AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Bliss spun through her body, driving everything else away completely.
CHAPTER SEVEN
LEANDRO WAS NOT USED to having his mind wander. His focus was famously laser-like, and there was more than enough happening at Acto to keep him busy. In fact, he thought with a hint of something like guilt, he should have been burning the candle at both ends here, rather than curtailing his schedule to fit around Skye’s.
But her work hours were erratic, and now that he knew she had a daughter, he was conscious of not eating into her time too much.
Which was completely unlike him.
This whole thing was.
It was easy to put that down to the discombobulating discovery that he was adopted. At twenty seven, for the first time in his life, he was adrift. He’d wanted Skye the moment he’d seen her—something he’d attributed to the alcohol he’d consumed that afternoon and night. But he’d sobered up after Emme, and he’d still thought propositioning Skye was a great idea.
Because she distracted him. She made him feel present and in the moment, pushing thoughts of his family, his parents’ betrayal and all the unknowns out of his mind. She liberated him from the darkness of his thoughts when they were together so naturally, he sought to be with her as much as he could.
She was a coping mechanism, nothing more.
And he made her feel good, too. He wanted to punch something to think of the life she’d lived with her ex. The bastard didn’t deserve Skye—thank God she’d had the courage to leave him. It couldn’t have been easy, but then again, Skye was strong. She was brave.
…and he was thinking about her again.
He ground his teeth together, tried to bring his focus back to the report he’d been reading, but in the back of his mind, a countdown clock was running, ticking away the minutes until she’d be back in his bed.
“Who the hell is he?”
All the colour drained from Skye’s face as she stared at Jay. Harper was on her hip, because they’d been walking back from the park and her little legs had grown tired a few blocks from home.
Fear was a normal response when she saw Jay, but ordinarily, she knew when he was coming and arranged to have her parents home. She avoided being alone with him as much as possible.
He wasn’t violent, but he still scared her. She’d been conditioned to fear him, and it was a difficult training to erase.
“Who?” She asked breathlessly.
“The blonde in the Range Rover,” he demanded. “Bringing you home in the middle of the night, three nights in a row now. What the actual hell, Skye?”
“Jay,” she lifted a hand placatingly even when shock, terror and confusion burst through her. Harper burrowed her face into Skye’s shoulder. Jay didn’t even seem to realise she was there. “Calm down, this isn’t a big deal.”
“You’re screwing around, leaving our daughter home while you’re off spreading your legs?”
“Jay,” she hissed, a warning in her voice. “Cut it out.”
“Don’t you dare tell me what to do,” he responded, ice in his voice. Fear flared in her heart.
But she had to be strong, for Harper’s sake. “We can’t have this conversation while you’re in this mood. Call me when you’ve calmed down.”
She began to walk past him, her knees shaking, but he grabbed her arm, his fingers digging into her flesh. He wasn’t violent, he wasn’t violent, she kept telling herself, but her teeth were chattering. Because she wasn’t an idiot. She knew that violence didn’t come out of nowhere. Abusive behaviours escalated and it was entirely plausible that he’d progress from being emotionally controlling to physically violent. She could see that his temper was holding on by a thread.
Fear was knotting her stomach.
“Jay,” she whispered. “Think of our daughter.”
“I am thinking of our daughter. I’m thinking of the fact I don’t want her being raised by a slut.”
Tears filled Skye’s eyes. “That’s not fair.”
“You’re the one who’s out screwing around. I thought I could trust you.”
“You can trust me,” she whispered. “I’m not involved with anyone.”
