“Sweet Haven was a joke name, given everything that happened here. It was neither sweet, nor a haven. Malus was more appropriate. It serves as a reminder of what this town used to be and what we strive for it to never be again.”
She pulls in a breath and lets it out on a whoosh. “Were the adults ever convicted?”
“Yes, but there were a few who got away.”
“Thirteen,” she murmurs, remembering the newspaper headline.
I don’t tell her that my brothers and I hunt down the fuckers who managed to escape. Too many questions would be asked. Ones that I can’t answer.
“I can’t imagine…” she trails off and shakes her head. “What you and the other children endured was horrific, devastating, and heartbreaking.” She’s quiet for a moment before she goes on to whisper, “I’m glad those twelve died, and I don’t care if that makes me a bad person.”
That almost makes me smile. Wishing someone dead and making sure it comes true are two different things. If being glad those fuckers are dead makes her a bad person, what does it make me for actually killing them? It doesn’t matter. I could go to hell for all I care, but those sick fucks will be sent there first.
“I think someone needs their mother,” Susan says, stepping outside with a fussy Elijah and interrupting our conversation.
Remi’s eyes meet mine for a brief second before she wipes away her tears and goes over to take the baby from Susan. The older woman gives me a look before she steps back inside. Remi cradles Elijah extra close to her chest as she smiles down at him and starts talking in gibberish baby talk. Remi’s a good mother. Nothing like the one I had.
“Thank you for inviting me to dinner tonight. It was nice meeting your family,” she says, thankfully changing the topic from my past. There’s only so long I can take talking about it.
“Sorry my brothers weren’t the most welcoming. We’re not too keen on strangers hanging around.”
It’s more than that, but I keep that to myself. It disgusts me to compare what Malus is today to what Sweet Haven was back then, but in this case, the town has remained the same. We don’t accept outsiders.
I take a step toward Remi, unable to stand the distance between us. This woman is constantly pulling me toward her. Like she’s a positive magnetic pull to my negative. I know I should resist more, but I’m so damn tired of trying and failing.
I don’t stop until my stomach meets the arm she has Elijah cradled in. Not even a foot separates us. Her head is tipped back so she can keep her eyes on me. I’m so close I can see little black specks in the blue of her irises.
Considering what I just exposed to her about my past a few minutes ago, desire and need should be the very last thing on my mind. With this woman, though, it seems to be the only thing I can think about. Wanting to touch her soft skin or breathe in her sweet scent. Tasting her tempting lips and laving my tongue against hers. Lying her down and worshipping every single fucking inch of her gorgeous body. Those are the thoughts that run through my head every time I’m near her.
It’s dangerous as hell, I know it, but damned if I don’t want to ignore it.
With my mind screaming at me to back the fuck away, but my body begging me to relent and take what I want, I lower my head. I keep my eyes on hers and am pleased to see her needy thoughts mimic my own. It’s there in the way she licks her lips, and it’s there in the anticipation in her eyes she has no way of hiding.
A guttural groan leaves my throat when my lips finally touch hers. Her answering mewl sends blood rushing to my cock, making my jeans very uncomfortable. I settle my hand on the side of her neck, my fingers lacing in her hair, and I feel the erratic beat of her pulse. I want to devour and consume her until I’m the only thing she can think about.
Unfortunately, now is not the time for such things, and Elijah makes that abundantly clear when a God-awful smell permeates the air surrounding us. Remi and I break apart, both of our gazes dropping to the reason nose plugs would really come in handy right now. Remi is the first one to laugh. It’s a cute laugh, because she does it while she’s also wrinkling her nose.
“Apparently, it’s time for me to go in,” she says, talking through her nose.
I chuckle at her ridiculous tone. “It smells that way.”
Her smile fades, the laugh lines at the side of her eyes disappearing, and her expression turns troublesome.
“What are we doing, Trouble?” Her voice is quiet and unsure.
It’s the same q
uestion she asked me last night, and I still don’t have the answer. Instead of trying to come up with one, I ask one of my own. I may regret it later when I no longer have the taste of her on my lips and my brain isn’t fogged with desire, but at the moment I have zero fucks to give.
“Have dinner with me this weekend?”
Her brows jump to her hairline and her mouth parts open slightly, as if I’ve shocked her. My hand is still on the side of her neck, and I caress the smooth skin with my thumb.
“Bring Elijah with you. I’ll throw some steaks on the grill and we can eat outside on my patio. There’s supposed to be a meteor shower.”
She swallows, her throat bobbing with the movement. “Okay.”
I grin. “Good.”