om. Aria stood in the dim light of the second-floor landing, he

domestic bliss. A twisted,

was on his hands and knees, patiently helping Cody assemble a complex Lego spaceship. Zoe wa

eanut butter. She set it on the coffee table and smiled down at them,

unforced smile that reached his eyes. It was a look of p

ezed her heart,

irst, then more insistently. Each time, Bentley had shut her down. "The co

out, his rage had been terrifying. He had accused her of trying to trap hi

didn't like children. That

d been

want a chi

piece, a profound, soul-deep chill settled over her. She couldn't watch anymore. She turned and

dside lamp. Aria was propped up against the headboard, a novel open in her lap

A few moments later, Bentley emerged, a towel slung low

xpanse of mattress between them feeling like a frozen lake. He pull

a heavy, suffo

ooked at the powerful muscles of his back, the rigid line o

breath, a final,

r a moment before lightly touching his sho

darkness. "Can't you just... ask

. He didn't turn. "

ish act of a dying hope. She moved closer, trying to slip her

n made contact wit

ound and shoving her away. It wasn't a gent

against the pi

ed, his voice a low, menacing growl. "Cassie is my responsibility. My family has loo

lace in his life was perpetually

before her eyes. Every last drop of love, of hope, of fight sh

r of her eye and traced a path down h

h and rolled over again, present

al air. But inside Aria, a storm had just passed, leavi

angry swipe of her hand. Her eye

the same one who had woken up that morning. The