Page 105 of Three Ring Heat: Part One
This wasn’t going well.
“It’s not what you think.Please.”I gestured to the seat again.
His throat bobbed with a hard swallow, and he dragged out the chair across from me.
Daze didn’t move. He didn’t blink or say anything at all; he just stared at me like I’d grown a second head. His expressionshifted from disbelief to hurt as the seconds dragged by, and he took a slow step backward without looking away.
“I… I think it’s best if I just go.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
DAZE
My heart sank to the floor.
The trailer slipped away, and I felt like I was falling.
Night’s glimmering sapphire eyes, locked unwaveringly on mine, were the only thing keeping me grounded. His scarred lips were pressed into a firm line, and a furrow formed between his dark brows.
No matter how well I knew his features, it felt like I was seeing him for the first time. This wasn’t the same alpha I’d shared a bed with for the last few years. Not with that mate mark on his shoulder.
This was someone else entirely. Someone I didn’t know.
The countless hours I spent preparing for this moment had been a waste. All the hypothetical conversations I practiced earlier in the day suddenly felt like cruel jokes. I’d tried not to get my hopes too high about tonight, but this… this was worse than anything I imagined.
“Don’t leave,”he signed.
It barely registered.
I was lightheaded, unsteady, and the trailer felt unusually claustrophobic. Despite wanting to turn around and run back to the aerialist bus, I stayed rooted to the spot. My feet refused to move.
My heart ached, even though I knew I had no right to be upset. Not really.
Night and I were nothing more than glorified fuckbuddies. Roommates with benefits. That had always been true, since I moved in with him. But some small part of me hoped that despite his cold disposition and constant distance, I meant something to him.
Obviously not.
Sure, I went to the club with Arina and even kissed her a few times. Yes, I had some kind of feelings brewing for her that I didn’t understand. But that wasn’t the same as a goddamn mate bond. A bond was something permanent, binding.
And he did that in the two fucking days I was gone.
I felt sick.
“Wh-who bit you?” I asked, my voice wobbly. I cleared my throat and shoved down the emotions bubbling up. My thoughts were spinning faster than I could keep up, and I just wanted answers.
Even if they hurt.
Even if they meant this was the end.
I needed to know…
“I didn’t mean for it to happen,”he signed.
“If you say that was an accident too, I’m leaving,” I snapped, deadpan. The couch and blinds I could believe but not forming a soul-tethering bond that couldn’t be broken.
He sighed.“It wasn’t an accident.”
Not an accident?
