In Blood and Worth Loving 3 Kiss Cover (10 page)

“
It is…
”

“
Before I go, I want to remind you that as bad as last night was, it could have been worse.
”
He held up a hand to silence her wh
en
she parted her lips.
“
Yes, you
’
re sore. Yes, you
’
re bruised. Clearly, he wasn
’
t as gentle as he should have been. But there was no one here to stop him if he
’
d really wanted to do permanent physical damage.
”

“
You
’
re making excuses for him.
”

He sighed.
“
I came here hoping I could help mend things between you, but clearly you need a little time to see the larger picture.
”

She stared at him. What part of having Conner leave her in peace didn
’
t he understand?

“
Look, the Stoners are giving a party next weekend. Are you attending?
”

Chandra Stoner had called two days earlier to invite her.
“
I
’
m not sure.
”

“
Go. It
’
ll be fun and give you a chance to unwind a little.
”

“
Will Conner be there?
”

“
I doubt it.
”

“
Then I
’
ll probably go.
”

He laughed.
“
That
’
s the spirit. Before I go we need to discuss Hope.
”

She sighed.
“
I shouldn
’
t have accepted her. I can
’
t afford her upkeep and
–
”

“
That
’
s not what I meant, honey. Her upkeep is not a problem. Conner will continue to
–
”

“
I don
’
t want him to do anything else for me!
”
She bit her lip.
“
Should I…do you think Macarik would buy her?
”

“
I have no idea, but there
’
s no question of your needing to sell her, Desi. She
’
s your horse. In the unfortunate event that you find you can
’
t forgive Conner, you and I will confer and make arrangements to have her boarded some place where you can ride her as often as you like. It
’
ll be my pleasure to handle all the financial arrangements so that his gift doesn
’
t become an economic burden for you.
”

She bit her lip, touched that he
’
d been so considerate even after she
’
d done her best to make him feel guilty for Conner
’
s behavior.
“
I
’
m sorry, Adrian.
”

He arched a brow.
“
For what?
”

“
I haven
’
t been very nice to you today. Forgive me?
”

He smiled.
“
On
one condition.
”

She frowned. If he asked her
to
forgive Conner again
she’d probably scream
.
“
What?
”

“
Come spend the day at the mansion. I promise you Conner will not be there.
”

“
Are you sure?
”

He nodded.
“
Positive. We can pack a lunch and spend a few hours riding. That way you can kill two birds with one stone. Show me how sorry you are and show Hope you haven
’
t abandoned her.
”

“
I have missed her.
”

“
What time can I pick you up?
”
He glanced at his watch.
“
Better still, I can wait while you pack an overnight bag so you can spend the night with us.
”

“
Thanks but I
’
ll drive over tomorrow around eleven?
”

He nodded.
“
It
’
s a date. Before I go, I want you to know that two of the Redwolfe brothers love you like a sister-in-law. The other one is so smitten with you that he can
’
t control his emotions. I know you
’
re disillusioned right now but please try to remember that we all love you in various ways, honey.
”
He kissed her cheek and embraced her before leaving her alone with her tumultuous thoughts.

* * *

“
Damn
you
were right. You fucked up big time.
”

Conner sighed and raked his hand through his hair as he and Adrian faced each other on his
Rittenhouse Square
balcony later that morning.

“
She
’
s really hurt and it will not be easy for you to win back her trust and get her to a place where she
’
s willing to voluntarily give you another chance.
”

“
What do you suggest?
”

“
Unfortunately, I think you
’
re going to have to allow her some latitude.
”

He stiffened.
“
What the hell does that mean?
”

“
You
’
re going to need to allow her to see and possibly sleep with other men.
”

He exploded to his feet.
“
Not before hell freezes over!
”
He stared down at Adrian.
“
She
’
s mine and I
’
ll kill any bastard who tries to fuck her. If I have to compel her, I will.
”

Adrian shook his head.
“
No you won
’
t because if you did, she would no longer be the woman you adore. I know it
’
s asking a lot, Conner, but you hurt her a lot. If you want the woman you
’
re in blood with back, you
’
re going to need to make some sacrifices.
”

