“Sorry,” she managed to get out. And she was. What had she been thinking? She guessed she hadn’t been. She’d seen a reason to lash out and she had, without thinking.
So broken and sad.
Crap, what was wrong with her? She had no right to feel this way. She still breathed in air. Still got to experience life.
Her parents didn’t.
She shouldn’t be sitting here in the shadows, feeling sorrow over the fact that she’d never have someone who would look at her the way Bear looked at Ellie. With utter adoration. The whole white wedding and happy-ever-after wasn’t in the cards for her.
“You want to tell me what’s wrong?” Zeke asked. There was no anger in his voice now. He’d taken her apology and moved on.
“No,” she replied honestly.
He huffed out a laugh. “Well, at least you’re not lying to me, princess.”
Did he really think she was a princess? Grr, why was she letting him tie in her knots?
He gently squeezed her hand. “Dance with me, Eden.”
“How?” she asked, wi
th a frown.
“By trusting me.”
“I don’t trust people easily.”
“I know you don’t. But you know you can trust me, don’t you? I won’t hurt you. I’d never let anything harm you.”
It sounded like a vow. A promise. But she tried not to read anything into it. Maybe he’d been drinking. Maybe he was affected by the romantic atmosphere. Or maybe he did mean it, but in a platonic way. She was part of Sanctuary. The men on the ranch were very protective of the women who lived there. And Zeke was no different.
He was close to her brothers as well, which was why he seemed to be constantly pushing himself into her business.
“Dance with me, Eden. Trust me.”
Nope, she wasn’t going to do it. No way.
“All right.”
Oh, crap.
Amusement filled him. Could she have sounded less enthusiastic? As though he was asking her to have a colonoscopy rather than to dance with him. But he didn’t take offense. That was Eden. She didn’t open up with others. Communication wasn’t her strong point. Secrets lurked in those hazel eyes.
But she had been known to lose that control. She’d lost it several times around him. When she was angry. Or scared.
Like the night he’d gone with Kent to collect her from Suck ‘n Blow when those assholes had cornered her in the parking lot, and threatened to rape her.
That night she’d been terrified. Anyone who didn’t know her as well might not have seen it. But he’d made an art out of studying Eden Jensen. When she was scared, she tended to ramble. And that night, she’d talked non-stop all the way back to the ranch. He’d wanted to take her to the hospital to get checked over and he’d been furious that she’d talked her brother into letting her go home instead. The fact that he hadn’t had the right to make that decision for her care still burned a hole in his gut.
One day, soon, he would.
And she wouldn’t wrap him around her little finger the way she did her brothers. He wouldn’t bow to her pleas if it meant jeopardizing her health and safety. Once she was his, he would firmly take the reins.
He would always put her first. But he intended to ensure that she followed his rules. And if there was ever any dispute, he would have the final say.
Right now, though, he pushed those thoughts aside. This wasn’t the time to assert his claim.
Slow and steady would win him Eden. He was going to slide on through those barriers she’d erected around herself. Discover all those secrets she kept hidden until he knew her better than she knew herself.