Page 39 of Thin Lines (Donati Bloodlines 2)

Emma knew that Calisto didn’t think of her that way.He’d showed her once how he thought of her, and exactly what he would do withit all. He could take her anger.

She needed it out.

Not inside killing her.

Out.

“You made me feel so goddamn guilty,” Emma said,refusing to keep it in any longer. “Months ago when you found out about thebaby I lost, and all the things you said, you made me feel guilty. Like I didsomething wrong; like I did you wrong.”

Calisto passed Emma another look. “I—”

“No, shut up and listen, Cal. I would have told you,but you didn’t come around. And then you find out, and you think you suddenlyget the right to demand things from me and make me feel like I’m the bad guy? Ididn’t do anything wrong! You left me to find out I was pregnant with yourchild, lie to my husband, and then miscarry the baby on a kitchen floor. Alone.You don’t get to make me feel bad for that, Calisto. I tried, and I would have toldyou everything had you just given me five minutes out of your life. Instead,you disappeared. Where were you?”

“You’re right,” he said quickly.

“And then you up and do it again!”

“What?”

“This, again. You make a big deal about what I did bynot telling you, by losing the child, and then you once again spend monthskeeping as far away from me as you can. Only this time, I’m pregnant, but it’snot yours, so nothing about it is important.”

“You’re wrong.”

“I am not.”

“You absolutely fucking are!”

Emma snapped back in the seat, further away fromCalisto. She was shocked at the level of his shout.

“You are,” he growled again. “I thought I was stayingaway for you, Emmy. That you wouldn’t want me around after the last fuckingconversation we had. I acted like a grade-A asshole and I know it. You’reright, you didn’t deserve that. And I am sorry that you have spent these lastmonths letting it weigh you down. I shouldn’t have done that. But you arewrong, too.”

“I don’t think I am.”

“I didn’t stay away because you were pregnant withAffonso’s child. I stayed away because that didn’t even matter to me. It didn’tmake a single difference that you are married, pregnant, and still not mine. Ithought about you too much—I still do. I obsessed over things people said aboutyou, or the way Affonso talked about you. I worried, I wondered, and I stillwanted you. I stayed away for you because I didn’t care about yourstatus, your husband, or your pregnancy. And that made me fucking disgustedwith myself. What kind of man does that make me? A horrible one. I couldn’t dothat to you. I couldn’t put that on you again. We did that once, and look atwhere we are.”

Emma sucked in a hard breath, stunned.

She tried to speak, and failed.

Calisto hit the gas, making the car lurch forward.“Are you happy now?”

No.

Yes.

Emma didn’t know.

She hated that he hurt. She liked that he hurt forher. Calisto didn’t know it, but Emma was no better than him. It was sick andwonderful.

“Well?” Calisto demanded. “Are you fucking happy?”

“I was once. I got to pretend for a little while. Thatmade me happy.”

Calisto’s jaw ticked. “Don’t, Emmy.”

She still did it, anyway.

“You were happy once, too.”