Cadence finished loading the dishwasher and hesitated for a moment before going to the living room. Jameson tried to help her clean up, and when she refused his help, he asked her to join him when she was done. It was an epically bad idea to spend more time with him. She was already getting attached. Spending more time with him would just bond them further, and make leaving that much harder.

But she couldn’t stop her feet from going in his direction. It was like he was a magnet, drawing her in, and she was helpless to resist. The gravitational pull was so strong where he was concerned.

The TV was on when she walked in the living room, but the sound was on low, and she didn’t think he was watching it at all. His head whipped sideways, like he could sense her presence the same way she sensed his, and he gave her a heart stopping smile as he patted the couch next to him.

She walked over and sank onto the couch next to him, breath catching as he took her hand. She smiled as she glanced at him, her fingers automatically tightening around his, and he leaned over, gently kissing her lips.

At least, it started out that way, and she thought that was all he intended. But, like always seemed to happen with them, it quickly caught fire and turned intense. By the time he pulled back, they were both breathing heavily.

“I didn’t mean for it to go there,” he said with a husky laugh that sent a shiver up her spine. “But I’m kind of glad it did.”

She cleared her throat, trying to make her voice work. “I second that.”

“Did you have a good day?”

She laughed. “I mean, I spent my day cleaning. You weren’t kidding about those unused rooms. A lot of dust lives up there. But yeah, it was good, all things considered. How’d your meeting go?”

He shifted on the couch, like the question made him uncomfortable for some reason. “It went as expected.” Pausing, he looked at her, his expression torn, before exhaling. “Please don’t get upset that I’m asking, but… will you tell me about your past? About what happened to you?”

Freezing, she stared at him, knowing her eyes were wide as hell. But she hadn’t expected that, at all. She shifted on the couch, debating. “I really don’t like talking about my past, Jameson.”

“I know. And I’m sorry for asking, but I want to know. I want to help you, and I can’t do that if I don’t know what I’m up against.”

“I don’t think you can help me. I’m not sure anyone can. But… I’ll tell you. Just give me a minute to get my thoughts together.”

He nodded, waiting on her to begin speaking. And she couldn’t believe she actually agreed to tell him. She never spoke about her past. To anyone.

But she had a feeling that Jameson would try to hold onto her. Try to talk her out of leaving. And it would be heartbreaking for both of them, because she had to go. If she told him why she was running, he might let her go without a fight. That was best, for them both, no matter how big the part inside of her was that was screaming it wasn’t.

Her fingers tightened reflexively around his as she inhaled deeply. “I told you that I aged out of foster care when I was eighteen. What I didn’t say was I began stripping when I was seventeen. At the Sexy Peach. The owner wasn’t exactly on the up and up, and he didn’t really care how old I was, as long as I looked of age. It was only on the weekends, and I had to sneak in and out of the house to do it, but I knew I needed to. My foster parents weren’t going to help me when I aged out, and I couldn’t just leave their house with no money. I had to be able to get a place to live, to be able to eat. So I saved all the money I made, and that’s how I was able to land on my feet so quickly after they told me to leave.”

“I can’t imagine being on my own so young, and completely alone in the world. Because that’s what you were, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. But I had it better than most kids who age out of the system. I planned ahead. I never really cared for how I did it, but it worked, so I ignored how I felt about it. And then I continued to strip, full time, and got a job as a waitress at this crappy diner during the day. I wanted to be a nurse, and that was the only way I could do it. Nursing programs are generally two years, but even making decent money, it was still really slow going. I started when I was twenty, and I’m twenty-six now. And I never did get my degree.

“Then I applied for an open position at Silk Silhouette. Being accepted was a huge deal. It’s not a seedy strip joint. It’s more like a gentleman’s club. Upper crust, extremely rich, invitation only members. Memberships there cost upwards in the triple digits, depending on the level. They pay very well, and the girls are treated good. The bouncers actually do their job. There’s no touching allowed, nothing physical, or the patrons risk their memberships. It’s even frowned upon to harass the girls verbally. So positions rarely open up there, because the girls stay as long as they can. And the owners are extremely selective about who they hire. Getting the job was a long shot, and I was ecstatic when I did. I could quit my waitressing job and finish nursing school much faster.”

