Page 27 of Down Knot Out
Relief mixes with my admiration for her strength. “Good.”
Her brow pinches, a question in the look she sends me.
“Good that you’re putting yourself first,” I clarify.
Her shoulders relax, but the tension doesn’t leave her completely. She nibbles her lip again, a habit she has when she’s holding back.
“There’s more, isn’t there?”
Her gaze drops to her hands. “She also wanted to renegotiate.”
“Renegotiate what?”
“Me.” The word is so quiet I almost miss it. “Louie’s younger brother is open to the same deal she offered the previous head of the Santaro pack.”
Rage hits me like a physical blow, a roar of blood in my ears drowning out the pain in my head. My vision tunnels, darkening at the edges. The Santaro family, daring to reach for her again. And her own mother, facilitating it like she’sbrokering a business deal instead of her daughter’s life.
“Dominic?” Chloe’s voice comes from far away. “Your scent is…”
I struggle to rein in my pheromones, aware I’m filling the car with the bitter scent of citrus burned to ash. My hands clench and unclench on my thighs.
“Sorry.” I force air through my nose, trying to calm myself. “I just—the idea of you with any Santaro?—”
“It’s not happening.” She reaches across the center console and, to my shock, places her hand on mine. “I told her I’m already in a courtship. That I’ve made my choice.”
The anger recedes, replaced by a fierce pride. She’s claimed our courtship publicly, to her mother of all people. The significance isn’t lost on me.
I turn my hand beneath hers so our palms meet, not quite holding hands but not far from it. “What did she say to that?”
“Nothing worth repeating.” Chloe’s laugh is small but more genuine this time. “It was only about herself and what she’s owed. I’m done with it.”
“Do you think she’ll try again?”
“Probably.” She sighs and slips her hand frommine to take the car keys back. “She’s nothing if not persistent when she wants something.”
The desire to protect her swells within me. I want to tuck her in my arms where nothing can reach her, not her mother, not the Santaro family, not the world that’s been cruel to her for too long.
But I know better than to mistake vulnerability for invitation. She’s opening up to me, yes, but trust is fragile, especially when I already broke her trust once.
“We won’t let her near you.” I keep my voice level despite the intensity of my feelings. “None of us will.”
She studies my face, her gaze lingering on my mouth. “I know.”
The simple faith in those two words hits me harder than any declaration of affection could.
She starts the engine, the SUV humming to life around us. “So what now? We’ve got three hours to kill, and I’d rather not sit in a parking garage the whole time.”
The lump in my pocket grows heavier, reminding me of its presence. I’d planned to give it to her over lunch, in some quiet restaurant where we could talk without interruption. Now that plan, like so many others, has been derailed.
“We could still do lunch,” I suggest, thoughwith less enthusiasm than before. The encounter with her mother has changed the tenor of the day. “We could leave the city and find somewhere an hour away from here.”
Chloe’s hands tighten on the steering wheel, her nails pressing into the leather. “I’d rather not be out in public right now, even with more distance. I don’t know what lengths my mother will go to. An hour might not be far enough to dissuade her, since the restraining order didn’t stop her.”
I understand her need for safety after feeling hunted. “Want to head to my hotel room?”
The offer is innocent enough. I keep a small suite in town for occasions when I need to be on the mainland overnight. But as soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize how they might sound.
“Just to wait,” I add before she misunderstands. “Until Kyle calls.”
