Sorcha's Wolf
Page 28
“What?” He shook his head hard. “Where the fuck did you get that idea?”
“Oh, just go.”
“I’m not moving so get used to it. I want answers. When did I make that clear? Damn it, tell me when I made that clear!”
“You never bothered with me before.” She anchored her fists on her hips and faced off with him. He wanted the truth, she’d give him all of it. All but the attack. “We both know you regretted when you did slip up and what? Gave me a sympathy fuck? I mean, come on, what should I have expected from you? You’re the just get up and get out kinda guy, right? Wasn’t that what you always said?”
“Listen, Mandy, you and I both know I said I was coming back—”
“No, you and I both don’t know. I remember some of it, though. What was it?” She tapped her lip thoughtfully then snapped her fingers. “Oh, I remember… This was a fucking mistake, Mandy. We should never have done this. Drunk and fucking don’t mix, sugar.”
“I was thinking of you—”
“You were not thinking of me. You—”
“I sure the hell was thinking of you. Damn, do you even know how long I’d held back? How many times I’d come home, wanting you so bad it ached? Do you?” He breathed out roughly and speared her with a look that had her freezing in place. He looked so intense, so ready to blow, not at her, but apart, that she didn’t dare move. He tugged at his hair once, then dropped his arm with a heavy exhale. “It was always you, always you for me. I pushed you away because I knew, I fucking knew, Mandy, once I claimed you, I’d never let you go.”
He grimaced and broke off, stalking up to her and wrapping his hands around her upper arms, pulling her closer until they were nose to nose. She could feel the heat of him along her front. His breath was minty, warm, and his lips so close she wanted to cry at how badly he’d hurt her, how badly it still hurt.
“You were in pain over losing a brother, and I took advantage of that, telling even myself it was for you, to help with the pain, but I took you. I took you out of pure selfishness.”
She shook her head silently, a tear spilling down past her control. “I don’t believe you, Mac,” she whispered the words on a ragged breath.
“Mandy, the only regret I have in my life is waiting so damn long.”
“You liar!” She struggled, pulling away, but he hauled her back in. “You liar. You always pushed me away. It was always a new one for you, always. Always.”
She’d survived these past five years by forcing herself to believe that, to keep it close and not go to him when she’d finally figured out it hadn’t been Mac who’d called her the night she’d seen him with another woman. The attacker had jumped her that night, forced her up against a wall outside the club and had nearly raped, then beaten her, threatening to kill Mac if she didn’t leave. She’d barely made it to her car. All this time, she’d survived by telling herself she’d never have been enough for Mac. He needed his women, not one woman. Not her.
He bent his head, grimacing when another tear broke free to slip down her cheek.
“Damn, sugar, you’re killing me. Those women? Shit, those women wanted nothing more than a quick lay. That’s all they ever were and hell, you were young, so damn pretty, I—”
“Not that young. Not too young to—”
“You were.” He touched their foreheads, but she shook her head and looked down, refusing to allow him to tip her face up with a hand. “Damn it, Mandy. Fuck, hate me for being an idiot, but I was trying to give you time. Time to grow up without me holding you too tight. You were just a kid when I first took one look at you and realised no one else was going to do.”
At his words, she softened. Something inside her went away, the pain, the hurt, the anger simply settled, eased slowly until she could take a breath without it hurting. He’d not explained the other woman, but what he did say, she heard, could hear without denying it outright. Maybe the attacker was here, maybe he was watching, but Ace had the place under guard for Lacey. Could the guy get past that, to reach Mac when he might not even know she was here, in Hawaii and not Florida?
She’d have to tell Mac, she realised. He’d need to know why she’d really left, then he’d want to know when, and what her attacker had done. She could tell him what, but not when. If he knew when… She looked up at him and understood, if he knew when, he’d never forgive himself.
Mac had always been a hero.
Was he strong enough to keep them both safe?
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About the Author
Billi Jean has been writing since high school when she couldn’t wait for Robert Jordon to write his Wheel of Time series faster. She writes from home in a little two hundred year old farm house in Western Massachusetts where she shares her space with her active children, an old dog, and two lazy cats.
Email: billi.jean_author@yahoo.com
Billi Jean loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.total-e-bound.com.
Also by Billi Jean
Love’s Command: Running Scared
Love’s Command: Safe in His Arms
Sisterhood of Jade: A Spartan’s Kiss
Sisterhood of Jade: Golden’s Rule
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