"Please, stop shouting, Red. Listen to me. Hellena may have known." That she would have lied to his face even after everything made Sebastian want to hit something.
"You told her?"
"Bloody hell.
I explained to her in the shortest terms possible so she would understand what she'd done. I didn't tell her anything."
"Sebastian, do me a favor and stop trying to help."
She was shaking. He reached out to her, wanting some kind of physical contact, but she pulled away from him before he could touch her.
"Don't," she insisted. "One week doesn't change things."
"No, I hadn't expected it to. I thought I'd taken care of Hellena. I had no idea she would do this. I will fix the problem, and before you get smart with me, no. I'm not going to kill her."
"I wouldn't have asked-"
"Yes, you would have.
Mariss."
He sighed. What did he say? They couldn't be together. He wouldn't even press for it. Not again.
"I have to go."
"Let me walk you out."
She shook her head and put a hand out to stop him. "Please, don't."
Mariss moved around him without putting her back to him, as if she was afraid he would touch her and her resolve would come crumbling down. He knew that feeling well. She hurried out the door and closed it with a heavy slam.
Sebastian stood in his foyer staring after her, willing her to come back. All he received was silence and the lingering scent
of
her shampoo.
***
Tyffani Clark Kemp was born in Florida and raised by her grandparents. She has been writing since she discovered in the sixth grade that it wasn't enough just to read about fantastic places, but she could create her own. She weaves small bits of herself into everything she writes whether it
be
a science fiction piece about aliens or a dramatic romance fraught with conflict and love. After graduation she moved to South Carolina where she lives with her family and her fluffy shii tzu-mix dog who things he's a Saint Bernard. Her available works include Scorned: A LeKrista Scott, Vampire Hunted novel, Beast Within and Beast Anew, and Shaggy Maggie. Kemp also owns SideStreet Cookie Publishing LLC.
You can learn more about her and her books at:
***
www.facebook.com/withoutrulesseries
www.sidestreetcookiepublishing.com