Page 120 of Silk Sheets

Suddenly, his brooding demeanour had disintegrated.

“Just talk to me…” I inched forward. “Please,” I reached for his hand and when he let me hold it, I felt one step closer to him.

His eyes met mine for a second before he pulled me back to the bed. He nodded for me to get on and I did, sitting up against the headboard. He found himself on the edge of the bed, running a hand over his face.

“What do you want to know, Dakota?”

My eyes flickered away from him for a second before I answered. “Everything.” His dark eyes found mine. “Why you’re closed off, why you never share your feelings… what really happened with Josie.”

The way his chest rose and fell told me that this wasn’t easy for him, and that he wasn’t entirely sure if he was even going to answer my questions.

A spine chilling darkness swarmed around in his eyes, as though a haunting memory had clouded his mind. His fist clenched then unclenched on his lap.

He opened his mouth but when nothing came out, I shifted closer. His strained expression tugged on my heart strings.

Facing him, I gently held his hand in mind, ignoring the fact that he couldn’t meet my eyes.

“What happened, Kaden?”

The muscle in his jaw ticked. “I never wanted you to know this side of me,” he admitted. “But my family…“ he trailed off, shaking his head. With a heavy exhale he continued. “They were powerful people who constantly made business deals.”Were?“When I was nineteen,Iwas part of a business deal. I was arranged to marry someone from an equally powerful family.”

Oh…

“I didn’t want to,” he continued. “And when I refused—” he stopped abruptly and my pulse quickened. “Dakota… her family murdered my grandparents becausetheydidn’t uphold their end of the deal.”

My heart shattered into a million pieces, glass shards sinking into my veins.No…

I entwined our fingers, and his hold on my hand turned firm.

“It was my punishment. And…” he trailed off. “I didn’t want to be part of that world but after they took the only parents I had from me, I couldn’t help myself,” his throat bobbed. “I have blood on my hands, Dakota,” he finally admitted, knocking the air out of my lungs. “And after I took my revenge, I left, disappearing entirely. I thought they’d never find me until—“ he cut himself off, squeezing my hand and when realization gripped my spine, I straightened up.

“Josie’s car accident wasn’t anaccident, was it?” I swallowed the tension lumped in my throat, and he gave his head a slow shake.Oh my—

Tears welled in my eyes and I inched closer.

“When it happened, it was the second time they took everything from me,” he kept his eyes low, and goosebumps rose on every inch of my body.

Letting go of his hand, I climbed onto his lap and gently cupped his face in my hands. He averted my gaze. “And you think that if you let me in, they’ll try and take me too.”

He didn’t answer me, but he didn’t need to. I already knew.

“Do Chase and Logan know?” I asked and he subtly nodded.

“I couldn’t keep any of this from them.”

I exhaled, tightening my hold to force him to look at me and when he did, a profound pain dimmed his eyes.

“Are you going to let them take me away from you?” I whispered, and anger flashed across his face.

“Of course not,” his hands gripped my hips.

I smiled, kissing him softly. “Then I’m not going anywhere…” I trailed off, meeting his eyes again. My pulse raced in my neck, the knot in my stomach tightening. “Because I love you, Kaden,” I confessed, watching the rage, the hurt, the unmissable uncertainty disappear. “And I always will, even if you can’t say it back.”

His hands slipped to my lower back and he pulled me closer, relief washing over him. His arms wrapped around me and when his lips pressed to mine, it felt like an exchange of words. A tear trickled down my cheek and I let him have this. Haveme.

The heat radiating off his body wrapped around me, trapping me in his orbit and I melted into him.

He broke the kiss to rest his forehead to mine, and I gently trailed my thumb over his cheekbone.