In His Keeping (Slow Burn #2)

She turned, knowing the best thing was to simply leave. Let the brothers come to terms after her departure. With the source of conflict gone, everything could go back to normal. Life would resume. But at least she’d have the memory of one beautiful night. That, she would never give up. Never give back. It was hers to keep. Nothing or no one would ever take it away.

Wanting to make a clean break, not wanting to linger simply because she was leaving her heart and part of her soul behind, she briskly made a beeline for the other exit, the one that led directly into the living room instead of the two connecting hallways Beau had just prevented her from taking.

She brushed past Dane and Eliza and leveled a glare at Zack when he simply stepped in front of her, barring her from leaving.

“Get out of my way or I’ll make you move,” she said in a menacing voice she would have never thought she possessed.

“I can’t do that,” Zack said quietly. “I lost someone once, Ari. I know what it feels like. And I know how Beau would feel if you walked out of his life and disappeared. I think you would feel it just as keenly. I’m not wrong, am I.”

Though technically a question, the last was voiced as a statement. As if he could reach in and pluck out her thoughts, delve into the very heart of her and see the imprint of . . . Beau. See that Beau had already marked her. Permanently. There would always be a part of her that was reserved for him and the memory of their lovemaking.



“I’m very sorry for your loss,” she said solemnly. “Perhaps then you can understand why I refuse to stand by and allow my parents to be taken from me when I’m doing nothing to get them back.”

Frustration crept into her voice and was more pronounced by the time she finished.

Then familiar arms stole around her body and she was drawn against Beau’s chest, though she was still facing Zack. She had no knowledge of what had occurred behind her. She’d only been focused on escape. If words had been exchanged, apologies acknowledged, she hadn’t heard, but then she hadn’t really been listening because she was mentally bracing herself as she recognized that this was goodbye.

Warm lips nuzzled into her hair just above her ear.

“Don’t go, Ari,” Beau whispered. “Just . . . don’t go. Please.”

Shocked that he would ever beg anyone for anything, she swiftly turned in his arms, staring intently into his eyes to try to decipher just exactly what he was asking. He made his request sound so . . . permanent. It wasn’t spoken as though he were simply trying to get her to stay until his mission was accomplished.

Actual vulnerability shadowed his eyes, astonishing her almost as much as the fact he’d begged. She had an instant image of him on his knees, staring up at her, sincerity burning in his beautiful, dark eyes. Sorrow filled her because never would she want this proud, arrogant man on his knees for anyone. Unless, of course, he was proposing marriage.

Whoa. Talk about jumping to major, far-fetched conclusions! She shook her head to rid herself of all the clutter that had seemed to accumulate. It was an unfortunate side effect of using her powers, one she, of course, had never been aware of since she’d refuse to ever test them.

And then she felt the betraying warm slide from her nose and she glanced up at Beau in dismay just as the dull throb in her head that had gone unnoticed until now, because she’d been concentrating so fiercely on everything else, made itself known in a jagged burst of pain as if it had been caged and suddenly burst free of constraints.

She bit into her lip to prevent a moan escaping, afraid that any sound would simply make her head explode. She lifted her hands to cover her ears and simply held them there. The roar in her ears grew louder and louder until she could bear it no longer. The room seemed to spin around her while she stood still, making her so dizzy she feared she’d be sick. She swayed, closing her eyes to make the constant motion stop.

Beau swore violently and she winced, nearly screaming as the sound, magnified a hundred times, speared through her head.

She let out a whimper, no longer able to control her sounds of distress. “Please,” she whispered so softly she wasn’t sure she’d even be heard, but to her it sounded like she’d screamed it. “Please don’t talk. No sound. Beau, I’m going to be sick!”

“Nobody say a goddamn word,” Beau bit out, turning away from her so she didn’t feel the impact of his words directly.

When he turned, she wobbled precariously and suddenly a foreign set of hands clamped down around her shoulders, holding her steady. But even that didn’t prevent her legs from giving out. She shot downward, cringing and bracing for impact, knowing the jarring would split her head wide open, or at least that’s the way it would feel.

Before she hit the floor she was suddenly lifted and she immediately shut her eyes again as the room spun wildly out of control. Zack. She’d all but forgotten he was there, that he’d been the one who’d prevented her from leaving, the moment she’d turned away from him to face Beau.

“What the hell?” Beau murmured softly.