She sat up and slithered away, putting space between them. That small movement was like a knife through the chest.
“You’re staying, then?” she asked. “Until Benny and Fritz come back?”
“Yes,” he said. “You know I have to.”
“But I can’t stay with you anymore,” she said. There was a desperate look in her eyes as if she could hardly hold herself back. He sensed her heart beating faster with every breath as if she was terribly afraid.
“What do you mean?” Ace asked, shaking his head.
“We can’t sleep together. We can’t see each other,” she said, her voice coming out as a harsh whisper. “We just can’t.”
Ace sat there for a moment, thinking. It seemed impossible that the outside world looked exactly the same while his inner world whirled in absolute turmoil.
But how could he be upset when he said the same words a few hours before?
There were a million things he could say. Most of his words were pleading to be released in a fit of rage, but that was exactly the problem. It was him. He was the problem … he was what was scaring her.
She couldn’t be with him because he was a savage animal, a primal hunter. It had nothing to do with him being a shifter, not really. It was because he acted like an animal even when he was human. He thought of the horrible things he had said to her and done to her. The way he’d lost his temper with her even when he was in the wrong. It was unforgivable.
This was always how it was going to end. There could be no other way.
She was a delicate flower, and he was a chainsaw. There was no way this could have worked.
Ace struggled with himself. Emma stared at him, her eyes shimmering. He wondered why she’d been crying. Was it because she was afraid of him, or was it because she didn’t want to do this?
Don’t think about that.
Already his mind was working on the problem, trying to find a way back into her heart. All of it went to hell, though, as a crushing certainty fell upon him.
There is no hope.
He looked straight into her eyes, holding her gaze. He was probably intimidating her, but why worry about that now? The situation was completely fucked.
“I can’t leave,” he said, wishing it wasn’t so menacing. “It would be too dangerous for you if I do.”
Ace didn’t even know if that was true or if it was an excuse. He didn’t care either way.
Emma nodded, not arguing. Fury rose in him, and he controlled it at the last second.
“You can have the bed,” she said softly. “I’ll sleep on the couch. It’s no problem.”
Ace wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly.
“What?” he asked. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” she said miserably. Emma shook her head and looked forlornly at the floor.
He couldn’t take it for another second more. He stood far too fast. Emma leaped away from him, almost stumbling as she jumped to her feet.
“Go!” he cried, pointing to the back corner of the big room. “You take the damn bed. It’s yours, isn’t it? I’ll be here, on the couch, if you want me.”
She fled, pulling the curtain closed. He knew he’d just voiced the exact problem.
She does not want me. Why would she?
Ace was still naked and stinking of river slime, so he took a shower, carefully staying away from Emma’s side of the room. His heart was too full of turmoil for him to be too sympathetic to her, even though he heard her crying. He took his time getting warm and clean, trying not to think about Emma even as his ears stayed trained on the sounds of her sobs.
The poor woman had been going through hell for some time now, and he hadn’t made it any better. There was no way out of this that he could see. Ace had intended to move up the ranks with this job, but now he felt like he was slipping away to a place he had no control.