Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 66387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Chapter Eighteen
Sebastian
THE STING ON my cheek is nothing compared to the bruise on my heart.
I move to run after Nina, but Nick takes off like a shot. “I’ve got this,” he calls over his shoulder.
“Let him go,” Liam says as he joins me. “You need a minute, and I can’t let you out of my sight.”
“She wanted a fight,” I say, propping my hands on my hips and watching as she sprints out of sight. The rain is falling harder now, hiding the moon, making it difficult to see. “I’ve been trying to keep her calm, to help her feel better.”
“She’s angry,” Liam agrees. “Which I think is normal when you’re grieving. She just needs some time. We always cut those we love the deepest.”
I nod, but inside, I’m torn apart. I’m hurt. I’ve never had my love tossed back in my face before as if it doesn’t matter at all. As if she doesn’t give a bloody damn.
But I could see the turmoil in her eyes. She’s absolutely in love with me.
She’s just too stubborn to admit it.
“Here they come,” Liam says, and I look up. Rather than walking back, Nick is carrying her, cradling her like a child.
I don’t like it.
Seeing her in another man’s arms makes me want to tear Nick apart with my hands.
But she’s crying, and her chin is bleeding.
“Do you need a hospital?” I ask as they approach.
“No,” she says softly, still not looking at me. I move to take her from Nick, but she tightens her arms around his neck.
I’ve been rejected by my wife twice in the same evening.
I turn on my heel and, with the help of Liam’s flashlight, make my way back to the car. Nick sets Nina in the backseat next to me, but rather than lean into me, she cowers in the corner, her arms wrapped around herself.
“Nina—”
She shakes her head, cutting off the words, so I look out my window and leave her be for the drive back to Christian’s home. I don’t offer to hold her hand as we walk through the house to the guest suite. I don’t look her way as she moves to the bed, and I veer off to the bathroom.
I need a hot shower to chase away the cold emptiness in the pit of my stomach, and a few moments to gather my thoughts.
Being an arsehole to her now won’t do either of us any good. She’s hurting, and instead of coming to me for comfort the way she has over the past couple of days, she lashed out at me.
I know I shouldn’t let it bother me. She didn’t mean to hurt me. Not really.
Or, maybe she did because she’s hurting, too.
I don’t want to lash out at her. I just don’t know how to approach her right now. Maybe we both just need to sleep it off and revisit it in the morning.
Once I’ve toweled off, I walk into the bedroom, crawl into bed, and find it empty.
With a scowl, I roll over and turn on the sidelight. She’s not in bed. She’s not sitting in the chair by the window. I know she’s not in the loo.
Where the hell is she?
I pull on my shorts and walk into the hall. If it weren’t the dead of night, I’d yell for her, but I’ve had the men up enough for one evening. They need to sleep.
I pad into the kitchen. Perhaps she wanted a cuppa? There’s a light on over the gas range, but no Nina.
She loves to sit out by the pool, so I walk out there, expecting to see her curled up in a chair, watching the moon on the water, now that the rain has passed.
But she’s not there either.
Panic starts to set in. Where in the bloody hell could she be? I make a quick turn through the living area, and when I’ve still not found her, I decide to wake Liam and Nick.
As I walk down the hallway, it occurs to me that there’s another guest room next to ours that’s not being used. I open the door and breathe a sigh of relief when I see her curled up on the bed, on top of the covers, hugging her knees to her chest.
“Nina.”
She doesn’t answer so I step inside, shut the door, and cross to her. She looks so small, so fragile lying there.
“Hey, why are you in here?”
I crawl onto the bed and nudge her onto her back to look at me.
“I didn’t think you wanted to talk to me.” Her voice is a hoarse whisper. Her eyes are even more swollen from crying, and her hair is a mess from the rain and all of the events of the past hour.
“You’re having a hell of a night, love.” I kiss her forehead and then breathe a sigh of relief when she burrows her face into my chest and clings to me. “It’s okay to be angry, Nina. And it’s even okay to take it out on me.”