Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 67266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
I could have guessed that. He expected people to do what he said, and he was clearly able to buy whatever he wanted, but I didn’t think he was happy or that he had been as a kid.
“Does anyone else see the side of you I’ve seen?”
“No one sees all the sides you’ve seen.” He froze as if realizing the implication of what he’d said. I couldn’t move or speak either. My heart pounded, and I knew right then that I wanted to keep being that person for him, the one he could be himself with.
After taking a deep breath, he said, “Lawson, my assistant, gets to see me angry and occasionally amused.”
I growled. “I don’t like that.”
Darren grinned. “I like that you don’t like it, but I promise you my relationship with Lawson is nothing more than friendly.”
“You consider him a friend?”
“Something close to that at least. I don’t really know much about friendship.”
That was really sad. I’d been through some shit, but I had friends who would literally put their lives on the line for me without even pausing to question it.
“What made you hide yourself like that?” I couldn’t believe I’d asked him that when I hadn’t even finished my first drink.
Darren finished off the rest of what was in his glass and held it out for more. “Are you really going to make me talk first?”
The haunted look in his eyes made me realize he probably needed to unburden himself as much as I did or more. “Maybe.”
“That wasn’t the deal.” He pointed to our glasses. This was all you asked. You wanted to get drunk, and I made sure we were safe to do that. I don’t owe you anything else.”
I drained my glass then leaned closer to him. I was already half-drunk on whatever the hell this was between us, these powerful feelings that seemed more dangerous than any opponent I’d faced. “Are you sure about that?”
Darren licked his lips. “I’m the one that saved your ass tonight.”
“And I’m the one who gave you the best sex of your life out by the barn.”
“How do you know—”
“Tell me I’m wrong.”
He looked down, and I gripped his chin, forcing him to lift his gaze. “Talk to me.”
“I give orders. I don’t take them.”
“You want me to test that.” I didn’t want him doing that to me, but I couldn’t help myself. I needed to know what had caused Darren to hide his real self. I wanted to know what had made him take on a persona that was so cold.
He threw back more whiskey. “Fuck no.”
“Then talk.” It wasn’t fair of me to push him.
24
DARREN
I didn’t want to tell my story any more than Fox wanted to tell his, but did I need to? It wasn’t like Fox’s situation. There were people that knew what I’d been through and what I’d done, though only my sister knew everything. But just because people knew didn’t mean anyone talked about it. I certainly never did.
Was I really going to bare my soul to get Fox to do the same thing? I could pretend I was doing it for the mission, that I was coercing him into giving me the information I needed by giving him something first, but that wasn’t even close to the truth. I would never tell something so vulnerable about myself to get information. I could be a very convincing liar when I needed to be. My father made sure of that.
“If I do this, you have to promise you’ll tell me all your secrets.”
“I’ll tell you how I saved our team from an invasion we couldn’t have fought off, and I’ll tell you why it’s left me”—he gestured helplessly—“like this.”
“You give me your word?”
He took a deep swallow of whiskey. “You have my word.”
“Fine. Then get ready to hear some fucked-up shit. My father was nearly as rich as Xavier’s and even more of a bastard.”
“I don’t know much about Xavier’s family,” Fox said, “but I know he joined the army to get away from his father.”
“I could have tried that, but can you see me in the military.”
Fox laughed. “Fuck no.”
“Exactly.” I held out my glass for more whiskey. When Fox didn’t react fast enough, I grabbed the bottle and drank from it.
“And I thought I was the one who needed to drink.”
“I didn’t think I’d be telling you this.”
“Keep talking.”
“If you think I can be cold, my father could freeze you from several blocks away. There was nothing soft or caring about him. He only cared about making money any way he could and spending it on himself. He wanted children because he needed an heir and someone to pose with on Christmas cards. That’s all I was to him, an accessory. My sister he deemed even less important. He’d hoped for another son when she was born. When he heard my mother had given birth to a girl, he didn’t even see her for several weeks.”