She paused, needing a moment. All that, as bad as it was, had been the easy part of her story. Now she was coming to the part that was hard to even remember. She was sure talking about it would be next to impossible.

“You okay?” he asked gently, squeezing her hand.

“Yeah, I just needed to gather my thoughts.”

“Take all the time you need. We have all night.”

The thought of talking about this all night left a really bad taste in her mouth. She needed to get this over with sooner rather than later. Her gut coiled with dread, and she slowly blew a breath out, trying to psyche herself up for it.

“I’ve never thought highly of men. No offense, but most of my foster dads were awful. And those who weren’t were just indifferent. They didn’t give two shits about anyone but themselves. And then I met Winston. He was a member at Silk, on the highest level. Loaded. Handsome. Charming. He was a regular, and he started sweettalking me the moment he saw me dance the first time. I resisted, because all men are snakes, right? But he slowly wore me down. It took him two years, but I finally agreed to go out with him.

“Things progressed pretty quickly after that. I thought he was just perfect. He was attentive and courteous, and I didn’t think he could hurt a fly. He talked me into moving in with him about three months after I started seeing him. It was fast, but I’d known him two years at that point. I thought I knew all there was to know. And then he asked me to quit Silk. I hesitated, because even though living with him cut my expenses down, I still had school to think about. But he was persistent. Said dating a stripper was one thing, but a man in his position, as important as he was in Atlanta, couldn’t take things further with one, and he wanted to move us forward. My two-year contract with Silk had just ended, so I agreed.”

Jameson shook his head as she paused again. “A real man would have accepted you for who you are and not asked you to change.”

“I know that now,” she replied with a half-smile. “Actually, I knew that then, but I ignored it. My instincts were blaring, but I thought I was misreading things. That it was just my fucked-up upbringing clouding my judgment.”

“Don’t be so down on yourself. We all make mistakes. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your story. Go ahead.”

“Most people’s mistakes aren’t on this level either,” she said with a wry laugh that was devoid of humor. “Things started changing a couple of weeks after I moved in. Little things at first. He’d get mad over stupid shit. Then it escalated, and he’d scream and yell. He took my car keys, told me I could only leave when he allowed it. He lived in a penthouse, with a guard at the door. He’s that loaded, that prominent. I needed to go to class, so I tried to leave anyway, tried to sneak out, but the guard caught me. And that was the first time Winston hit me. Backhanded me so hard, I saw stars and tasted blood.

“He apologized later. Said if I’d just obeyed the rules, he wouldn’t have lost his temper. But if I tried something like that again, he’d be forced to discipline me again. So I dropped out of school. I was so fucking close to finishing, too. I was in the middle of clinicals at the hospital. But no matter what I did, no matter how good I was, things just got worse. I was only allowed to leave the penthouse once a month, but I think a large part of that was due to the bruises I inevitably sported. I’ll save you from more details, but it was bad. I’m sure you know that. You’ve seen the cigar burns.”

She paused, swallowing hard. She was trying so hard to remain detached and clinical while she told her story, but the misery, the pain, of that time were creeping over her, and it was so vivid. The baby moved, and she found a smile, the memories fading a bit, letting her breathe easier. Knowing Jameson loved feeling the baby move maybe as much as she did, she took his hand, flattening it over her belly where the movement was, pressing it down to make sure he felt it.

The baby moved again, and she heard his breath catch. She’d been avoiding looking at him, but she glanced over then. His expression held a lot of anger, but as he felt her daughter move, it slowly faded from his expression until it was almost overshadowed by the awe he was clearly feeling.

“That’s the most amazing thing in the world, feeling her move inside you,” he breathed.

Smiling, she rubbed his hand while he caressed her belly. “You should feel it from my perspective.”

“I couldn’t even begin to imagine how amazing that feels.” He paused for a moment, still rubbing her stomach. “One thing is clear already, she has damned good timing. I was getting really worked up, but I have it under control now. Tell me what happened next. How you got away.”

Blowing a breath out, she bit her lip, nibbling for a moment. He groaned, and she looked at him with concern. “You okay?”

