Page 36 of Righteous Enforcer
But beneath this raw hunger burns something deeper. I want to punish her for leaving, for hiding our daughter. For breaking the man I used to be.
I pull back suddenly, oxygen rushing to my head as I break the kiss. Eva's eyes are wide, lips still parted, confusion flashing across her face.
What the hell am I doing?
The warmth of her touch is still burning into my skin, but colder emotions flood through me now. Betrayal. Anger. Four years of grief that didn't need to exist.
"Adriano?" Her voice is soft, uncertain.
I step back, creating distance between us. "No."
She left me. Made me believe she was dead. Let me mourn her while she was out there somewhere, raising my daughter without me. My daughter who doesn't even know I exist.
"This was a mistake," I say.
"I'm sorry.” At this moment, I think she is, but I’m not going to fall for it.
"Sorry? Which part are you sorry for, Eva? The part where you faked your death? Or maybe the part where you kept my child from me for three years?"
Her face falls. "I had no choice."
"There's always a choice." My voice is hard as steel now. "You chose to run from me. You'd still be running if I hadn't found you. Hell, you’d be running from me if you could." That burns too. After everything, she’d slip away again.
I shake my head, stepping back further. My pulse pounds in my ears as I rebuild the walls that started to crumble with a single kiss.
“I didn’t want to?—”
"I can't do this, Eva. Do you have any idea what it did to me when I heard you were dead?"
She reaches for me, but I hold up a hand to stop her.
"I mourned you." I hate giving her so much power over me. "I hunted down every lead, tortured anyone who might have information about what happened to you."
"Adriano—"
I laugh derisively as I realize that my feelings were stronger than hers. What a putz. "I won't let myself get caught up in whatever this is again. But make no mistake, I won't miss a single day more of being Mirabella's father."
Her spine straightens, hackles rising. "Your father pushed me out. He threatened to kill me and our baby."
"And you couldn't trust me enough to tell me? To let me protect you?"
Her shoulders slump, the fight leaving her as quickly as it came. "I was young and scared. I understand how you feel. I'd be furious too. And the truth is, I’m not the same woman you knew.”
I study her face and see the wariness that wasn't there before.
She's harder now, more guarded.
There's a sharpness to her now.
Running and fighting for survival will do that to a person.
But then she bites her lip, a gesture so familiar, it stops my breath.
And I know she's wrong.
The woman I fell in love with is still there, and that's why I need to be careful.
Because if I'm not… I'll fall again.
