Page 128 of Dark Knight (Knight's Ridge Empire 10)

Lifting my eyes from the water bubbling around me, I find his, my breath catching in my throat.

“I’m not an idiot, Daemon. And I’m also not fucking blind.” My heart pounds as I wait for what’s going to come next, and all the air rushes from my lungs when I realise it’s not what I’m expecting. “I remember what she did for you when we were kids. You need that magic now. Just ask her.”

He drains his beer and heads toward the steps to get out of the tub.

“I want you to be happy, D. And that means you need to be working. So you need to pull up your big girl pants and get it fucking done, one way or another. Asking for help does not make you a failure. Refusing to accept it does.”

And with that little nugget of advice, he takes off.

“The bed’s big enough for three, if you wanna try to get some sleep,” he calls before disappearing into the tipi.

“Fuck,” I breathe, tipping my head back and staring up at the star-filled sky above me.

He’s right, I know he is. But fuck. Asking for help from anyone, even Calli, is the hardest fucking thing. Admitting I’m failing goes against everything I’ve ever been taught. It shows weaknesses I’ve always been told to hide.

I sit there for another few minutes, but my need to be close to my angel finally gets me moving.

Her eyes find mine the second I slip into the room and I freeze, dripping hot tub water all over the floor.

She’s standing in front of the mirror, brushing her hair.

My gaze drops, taking in a similar vest to the one she was wearing last night, and arguably the most sinful shorts I’ve ever seen.

“You’re making a puddle,” she says, her voice still a little slurred from the vodka.

When I make it back up to her eyes, I find one of her brows lifted in challenge.

“Is Alex in the shower?” I ask, glancing at my bag that he threw in here not long after I showed up earlier.

She just continues to stare at me. She doesn’t need to answer my question—we can both hear the more-than-obvious running water coming from the bathroom.

“I’ll just wait for him to—”

“Or you could strip off right there,” she challenges, standing straighter as she fully turns to face me.

“C-Calli,” I warn as she places the brush down and takes a step toward me.

Her eyes run down the length of my body, but they linger on my chest.

I know I’m not really hiding anything. Everyone here knows the scars I bear. But that doesn’t mean I want them on show. Ever.

“So I was right, then?” she taunts, continuing to close the space between us. “You are a coward.”

Faster than she was expecting, I reach out, my fingers gripping her jaw tightly and giving her little choice but to hold my stare.

“I-I-I—” I close my eyes and suck in a deep breath through my nose, getting a hold of myself. “I’m not a coward,” I state, my voice hard, cold, leaving no room for argument. Or so I think.

“Then prove it. Show me who you really are, Batman,” she teases.

The shower cuts off behind me, but I don’t move. I can’t. I’m locked in her stare while my heart thrashes in my chest.

A beat before the door opens, I manage to get a handle on myself, release her and take a massive step back.

“Sorry, was I interrupting something?” Alex asks with a smirk, walking out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

Jealousy slams into me with such force I actually stumble back a little.

Why can’t you be more like your brother? He’s funny, smart, sensible, reliable.

“D, you okay?” Alex asks when he notices my reaction.

“Put some fucking clothes on,” I scoff, storming past him and shutting myself in the bathroom so I can freak out alone.