He glared at her as he cut up his steak and watched her carefully butter her potato. “A week. Seven fuckin’ days. You just took off without a word.” She’d lasted a week. He hadn’t lasted twenty-four hours. Hell. He was totally obsessed. Like some stalker he’d have to hunt down and kill if they acted the same. “Lost a lot of sleep over you.”
Her lashes lifted, and her gaze collided with his. “You’re really angry with me.”
“Damn straight. You scared me. I don’t get scared. Nothing scares me. You disappearing like that, without one fucking word to anyone? Not answering when I called or texted? Yeah, baby, I’m fucking pissed.”
He ate the steak, contemplating what he was going to do with her, because he wasn’t giving her up. Figuring out how to get her to understand what he was and what he needed and how she was going to have to agree to be all that was a huge fuckin’ problem—especially after what she’d just said about Campbell.
Seychelle sat across from him looking like an angel. She smelled like heaven. She was so beautiful he could barely breathe just looking at her. “Why’d you take off like that?”
“You know why.” Her voice was very low. She ate a bite of salad.
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking you, now, would I? Didn’t I tell you I prefer answers?”
She frowned, and again her lashes lifted, her blue eyes meeting his. “You scare me. I asked you straight out if being friends with you was going to end up with me being hurt. You know it will. Physical hurt isn’t the same as emotional, Savage. I’m not built to take a lot of emotional pain. I’ve gone through enough for a lifetime.”
He held her gaze for a long time. Letting her see he wasn’t going anywhere. She didn’t want him to go. She was having a difficult time overcoming fear. He couldn’t blame her. She saw things in him others didn’t. They saw the outside of him and were scared. She not only saw the outside, but she caught glimpses of other, dangerous traits.
“You don’t want me going anywhere.” He made the statement for her.
“Maybe not,” she conceded.
“You’re not a coward.” He indicated her plate. “Eat your food, babe. Should be great—it’s Alena’s recipe, and she’s always the best. You lost weight while you were gone. And tell the truth about wanting me to stay. Just admit it to yourself and admit it to me. I need to hear you say it. It might go a little way toward getting you out of trouble, although I doubt it.”
Her blue eyes met his again. She must have finally seen that he meant that shit. He was fighting to keep himself under control. She really had scared him, and that wasn’t a good thing to do. He hadn’t realized it was even possible. Her lashes veiled her expression.
“Fine. You’re right. I don’t want you going anywhere. I don’t know why. You’re as annoying as hell.” She started eating. “And the tofu is wonderful.”
She made him want to smile. It wasn’t getting her out of trouble; in fact, he was planning on asking more questions once they got in bed. Seeing if she was up for a round of sinful daring. She didn’t back down from a challenge. He needed to start teaching her. Training her. She was an incredible human being. Incredible. How had he managed to find her? How come he wasn’t strong enough to save her? He had thought he was. He’d left her thinking he was. But then she hadn’t answered his text and the bottom had dropped out of his world.
“You’re frowning, Savage.”
“Did you start smoking again?”
“No. I wanted to. I thought about it, but I’d already quit, so it seemed silly. What are we doing? Really, Savage, what are we doing?”
He watched her eat. She was beautiful even when she ate. Delicate. Refined. “You got under my skin, woman. Was going to do the right thing and leave you alone. I know you’re too damn good for me, but I couldn’t stand not having some connection to you. Just a small one.”
Her lashes lifted again. A quick glance. His statement meant something. He could give her truth. It was all he had to give her.
“That’s a nice thing to say. I have to admit, I liked hearing from you, even though I’d made up my mind it was for the best we didn’t see each other.” She ate another bite of salad.
“You didn’t answer right away.”
“I had to think about it.”
“Babe, you know me. We have a strange connection and you see inside me. You know what kind of man I am. You don’t do that to me. When I reach out to you because I’m looking to see you’re all right, you fucking answer me or there’s going to be trouble. Consequences. And don’t tell me we barely know one another. You know what I’m like even when you don’t want to.”