Reaching out, he brushed his thumb softly over her lower lip. “It just drives me crazy when you do that. In a good way. I want to take over and nibble it for you.”

“Oh,” she breathed, desire flaring hotly as she imagined him doing just that. Damn, she’d bite her lip nonstop all day if it got that kind of reaction from him.

“Sorry. I interrupted again. Go on.”

The reminder of what they were talking about was like a bucket of cold water thrown on her desire, and she sighed. “I’m ashamed to admit it, but I kind of lost my will to get away for a couple of months. I thought it was hopeless and I’d be stuck forever, and I didn’t want to do anything that would risk his wrath. And then I realized I was pregnant. When I decided to leave, it was really mostly a hunch. There was no way in hell I was letting him know I was, so I had no way of getting a pregnancy test or seeing a doctor.

“But the signs were there. I was almost two months late, and I’m regular as clockwork. My breasts were tender, I was sick a lot, certain foods turned my stomach. I was pretty sure I was pregnant, and pretty sure was enough to get me motivated again to get out. No way in hell was I ever going to bring a baby into that house. I wasn’t going to let him anywhere around one. That is, if I even managed to hold onto the baby long enough to give birth. He was extremely volatile at that point, and the beatings were basically daily. And I’m not at all sure knowing I was pregnant would have stopped it.”

Pausing, she swallowed hard as she remembered the panic she felt then and winced when she realized how dry her throat was. Jameson seemed to sense it, and he grabbed his glass of tea, offering it to her. Taking it with a grateful smile, she drank half of the glass down before handing it back.

“How’d you manage to slip past the guard?”

Her lips curled up. “I knocked him out.” She watched his eyebrows raise, and she laughed softly. “His job was to make sure I never left the house, but he was also charged with making sure no harm came to me while Winston was gone. I was like a possession—nothing and no one could hurt me, except him. So, one day after he left, I screamed bloody murder. I kind of impressed myself with how loud I was. When Brutus—swear that was his name—came running, I was hiding behind a door. And I swung a cast iron skillet at his head as hard as I could. Knocked him out cold.

“I’d found my car keys the night before, taken some cash out of Winston’s wallet while he showered, and I’d thrown together a box with the stuff I didn’t want to leave behind, and two garbage bags full of clothes. I got them in the car as fast as I could and took off. I drove for a couple of days. I didn’t have a destination in mind, I just wanted to get away. I got to Tulsa, and I thought for sure it was far enough away from Atlanta, and I stayed. I was there for about a month when I saw him on the street. I left again, and then my car broke down here. You know the rest.”

His fingers tightened around hers, and he raised her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles softly. His dark blue eyes were swirling with the lighter colors again, and they were anguished. “I’m so fucking sorry you went through that. It breaks my heart. You didn’t deserve that. No woman does.”

Exhaling heavily, she leaned forward and kissed him, still unbelieving that she could do so as easily as she did. “I agree. But I also feel like I allowed it. He might have duped me to begin with, but I stayed in a horrible situation that could have killed me. I think he would have, eventually. I didn’t think I had a choice. I thought there was no way out. But when I realized I was pregnant, I found a way to leave. And that made me realize I could have gotten out sooner, but I let myself feel defeated. I let myself feel stuck.

“No, don’t say it’s not true, Jamie. I can tell you’re about to. Don’t. What I said is the truth. And based on the facts, it’s undisputable.” She stopped, watching as he bit his words back. She knew that was what he was going to say. If someone else was telling her this story, she’d try to say the same thing. But she knew the truth. His hand was still on her belly, and she moved it to where the baby was most active, so he could feel it again. “But, as hard as that time was, as emotionally damaging as it was—I’ll never regret it. Maybe that’s crazy, but this baby girl… she wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t happened. All the sorrow, all the pain, every single damn bit of it, was worth it, to have her.”

Jameson couldn’t look away from Cady’s face, awe filling him. Partially for the baby he felt moving under his hand—she was so active already—but mostly for the gorgeous woman sitting next to him. Her shiny dark brown hair was loose around her shoulders and her chocolate brown eyes were holding his, steady and sure. If he wasn’t a shifter who could hear lies, he still would have believed her words, because the truth of them was right there in her eyes.

