Faith sighed, rolling her eyes. “That’s so archaic. We haven’t eaten cats in forever, and you know it. The hunt is more a tradition than anything else these days, and with Hector, we’re all very careful about who and what we choose to chase.”
“All that aside, Mom, this isn’t romantic.”
“If it could be romantic for your brother, why can’t it be romantic for you?”
His frustration with his current situation was beginning one of those slow simmers he had to be careful didn’t turn into a rolling boil. “Because I don’t want a life mate? Because I’m not a believer in happily-ever-after like you? Because sometimes I wonder if death isn’t preferable to being forcibly tied down to someone you didn’t want in the first place?”
Faith gazed at him, her eyes intense. “Take that back now, Derrick. That you would even speak those words makes me want to put you over my knee. There will be no death.”
He squeezed her arm in apology. “I’m sorry. That was crappy.”
“This is because of your father, isn’t it?”
He avoided eye contact, knowing it was definitely about his father. “Why would you draw that conclusion, Mom?” And how had he done such a piss-poor job of hiding it from her? He didn’t want to hurt her. He was just a realist.
“Because I know how you think. I know you’ve asked yourself this question over and over. How could a man like your father, who genuinely appeared to adore his wife and family, up and leave one day and never return?”
Okay, yeah. How did a man who Derrick was sure thought the sun rose and set upon his mother, just walk the fuck away without so much as a backward glance?
If there were ever two people in the world he’d been sure were nuts about each other, it was his parents. So what made a man who seemingly loved his wife just leave? Dissatisfaction? Another woman? Didn’t his mother ask herself that, too?
The moment he realized his father was never returning was the moment he realized everything could change on a dime, and he wanted no part of that. To invest all you had emotionally in someone only to have them simply toss it away? Um, no.
His mother grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. “Derrick? This is about your father, isn’t it? Answer the question. Answer it truthfully.”
Rather than have a confrontation about how foolish he thought it was for his mother to pine away for his father, he plastered a fake smile on his face. “I can’t, Mom. I have a cat to feed, remember?”
She made a face full of disapproval and clucked her tongue. “You’re avoiding.”
“Yep. I am. I don’t share your views, Mom. That doesn’t mean I don’t love you, or respect your choices or advice. It just means we disagree, and right now I have a lot on my plate I have to figure out. On that note, I’m taking my tuna and going home.” Derrick held the cans up and grinned, dropping a kiss on her cheek before making a break for the front door.
As he stepped outside, he took a deep breath of the frigid air and let it go.
He didn’t want a life mate. He didn’t want anyone in his life to become so important to him emotionally he’d be all torn up the way his mother was over his father.
He didn’t believe he’d suddenly feel all the ridiculous feelings Max felt for JC. He didn’t believe, period.
Forever didn’t exist.
End of.
* * *
Martine woke from her nap with a stretch and a long yawn, rising to the surface of consciousness in slow, delightful increments. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d awakened without the ugly anxiety in the pit of her belly, without the fear of the unknown waiting to plague her all day long and well into the night.
“You’re naked,” a deep voice rumbled, sending a ripple of heat along her spine.
Oh, that voice. Yum.
Wait. Naked? She was? Martine stretched again, wiggling her toes. Oh my God, she was. Now, the key was to remain calm while naked in front of Derrick.
She propped one eye open to see Derrick in the doorway, tall, dark, strong, incredibly sexy. He leaned against the doorframe, his eyes focused on the ceiling. “Good eye,” she responded, keeping her tone casual. She didn’t mind if he didn’t.
Clearly, he minded. He continued averting his gaze, throwing her a blanket from the chair in the corner of the room. “So, I’m Derrick Adams. I’d shake your hand, but you know, naked.”
Martine sighed on a chuckle, sitting up and wrapping herself in the warmth of the throw before he finally gazed at her, his blue eyes roving over her face. “Pleasure.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, his eyebrow raised. “And you are?”