Chapter 118 Hurt
Verena
Confusion flitted across my face as I reached for the knob and turned the shower off, briefly noticing the way his fully erect dick started to grow limp. “Separate rooms?…” my eyes flickered back to his. “What is the matter Daxton? What is with the sudden change of mind?”
No—that shouldn’t be the question. The real one was how we went from his teasing barely five minutes ago to this sudden shift in his mood.
The muscles in his shoulders tensed. He wouldn’t even look at me.
He slapped his hand over his face softly, groaning into his palm. “I don’t know Verena, I just believe it is the right decision,”
My brows furrowed. “This is coming out of nowhere and it makes no sense to me. You were so eager to have us share a room and now this…are you okay Daxton?”
“Did I in any way do anything to hurt you?”
Daxton shook his head, his wet hair clung to his forehead as my mind reeled with different thoughts. Could I have said something back there to piss him off? Something that completely soiled his mood?
I tried to think of something–anything–but my memory came up blank.
“No, you didn’t,”
I ran my hand through my hair, frustration clogging my throat. “You don’t want me anymore?”
He raised his head, a flicker of fear in his eyes. “You know that is not true, Verena. I want you so much to the point that my intense craving for you is starting to frighten me. What if I hurt you, Verena? You are so precious to me…you don’t even get how much you mean to me,”
My heart melted from the rawness in his voice, electricity zapping between us as I closed the space between us and gripped his face. “You are not going to hurt me, Daxton—”
His eyes held mine for a second, as it was pleading to believe me before he dropped my hands from his face and took a step back.
“I already did,”
“When?”
Daxton pressed his eyes shut, pushing the hair that flopped into his eyes back before they fluttered open. “Verena, I need you to be honest with me. Promise me, that you will,”
I had no idea what was going on or where this was leading to but I nodded. “I promise,”
His throat worked. “That morning…”
“What morning?”
“When I woke up to you in the kitchen and you shared your sandwich with me. Those marks on your back…” his words trailed while confusion swirled in my own mind. “Were they really from a bad scratch or was it because of me?”
I froze, the same time my heart stopped as the memories swamped me in a rush.
It was so insignificant that I had forgotten about it.
“Ah…that—”
I scratched my jaw and that was when it slowly hit me that he figured it out.
Emotions made a full swirl in his eyes. “You made a promise Verena,”
“I said it how it is. It was a bad scratch,”
The expression on his face shifted into something impassive. He didn’t look disappointed. He only stared at me.
“What was I expecting when you lied to me the first time?”
He looked at me one more time and walked out. By the time, I returned to the bedroom, he was already sliding into his Tom Ford shorts.
“I am sorry, Daxton. I was only trying to protect you…”
“Protect me from what? The monster that I am,”
“You are not a monster, Daxton,”
He released a breathy sigh. “If I am not a monster, then tell me, what kind of man hurts his girlfriend?”
Frustrated, I muttered under my breath. “Lord have mercy…Daxton it wasn’t intentional. You were having nightmares, held me too tight, and ended up hurting me,”
“Hurting,” he enunciated.
I shook my head. “Mistakenly,”
“All the more reason why we shouldn’t share the same bed until I get my mind straight. You should return to your room, Verena,” his eyes were cold.
A soft ball formed in my throat, anger rising inside of me. “Instead of talking, you are going to push me away? If I were that scared of you hurting me, don’t you think I would have left already,”
“Verena, leave,” his tone darkened.
“Daxton?”
“Leave!”
Pressure ballooned in my chest, tears pressing at the back of my eyelid but I blinked them away and grabbed my robe. “Wow…Daxton…wow…” I whispered.
I snagged my duvet off his bed, a tear dropping from my eye. “You might as well break up with me and tell me to move out,”
The defense on his face cracked. “No… don’t say that. Why would I tell you to move out of your house?”
I held a hand up. “It is fine. I got your message loud and clear,” I was already out of the door.
For over an hour, Daxton pounded on my door, begging me to let him in. “You’re misinterpreting my words.” “Please, let me in.” “Verena, please open the door”
I didn’t answer. I plugged in my earphones, buried my face in my tear-soaked pillows, and drifted into sleep without even realizing when. Slept for three hours or thereabout.
I stared at the ceiling, his cold words resounding through my head ‘Verena, leave.’ My heart softened and I hated that it did. I already knew he was a man burdened by his past, his family and I didn’t care for the details and was waiting patiently until he was comfortable enough to tell me about his past.
I slapped my palm against my face. I shouldn’t have overreacted but he was the one who did.
Honestly, I didn’t know.
With the dead silence that engulfed everywhere, he should have left the mansion already. Probably to return when everything calms.
I got out of my bed, released a frustrated sigh, sauntered to my door only for my heart to nearly jump into my throat when I saw Daxton still standing outside my door—drained, eyes exhausted.
“Daxton—” before I could finish, he crossed over to me in a stride and pulled me into a tight hug that I was slowly melting into.
He wrapped his arms around me, his lips pressing into the crook of my neck. “I am sorry…Verena,” his voice cracked.
“I just couldn’t stand the idea of you looking at me with fear in your eyes. Or flinching at the sight of me,”
“You don’t scare me, Daxton—” emotions racked all over me. “I trust you so much to know that you will never hurt me,”
His arms tightened around me as he walked me to the bed until we were in each other's arms. I brushed the hair away from his face. “My nightmares started when—” his lips wobbled.
I placed a hand on his lips. “Not now, Daxton. You don’t look ready,”
Gratitude bloomed in his eyes as he pulled me closer to him until our breath mingled. “Ashley triggered them back. She knows so much about my past and when she hinted me about telling them to you, my nightmares resurfaced,”
I ran my fingertips through his face. “Have they gotten better now?”
“It isn’t as frequent as before. I stopped the pills too, I think I have outgrown them and they don’t help that much,”
I pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. “I am proud of you,”
He breathed, his eyes piercing mine. “I am only scared of them resurfacing again and me losing control, yelling and screaming at you in the heat of the moment…”
I cut in. “It won’t happen,”
“How are you so sure?”
I stared into his eyes that searched through mine for everything. Answers. Validation.
“Because I trust you, Daxton. You are a good person,”
Tears filled his eyes as he stroked my cheeks worshipfully with his fingers before cupping my face. “Have I ever told you that I love you?”
Fresh tears pooled in my own eyes and even though he had shown me with his actions, this was the first time I had ever heard him tell me he loved me.
I shook my head.
“This is a first,” my voice shook.
“I love you so much that the thought of a life without you makes me sick. I threw up three times…Verena…three times because I was scared of losing you,”
He pulled me to his chest. “Daxton”
“I love you so much. I am madly in love with you so bad that I can't picture a life without you. I want to give you my life,”
“We should get married, Verena,”
A soft chuckle left my mouth. “I don’t see a ring anywhere,”
His face split into a smile. “Oh…the ring. My bad,” his expression shifted. “I am serious Verena. I want to get married to you.”