The past few days here had done her some good, too. It might not have been very noticeable to the average human, but he could tell she’d put a little weight on. Her cheeks were fuller, her body just a tad bit more filled out. She’d been eating well, and the relief of that was overwhelming.

He ran his gaze over the freckles he loved so much and then his eyes dropped to her mouth. As he watched, her tongue darted out, wetting them, and he shifted as his jeans suddenly got too tight. This was definitely not the time to have sexy thoughts, but he couldn’t help it around her. That bee-stung upper lip was begging for him to nip it, but he held off. They weren’t done talking yet.

“You’re fucking amazing, Cadence Daniels. I’m proud as hell of you.”

Her lip parted, and she stared at him with wide eyes. “Why? I just got done telling you that I wasn’t as strong as I should have been. Things could have been completely different. They didn’t have to happen the way they did.”

“Maybe they didn’t. But you stepped up in a big way when you realized how much was at stake. You got out when it counted the most. And I’m no expert, but I feel fairly confident in saying a lot of women would regret being with that bastard, even if they did get a baby out of it. They’d say they could have gotten pregnant at a later point by someone who wasn’t an abusive dickhead.”

“Maybe it would have been better to have gotten pregnant by someone else,” she said softly, keeping one hand over his and rubbing her belly with the other. “But if I had, it wouldn’t be this baby. That probably doesn’t make much sense. She hasn’t been born yet. I haven’t met her. I don’t know her. But I love her. So much. From the moment I found out I was expecting. I don’t want another baby, I want this one.”

“And that’s what makes you amazing.” The baby kicked, harder than he’d ever felt her move, and from the look on Cady’s face, she hadn’t felt it that strongly before. “See? She agrees with me.”

She huffed a laugh, shaking her head. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

Smiling, he winked at her. “Only in the best way.”

They both went quiet after that, and he thought through what she told him. This Winston bastard definitely deserved to die. And not only for what he did to Cady, though that was a major reason. The shit he did—it took a twisted man to do that shit, and Jameson’s mate surely wasn’t the first.

How many women had he terrorized before her, and how many would he terrorize after?

He definitely needs to die, his tiger fumed, pacing in his chest. At least he wasn’t shredding him in an attempt to get out, like he’d been doing as she told him her story. Let me out. I’m an excellent hunter. I can find the son of a bitch. And I’m not a man eater, but I can turn into one for him.

Jameson’s eyebrows rose, and despite everything, he fought a smile. His cat had always been mild mannered and peaceful. He wanted a mate and a family, but other than asking for those, he really didn’t even speak up much. He was content. This version was a one-eighty from his usual animal, but he kind of liked it. And he definitely liked that he was so protective over Cady and her baby.

Stand down. He’ll eventually get what’s coming to him. We’ll figure something out.

Brow furrowing, he glanced at his mate. “How did he find you? You’re right, Tulsa is a good distance from Atlanta. Is he powerful enough to get your employment information? Or trace your cell phone records?”

“He definitely has the resources to do both, but neither one could have been how he found me. I left my cell phone at his penthouse and bought one of those cheap prepaid ones from Walmart. And I was living and working at this shitty apartment complex. The place sucked, but the owner was a nice old lady who was a huge advocate for abused women. I met her at the women’s shelter, actually. She paid me under the table, and my name wasn’t on a lease or any paperwork at all.”

He frowned, thinking his next question was going to sound insane, or like something out of a movie. But the bastard found her somehow, so no stone could be left unturned.

“What about your car? Maybe he put a tracking device on it. That sounds crazy, I know, but it’s the only thing left I can think of.”

She shook her head, a small smile on her face. “It’s not too crazy. I thought of it as well. I had a Camry before. It wasn’t new, or really nice, but it was a thousand times better than that heap of junk out front. It ran well and looked decent. But I left it behind in Tulsa. Literally. I didn’t even have a chance to sell it. I couldn’t take the chance he’d get to me if I waited.

“I bought that piece of crap Chevy, paid way too much for it, really. The old guy who was selling it took advantage of my desperation, and I knew he was doing it, but I didn’t have a choice. I took it a step further, stopping at the junk yard on my way out of town. I looked around until I found a car that had a license plate that wasn’t expired, and I swapped them out. Maybe it was overkill, I don’t know, but I felt like I had to do everything I could.”

