Page 38

But he did decide to go over and sit with her.

Because she’d want him to. Not to be a possessive male or anything like that.

Or to be exactly that.

He strode past the man, and then crouched down beside Bella. “The man is fine,” he said softly. “No problem with him.”

Bella relaxed and flashed him a smile. “Great.” She immediately moved aside. “Gordy, this is my friend Falcon. Can he build with us?”

Gordy glanced at Falcon, and the minute Falcon locked eyes with the boy, he couldn’t breathe. Extreme fear, pain, and sadness slammed him, locking up his lungs and freezing him in place.

It was the boy’s pain, not his, and Falcon could feel it in every cell of his body.

He felt like he was Gordy, a seven-year-old kid carrying more pain than any human should ever have, let alone a kid.

His hands burned like an inferno, and he shoved them into the bucket of seawater.

Bella frowned. “Are you okay, Falcon?”

He took a breath, trying to center himself. He’d never felt such an extreme reaction to someone before, one which enabled him to feel their pain so intensely. His extremities felt cold, but he could feel the heat in his hands. He felt shaky and weak.

What. The. Hell.

“Shake his hand,” Bella whispered. “Introduce yourself.”

No way was he touching Gordy. He’d fry the kid’s hand right off. Instead, he shot the kid a smile that he hoped was friendly, because he didn’t have a lot of experience trying to make kids feel at ease. “Yeah, I’m Falcon.”

Gordy stared at him. “Are you a monster?”

A monster. A fuckingmonster.Why yes, yes he was.

Bella’s eyes widened and she hit Falcon’s thigh. “Falcon just got back from the jungle. He’s an adventurer. He didn’t take a bath for three months.”

Falcon almost started laughing at the surprise on Gordy’s face. “Three months?”

“Yeah, when you’re a grown up, you can do that.” His hands were burning so much he felt like they were going to catch fire. “Good to meet you, Gordy, but Bella and I need to go.”

“What? No.” Bella sat more firmly in the sand. “Gordy, how are you feeling? Okay?”

Gordy’s gaze swiveled to Bella. “Fine.”

“Are you? Really?” she pressed.

Falcon saw Gordy’s confused look, and he swore under his breath. “Bella, let it go.”

“But you said?—”

“I know what I said, but that’s not how this works.”

“You don’t know how it works,” she snapped. “Gordy, Falcon is---”

“Leaving.” Falcon stood up and dragged Bella to her feet. “Let’s go.”

She pulled her arm away from him. “You don’t get to tell me?—”

“This is my life, Bella. Not yours. You don’t get to run it for me.” He kept his voice low, but he couldn’t keep the edge out of his voice. “And Gordy’s life belongs to him. He’s too young to give me permission even if I could help him, which I can’t.”

Bella scowled at him. “You have a gift?—”