Page 120 of Shades of Loyalty
Before I can give in to my feelings, my eyes fall closed, my mind suddenly empty. I fall asleep in Daniel’s bed alone, anxious about meeting him again, but wanting to see him so desperately… And confusion about my feelings still linger in the back of my mind.
Chapter Forty-four
Daniel
When I come back to my room, still covered in the blood of my enemy after taking out my aggression on his dead body, the first thing I see isher.
Jennifer.
The only woman I’d ever want.
My chest warms at the sight of her curled up in my bed. She had the choice to sleep in her own room. The choice to stay away from me.
But she’s here.She chose me.That fragile hope I’ve been gripping onto tightens in my chest, even when I know I shouldn’t.
Hope doesn’t belong to men like me. Not when I was cutting the limbs off a corpse only an hour ago.
And yet, it’s still there. Lingering somewhere.
I walk into the bathroom as silently as I can, taking off my blood-stained clothes and spending almost an hour washing all of the blood off my skin and out of my hair.
When I get back, she’s still there. It wasn’t an illusion. I wasn’t hallucinating, either.
Not wanting to wake her, I watch her silently, taking in the way her dark lashes rest against her skin, her lips slightly parted as she breathes. Then, my eyes land on the necklace against her collarbone.
My breath stills.
Is that my mother’s necklace? Is it reallyhers?
A sharp, sinking feeling grips my chest. I reach out without thinking, fingers brushing the pendant as I lift it. The metal is warm from her skin.
It isexactlywhat I thought. Fuck.
Jennifer stirs.
“Daniel…” Her voice is soft, barely above a whisper. Her lids flutter, heavy with exhaustion, but she fights to stay awake.
I don’t move my hand from the necklace. “Where did you get this?” My voice is low, steady. Controlled. But something inside me stirs—something dangerous.
Something which is about to be exposed.
She hesitates, her blue eyes flickering with uncertainty. “Lilia… she gave it to me. Only a while before…” Her voice trails off. She doesn’t need to finish. I know what she was about to say.
I gently lift her chin, forcing her to look at me. “I’m sorry,” I whisper against her lips.
Her eyes, filled with anxiety, search mine. Fear.She’s afraid of me. But buried beneath it, I see something else.
A pull, a hesitation—the same temptation and longing I know she doesn’t want to admit is still there.
“You killed him right in front of me,” she whispers, a tear slipping down her cheek. “I… Seeing your whole body covered in blood, Daniel. I just… I couldn’t stay and—”
I don’t let her finish. I wrap my arms around her, kissing her slowly, trying to ground her. Trying to remind her that I’m still the same man. The same man I’ve always been.
The man who loves her with all his heart, and who wants to keep her with him forever.
“I told you I’m not a good man,” I murmur against her lips. “I will never be. I’ve always told you, pretty.”
Her quiet sobs cut through me like a blade. I open my eyes, brushing my thumb over her cheek, wiping away her tears. She’s breaking right in front of me, and for the first time, I don’t know how to fix it.
