Page 13 of His Stakes (His Obsession 2)

I nodded. I wanted to close the distance between us and take her into my arms so I could hold her close and feel the warmth of her body, feel the way her curves fit against me so perfectly, but she stood so stiff and still, and I knew she didn’t want me touching her. It made me angry. A stupid reaction. But it seemed that’s all I was capable of these days. “Did you bring anything with you?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Let’s get out of here, then.”

She didn’t try to argue with me, just gave a resigned sigh and walked out of the room, giving me a wide berth. I reminded myself she was allowed to feel the way she did. I mean, what the hell did I expect? That she would run into my arms? Profess her undying devotion to me?

No, I deserved the way she was treating me. I deserved her hatred. Her disgust. Her distance.

But I didn’t accept it.

Following her out to the SUV, there was a bit of a delay when Veda didn’t want to ride with me until I physically picked her up and put her in the vehicle after I ordered her inside and she refused. But despite the trouble she gave me, my heart soared, happy to see she hadn’t completely lost her spirit. I could handle her when she fought with me; that only told me she still felt something. It was when she stopped fighting that I got worried.

Once Lisa and her husband, Kevin, were loaded up into the SUV behind us, we headed back to the lake house, taking a roundabout route to make sure we weren’t being followed. Once we arrived, I sent the guys up to one of the spare bedrooms with their things.

“Oh, Mr. Morelli, you don’t have to do that,” Lisa insisted. “We can stay out in the guest house, if Tristan doesn’t mind.”

“I insist,” I told her. “I know it’s not ideal for your privacy, but I want you both in the main house where it’s safe. Just in case.”

Lisa’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you.”

I gave her a nod, uncomfortable with her gratitude. “Of course. You’re a part of the family. And I have plenty of room.”

As she and her husband followed their things upstairs to one of the spare rooms, I felt Veda’s eyes on me. “What?” I asked her.

She stared at me a moment longer. “I’m just trying to figure out how you can be such a decent man and yet such a fucking bastard all at the same time.”

“It’s a natural talent.”

“Obviously.”

We stood at an impasse, our eyes on each other. Both wary, but for completely different reasons. Unable to stand the silence anymore, I asked her if she’d like to go take a shower and change. “All of your things are still in your room. Just as you left it.”

Without another word, she left me standing there by the front door. I watched her walk slowly up the stairs, wishing she would allow me to help her. She looked beyond exhausted. But I knew I wouldn’t be welcome, so I headed to my office and the empty glass I’d left on my desk that desperately called to be filled.

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