I do something I rarely let myself do.
I pull her into my arms and hold her.
The gesture seems to break a dam, and she folds, letting out a breath and quietly cries into my chest. Her arms circle my waist, and she lets me hold on to her.
After a few minutes, where I’ve stood here questioning everything I thought I knew since I met the woman, she pulls back and delicately wipes under her eyes. It does nothing to help fix what crying did to her, but I still give her a smile.
