Fractured (Deep In Your Veins, #5)(61)
“What did she do?”
“My parents chased her off that night. She started showing up at my house and Helena’s place of work, ranting the same old shit she’d said to all the girls that came before Helena. Helena was no lightweight, and she saw Kylie for what she was. Each time Kylie did something, she made Helena more determined to stick it out as a ‘f*ck you.’”
“But she didn’t stay, did she?” The bitch.
“No. Like I said, she wanted a ring. She felt it was the least she deserved, considering the shit that she had to put up with from Kylie. Maybe she was right. But the thing is, baby, every girl that came before her had walked away. Every one of them. Hell, even my own mother had left me. To me, marriage is forever. I wasn’t going to bind myself to someone unless I was certain they weren’t going anywhere.”
“Helena walked out because you didn’t propose?”
“She left me for a guy she worked with who had been her ‘confidante’ throughout all the trouble with Kylie.” Butch snorted. “She said he was sensitive, made her smile, and cared enough to be open with her. The oh-so-perfect guy dumped her a month later. She came back, but I sent her away. The next time I was in a war zone, I was Turned into a vampire. I never looked back.”
I moved to him. “Now I get it. All of it.” I grazed his jaw with my nails, knowing he liked it. “Butch, they didn’t walk away because you weren’t good enough for them to want to stick around or because you couldn’t make them happy. They blamed you because they didn’t want to admit to you or themselves that they were letting Kylie win after swearing that they wouldn’t.” He had to see that…but he was shaking his head.
“With you, I’m happy. No one could do anything to make me walk away.” His hands settled on my hips. “If they had been this happy, they’d have stuck it out with me.”
Oh, he was too adorable…in his own weird way. “If they weren’t this happy, you aren’t at fault for that. And to be fair, Kylie made things nearly impossible for you.”
“I’m not going to lay the blame at Kylie’s feet. I was never good at relationships. You know me, baby. I’m not a master of communication. I’m not patient or gentle. I don’t have a great sense of humour, and I’m probably the least compassionate person you’ll ever meet. Hell, I find it easier to kill than I do to talk about what I’m feeling. I don’t blame them for leaving.”
He honestly didn’t, and that just pissed me off. “That’s a load of crap. You know that, right? The first night you announced your intentions to me, you said you don’t know how to make people happy. You make me happy.”
His expression called me a liar. “Baby…”
“It’s true. Sometimes it’s simple things, like when you cook my favourite meals or run me a bath without being asked. Then there are big things, like taking care of me during the transition and making my safety your priority. You’re always there when I need you. Oh, and you give first class orgasms. Just sayin’.”
His mouth curved into that lopsided smile I loved. “You happy enough to stick around?”
“Totally.”
He kissed me, savoured me, until I melted into him. Tapping my ass, he said, “Come on.” He led me to the living area, where we settled on the sofa. “Here.” He grabbed my Kindle from the table and handed it to me. “I’m going to watch the game. You’re going to stay with me and just relax.”
So—tired and eager to read a book that had recently been released—that was what I did. Until I received a text message from Fletcher. I gasped. “Ryder’s awake.”
Butch’s eyes shot to me. “About f*cking time.”
I jabbed him with my elbow. “It wasn’t Ryder’s fault he was in a freaking coma. According to Fletcher, he’s a little weak right now but he’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
“At which point he’ll mind-swipe Marco, Tait, and Juliet and tell us who the f*ck hurt you.”
That was the hope. “I think—” I paused as a knock came at the door.
Sighing, Butch headed straight for it and swung it open, revealing David, Max, Salem, and Chico.
“Hey.” David smiled as they walked in, like it was their regular hangout. When Butch just looked at them blankly, David added, “It’s your turn to be host.”
“You forgot,” guessed Chico, pulling out his cell phone. “No worries. I’ll order pizza.”
“Don’t forget chicken wings, potato wedges, and onion rings,” said Max.
Soon enough, my living area was packed with Butch’s squad members. I ended up sitting on his lap to make room on the sofa. Others settled on the floor or hauled in the breakfast bar stools. As I watched them interact, I quickly realised that this was a guy apology of sorts. It was a shit one, in my opinion, but I supposed if one alpha had trouble apologising, a whole bunch of them at one time were bound to be shit at it.
I drowned out all the noise, concentrating on my book. Though I did pause to eat two slices of pizza and a few onion rings.
Once the game was over, David—who was sitting beside me and Butch—gave my leg a little shove. “How’ve you been, Imani?”
I smiled. “Good. I’d feel a whole lot better if everyone here who’d been utter dicks to Butch would actually make a real apology. This version of one is totally crap and it ain’t gonna fly with me.”