om. Aria stood in the dim light of the second-floor landing, he
domestic bliss. A twisted,
was on his hands and knees, patiently helping Cody assemble a complex Lego spaceship. Zoe wa
eanut butter. She set it on the coffee table and smiled down at them,
unforced smile that reached his eyes. It was a look of p
ezed her heart,
irst, then more insistently. Each time, Bentley had shut her down. "The co
out, his rage had been terrifying. He had accused her of trying to trap hi
didn't like children. That
d been
want a chi
piece, a profound, soul-deep chill settled over her. She couldn't watch anymore. She turned and
dside lamp. Aria was propped up against the headboard, a novel open in her lap
A few moments later, Bentley emerged, a towel slung low
xpanse of mattress between them feeling like a frozen lake. He pull
a heavy, suffo
ooked at the powerful muscles of his back, the rigid line o
breath, a final,
r a moment before lightly touching his sho
darkness. "Can't you just... ask
. He didn't turn. "
ish act of a dying hope. She moved closer, trying to slip her
n made contact wit
ound and shoving her away. It wasn't a gent
against the pi
ed, his voice a low, menacing growl. "Cassie is my responsibility. My family has loo
lace in his life was perpetually
before her eyes. Every last drop of love, of hope, of fight sh
r of her eye and traced a path down h
h and rolled over again, present
al air. But inside Aria, a storm had just passed, leavi
angry swipe of her hand. Her eye
the same one who had woken up that morning. The
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