"I just don't want to be the reason..."
"You are not the reason," he snapped, and the sharpness made me flinch.
His jaw clenched. He dragged in a breath, like he was trying to force himself to talk instead of break something.
"You walking into a room shouldn't put you in danger. Their loyalty is to me. Their respect is owed to you because you carry my name now. If they don't understand that, they're not my men....they're liabilities."
"Alex…"
"No."
A command.
Steel.
He stepped toward me again, slow, deliberate, cornering me without touching me.
"You're trying to protect the feelings of men who bruised you," he said quietly. "Why, Isabella? Are you scared of how I would react?"
I swallowed. "Yes."
His eyes softened for just a moment.
Barely.
A flicker.
And then the intensity came back tenfold.
he said. "I react to protect what's mine."
My heart stuttered painfully.
"And what if I don't want violence in my name?" I whispered, because even talking felt heavy.
