Cullen makes a motion with his left hand and I see both Ronan and Mattia hide their right hands.
“We’re good,” Cullen says. “She feels better.”
Ronan and Mattia look at me.
They care.
They care because I’m anHeir.
They care because Cullen will kick their ass if they don’t.
“We’re going to crash in her room,” Cullen says to Ronan and Mattia. “Let me know if anything happens.”
“What would happen?” I ask Cullen a couple minutes later as we walk toward my bedroom.
“What?”
“You told Ronan and Mattia to tell you if anything happens. What’s going to happen?”
“No idea, love,” Cullen says. “You’ve been in some trouble and I’m going to protect you.”
I was in trouble. Archer got me out of it. Now it’s just him causing trouble again.
“Nothing will follow me here,” I say. “It’s just my past, Cullen. Today was hard.”
“Why, Jaci?”
He opens the bedroom door for me.
I look around and smile.
The Halloween lights are still hung up.
The candles remain the same, their wax hardened, frozen in time.
My right hand tingles… remembering what happened in this room.
I spin around and Cullen is moving toward me.
I step back and sit on the edge of my bed.
I have a vision of me kicking myself back onto the bed more. Lifting my hips up. Cullen turning suddenly aggressive, tearing at my clothes, ripping them off. Dropping his jeans and taking his massive-
“Jaci,” Cullen whispers.
“I want more,” I say. “Anotherzaza.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” I say. “I need it.”
Cullen hesitates.
I nod.
“One more and I’ll talk.”
Now I feel totally okay.