“
Hell no!
”

“
I don
’
t think you realize how deeply you hurt her or how disillusioned she is. She
’
s a breath away from falling the hell out of love with you. She is not going to roll over and forgive you. Perhaps if you
’
d fucked her when you had the chance, things might be different.
”

“
I had my reasons!
”

“
I know you did. I also know you
’
d better be prepared to do want you to need to do to win her back.
”

“
I am not going to stand around while some other man fucks her!
”

“
You
’
re fucking other women, Conner.
”

“
So did you but I didn
’
t see you allowing Brandi to screw around.
”

“
I know I hurt Brandi and that there were times when she was afraid of me. I regret that I didn
’
t treat her with the care and consideration I should have. But despite my denials, she knew I was sexually attracted to her the day we met. And I did not shake the shit out of her and tell her she
’
d be a fool to think I wasn
’
t capable of killing her.
”

“
You have a selective memory, Adrian. I seem to recall having to go rescue Brandi after you
’
d nearly raped and then abandoned her.
”

Adrian narrowed his gaze.
“
I
’
ve already admitted that I did not treat her as well as I wish I had. Satisfied? If so, you
’
d
better realize you screwed up big time and you
’
re going to have to atone for it in some way if you want her back. She still loves you but she
’
s the kind of woman who can walk away from what she views as an abusive relationship if she has to.
”

“
Abusive? Where the hell do you get off saying our relationship is abusive, Adrian?
”

“
I didn
’
t say it. She did and let
’
s not fuck around with the truth, Conner. If any man had shaken Rayna the way you shook her, you
’
d feel justified in killing his ass, as would Jay and I. None of us would allow a man to treat Rayna that way and keep living.
”

Conner couldn
’
t deny the truth
fuln
ess of Adrian
’
s words.
“
I couldn
’
t stop myself.
”

Adrian nodded.
“
I know and given time and a little space, she
’
ll know and understand that as well. But you
’
re going to have to bite the bullet and accept the fact that there are going to be unpleasant consequences for last night Conner.

“
You didn
’
t just shake her body. You shook her confidence in herself and in you. Instead of shaking her, you should have fucked her.
”

“
I would have hurt her.
”

“
Newsflash, Conner. You did hurt her in an even worse way. She probably would have been more willing to make allowances for rough sex than she
’
s going to be for what she considers physically abusive behavior.
”

He shook his head.
“
I am not going to allow another man to fuck her. If she tries to take up with a human male, I
’
ll scare him off. If it
’
s someone with vampire blood, I
’
ll kill him.
”

“
I
’
m not on board with that.
”

“
What?
”

“
This is not a good time to start killing other vampires, Conner. They always have friends who then want to make getting revenge their new mission in life.
”

He narrowed his gaze.
“
Are you telling me you don
’
t have my back?
”

Adrian sighed.
“
No. I
’
m not telling you that.
”

“
Then what the fuck are you telling me? What
’
s wrong with you, Adrian? If I didn
’
t know better I
’
d think you were scared. Has marrying and
falling in love
made you so damned soft you
’
ve forgotten how we guard and protect our women?
”

Adrian shot to his feet.
“
You do whatever the hell you like, Conner, but you
’
ve been warned. I am not on board with killing another of vampire blood just because you didn
’
t take care of your damned business when you should have!

“
If you want to think that makes me soft, think what the fuck you like!
”
Adrian shoved him aside and stormed away.

Stunned, Conner stared after his twin. Adrian, Jayvyn, and he had fought side by side all their lives. They
’
d survived the horrendous Trail of Tears together. For the first time in his life, he was no longer sure
that regardless of the consequences
Adrian had his back. And that hurt even more because Conner and Jayvyn had lost their humanity coming to Adrian
’
s aid after he
’
d unwisely killed to protect a white woman who had not been worth the effort or all the grief.

Now when he needed him most, Adrian walked away from him. Fine. He didn
’
t need Adrian. Hell, he didn
’
t need anyone. That included Desiree. But God help any man who tried to take her before he was finished with her and ready to let her go.