No. Not the same. This time the ending was quite different and almost more disturbing than the usual horrendous scene.
He didn’t have to be Dr. Freud to understand what the dream meant. In it, she’d obviously found out about his plan. She’d discovered he’d been lying to her, that he’d stolen her business from her.
But it wasn’t hers. Not now, not later. Mirage could never belong to her and he shouldn’t feel guilt when he wasn’t the one who put her in this position.
Yet guilt still gripped him by the throat and made it damn near impossible to breathe.
He jerked the covers aside and rose from the bed. His eyes adjusted
easily to the dark; he’d been living in darkness for years so this wasn’t new.
“Dane.”
That soft voice, the voice that belonged to a woman who cared for him, who saw his scars and wasn’t bothered by them.
“I can’t stay.” He searched for his clothes and didn’t look back at her when the sheets rustled. “I shouldn’t have fallen asleep here to begin with. I know what happens.”
He scooped up his shirt, but couldn’t find his damn pants.
“The nightmares?” she asked. “You weren’t dreaming of the war. You were screaming for me to help you. So let me.”
Those slender arms came around his chest, pinning him in place before he could put his shirt on. She wanted to help, but if she knew the truth she’d turn away from him, just as she had in the dream.
Dane didn’t want to hurt her. Hell, he didn’t purposely want to hurt anybody, except for Robert, but he wanted what belonged to him. Why did all the paths leading to his goal get more twists and turns and roadblocks?
“I never stay with a woman,” he admitted. “Not since the accident. But you’re...different.”
“All the more reason for you to quit running.” She circled around to the front and gripped his biceps. “I’m here. I’m not asking you to leave, I’m not asking you to talk about anything if you don’t want to. But I am asking you to give me a chance. Don’t shut me out.”
Give her a chance? That’s not what he’d come here for, but damn it. He couldn’t help himself and now anything they had was based on a foundation of deception.
“I wasn’t lying when I said you don’t deserve this.” He fisted his shirt and wished like hell he’d found some other way to get what he wanted. “I won’t be here long and you’re dealing with your father—”
Stella’s soft laugh filled the room, her warm breath tickled his bare chest. “You know how to ruin a mood. Yes, I’m dealing with my father, but right now, I’m dealing with you.”
“I’ll go back to my room,” he offered. “It’s best that way.”
“Best? For you?” she asked. “Because the best thing for me is for you to stay. You obviously trusted me enough to show me your scars. Let me see the ones you’re hiding on the inside.”
There was nothing else he wanted more than to let her in completely. But they were at odds with each other, though she had no idea who he truly was. This seduction had gotten out of hand, his guilt had grown more and more, and damn it, he actually cared about her.
There was no way he could prevent her from being hurt. None. Even if he walked away and gave up on Mirage—which he could never do—she’d still be hurt by her father’s callous treatment and failure to keep his bargains. All he could do at this point was either keep going and enjoy this time with her while it lasted, or start to put some distance between them. She would hate him in the end anyway. Did it matter when that started?
“You can’t want more,” he warned. “I’m leaving when the mountain clears.”
Stella’s hands fell away. “I know you are. I guess I was just hoping you would stay a little extra time.”
If only she knew the irony in her statement.
“I don’t want to get too deep,” he added. “There’s so much we both have going on and this fling...”
“Doesn’t have to end.”
She reached for the shirt he held on to and dropped it onto the floor. Taking him by the hand, Stella led him toward the bed. He was utterly defenseless. He was also a bastard. Going back to his room was the smart move, but clearly he’d not been making smart decisions since coming to Mirage because now he had a sinking feeling Stella was falling for him.
As she lay next to him, with her arm over his chest and leg over his thighs like she dared him to leave again, all Dane could think of was that he’d been too busy enjoying her to pull out the secrets he’d come here to discover.
Darkness transitioned into light and Dane continued to stare up at the ceiling. Stella had fallen asleep, but now she stirred. He’d been lying here too long with his thoughts, with his damn guilt that gnawed a hole in his gut.