“That was a risk,” he said softly. “I’m impressed you thought of it, but it was still a risk. If you’d gotten pulled over, you would have been in a lot of trouble the moment the cop ran your plates.”

“I know. I thought of that, too. But it was a risk I thought I had to take. And as much as I wanted to burn rubber away from Tulsa, I was careful. I obeyed speed limits and all other rules. It’s not like I could register a car anyway. I don’t want my name in any database that can point to where I am.”

“This is one hell of a clusterfuck.”

She snorted. “You’re telling me.” She turned to face him, her fingers tightening around his even more. “Do you understand now why I need to leave once my car’s fixed?”

Her words turned the blood in his veins to ice. “You’re still set on leaving?”

Her eyes filled with tears she blinked back as she nodded. “I have to, Jamie. I haven’t gotten far enough away from Tulsa yet.”

“Is there really anywhere you can go that’s far enough away?”

He regretted his words as her shoulders slumped, a defeated expression crossing her face. “Probably not. I’ll probably be on the run for the rest of my life. But I can’t change it. It is what it is.”

“Just stay here. No, listen for a minute. He probably won’t be expecting you to stop anywhere close, right? And he’ll probably be looking in big cities. It’s most logical for you to go to one, where you could easily lose yourself. And he’d have no way of knowing this place even exists.

“And I can protect you. You don’t have to continue staying here at my house if you don’t want—though of course, I’d love more than anything if you did—but it’s a small enough town that I can protect you whether you’re at my house or not. And there’s a whole contingent of warriors here who will protect you. There’s no safer place for you to be.”

She frowned, slanting a puzzled look his way. “Warriors?”

Fuck. He hadn’t meant to say that. Dammit, he hated hiding things from her. Hated not telling her what he really was. He just wasn’t sure yet that she wouldn’t run if she found out.

She needs to know. You have to tell her soon, his tiger said, disapproval rolling off him in waves.

Dammit, I know that. I will. Just not yet.

He cleared his throat, casting about for something to say. He did know he needed to tell her soon, but this wasn’t the time. “It’s just what we call the fighters here. And believe me when I say, we’re the best of the best.”

“You guys sure do have some different terms for your people. Hey, that reminds me. Old Alice said something about me being your mate. What did she mean by that?”

He’d been hoping she forgot about that, but no such luck. “It’s basically what we call our significant others.”

“Oh, so she meant that she thought I’m your girlfriend?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“I guess that sort of makes sense, but it’s still a little strange.”

Tell her.

Soon, dammit. Back off.

“Have you thought about what will happen when you give birth?” he asked, a thought occurring to him.

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll have to give the hospital your real name. They require ID. And then you’ll have to fill out a birth certificate.”

Cady paled, the hand over his tightening painfully. It was clear she hadn’t thought of that, and he felt like a damned ass, but it was a legit concern.

“I’ll just leave town the second I’m released.”

“Sometimes they keep you for a day or two. But you wouldn’t have to worry about that here. We have a midwife who delivers all the babies.”

Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back against the couch. “I don’t know what the right thing to do is.”

Fuck, he felt like a piece of shit. He wasn’t trying to stress her out, or pressure her into making a decision. But, as much as he wanted her to stay for him, he needed her to be safe more. If that were possible somewhere else, he’d be the first one telling her to go. But there was nowhere she could be that was safer than Durga. He fully believed that.

He just hoped he could convince her of it. But he was done trying tonight. Maybe he’d pick it up tomorrow, but he didn’t want to push her too hard on it. They still had some time.

“There’s no need to decide now. Come on, let’s go to bed.” He started to stand but glanced over to find her staring at him with wide eyes. “Not that you have to go to my bed. I don’t expect that. You can go to your own.”

Smiling, she laughed softly as she let him help her up. “Your bed is fine, if you don’t mind. I’d like to sleep in your arms again.”

Stepping in close, he kissed her softly, then brushed her hair from her cheek. “I’d like nothing more.”

Taking her hand, he led her upstairs. To his room, his bed. Where, if he were lucky, she’d be sleeping every night for the rest of their lives.