Page 155 of Deacon

‘I’m fine. It was a kiss, non-consensual, but he stopped there; rather, I stopped him.’

‘Did he do anything else to hurt you?’

‘No.’

‘Good.’

His hand fell away from my arm as he resumed his crossed stance.

‘So will you stop unpacking, please?’

His eyes clouded over.

‘I get that you had no part to play in the kiss, Ana,’ Deacon muttered. ‘I understand and believe that he assaulted you, and I’m sorry it happened. But how did he know where we were?’

I swallowed hard as a chill came over me.

He was pissed about the strict boundary we’d agreed to, about me never seeing my ex again.

‘Max called earlier today about returning my vintage camera equipment I left in Milan. I took the call.’

Deacon’s jaw tightened.

‘I thought we said no contact with him? So you invited him here. You betrayed me.’

‘He ambushed me!’ I pleaded. ‘He even had a paparazzo photographer positioned outside to take photos.’

‘The fuck? I didn’t see any paparazzi,’ Deacon snapped, shaking his head.

‘He was there, hidden in the bushes on the rooftop,’ I insisted.

Deacon looked at me, a cold shadow crossing his expression as if I were spinning a fantasy out of thin air.

He didn’t believe me.

‘You think I’m lying to you,’ I whispered.

‘I’m the last man on this earth who would ever think you’re lying about a sexual assault,’ Deacon clipped. ‘However, everything else around this fucking shit show stinks to high heaven.’

‘Deacon -.’

‘While an assault is inexcusable, you invited him here,’ he gritted, stepping toward the bed and throwing his clothes into a duffel bag. ‘You went behind my back! You could have called me at any time and told me he was coming.’

‘I didn’t know he was coming!’

‘How did he find you, then?’

‘He -.’

‘I won’t hear it,’ Deacon scowled, jerking the bag shut. ‘Fact is, I’ve heard enough.’

He whirled around, his broad chest heaving as he pointed a finger at my face.

‘He’s unscrupulous, Ana! He threatened to take Raff from us! He literally sat on that phone and threatened to call social services to rip our son away, so why the hell would you indulge him? Any contact with Max jeopardizes the security of our family! Every time you open the door to that bastard, you put our custody at risk, and I will not let you endanger our boy because you can’t draw a hard line!’

I gasped, my breath hitching as I struggled to find the words.

‘I’m done with the game-playing,’ he snarled, his timbre vibrating through the walls as he packed his final items.