Their Virgin Secretary (Masters of Ménage #6)(117)

"I'm not asking you to choose." The words rasped from his throat.

"Good, because you would lose, my love. I'm going to choose the future, even if it means putting you in the past. It will hurt like hell and I will love you until the day I die. I will always miss you and I will always wish that you wanted our family as much as we want you to be a part of it."

There was a suspicious sheen to his eyes as he stared at her. "That's not fair, Belle."

"Life's not fair, Kellan. And I'm not going to play fair with you. I'm going to fight dirty because this is the fight of my life. I love you. I'm going to tell you every day, all day long. I'm never going to let you forget it. And if you let that bitch win, if you walk away because you can't get over what she did to you … well, you should know that I'll still be here loving you. No woman in the world will ever love you the way I do. And you won't love anyone else the way you love me."

His head shook, seemingly interested in the floor suddenly. "I never said I was in love with you, Belle."

"Not aloud. But like I said, I think you're good at lying to yourself. Come back to bed."

Those words seem to jolt him, and he practically ran to the door. "I have to think, Belle. I didn't want to make this decision yet, but you pushed me. I just …  I don't … " He plowed a hand through his hair. "I'm going out. I don't know when I'll be back."

"Kellan," she started, lunging closer. She wasn't sure she could stand to watch him walk away. She needed more time with him.

"No. You've said what you needed to say. Now I need time to figure out what the hell I'm going to do because you've put me in a goddamn corner. I don't need to hear another word right now." He walked out. 

And Belle was alone. She stared at the door. Logically, she'd known he might get angry and leave, but somehow she hadn't really expected it to happen. Maybe she'd watched too many romantic movies or believed in too many fairy tales.

The reality was, she may have just driven him away for good.

Tears brimmed in her eyes as she climbed from bed. She hadn't meant to corner him, just let him know that her plans had changed and that she hoped he could be a part of them. Somehow she'd been unable go to Eric and Tate until she talked to Kellan. Her decisions affected him, too. And now, she'd probably ruined everything.

She forced herself to plod across the floor, dread and anxiety lashing her. She was weary, but resolute. She was going to move toward the future and make the best of it she could.

She opened the closet door to grab her robe-and she stopped short at the sight inside.

A small doll swayed from a tiny noose attached to the rod. The doll had pitch black hair and dark buttons for eyes. Someone had sewn it a little outfit that looked suspiciously like something she'd worn a few days ago.

A chill swept through her as she realized she was looking at a voodoo doll of herself hanging, just like the Peterman girls had.

Her trouble wasn't over yet.





Chapter Seventeen



Eric hung up the phone and was just reaching for his notes when Kellan stormed by. Frowning, Eric paused and stared for a moment, noting the flushed grimace on Kell's face.

Damn it. That couldn't be good. He'd expected Kellan to take his time with Belle. Hell, he'd half expected to have to pull them off one another when the contractors returned. They'd designated this time for the two of them to be alone and to hopefully work through their issues. So why was Kell walking out?

Sir trotted in and jumped up on the couch. He was getting used to the mutt. The puppy had two levels of activity: full throttle or dead-ass asleep. Actually, Sir kind of reminded Eric of Tate. Since coming to New Orleans, his brainiac friend was either moody as shit or ridiculously happy.

Eric definitely preferred ridiculously happy.

"Hey, what crawled up Kellan's butt and died?" Tate asked as he walked in carrying two bags from a local electronics store. "I tried to talk to him, and he said he was going to get a drink. It's barely one o'clock. I thought he was spending the afternoon with Belle."

Something had gone very wrong to make Kellan rush out like that. "Maybe we should go check on her."

"No need. I'm fine." Belle stood in the doorway, lips turned down, shoulders slumped. She looked disheveled, delicate, and gutted. She'd thrown a robe on, but there was no way to mistake the sorrow in her eyes.

Eric's heart sank. He seriously thought about charging after Kellan and beating some sense into him. Letting Kellan spend alone time with Belle should have softened him up and helped change his very stubborn mind. Instead, it looked as if Kell had managed to break Belle's heart. Eric bit back a curse. Would Belle toss up her hands and say she was done with them all?