“Theo,” Sarafina murmured sleepily, “that was incredible. I never imagined it would be like that. It was so . . .”

“Intimate?”

“Yes.”

For being a beautiful woman with a bevy of men at her beck and call, she was surprisingly innocent. There were so many things he wanted to show her. No, so many things he wanted to share with her.

She cuddled closer to him. “Theo, I—” She broke off the sentence and then started again. “I love you.” It came out barely a whisper.

Theo stiffened. “Don’t do that.” He pulled away from her and rolled off the bed.

“Don’t do what? Don’t love you?” She scooted to the edge of the mattress, holding the sheet to her bare body. “I can’t just stop, Theo. I don’t have control over it.” She paused and her voice went softer, less certain. “I just thought you should know.”

Theo sat for a moment, digesting all the emotion roiling through him until it shut him down, just like it always did. Shut him down, shut him up. Numb. Cold. Under the surface his heart breathed fire, but he’d learned to keep it well sectioned off.

He stood and walked to the bathroom. “I’m taking a shower.”

“Theo?” Her voice had a note of brokenness to it—defeat.

Theo hesitated, but kept walking. It was for the best.

SARAFINA WATCHED HIS RETREATING FORM WITH anger simmering in her gut. How dare he discard her words and her feelings like that and just walk away. She understood the baggage that Theo carried was heavy and she’d known the rules of the game when she’d started playing.

But she loved him, damn it, and she wasn’t letting him push her aside.

Sarafina rose from the bed and stalked into the bathroom after him. He was in the shower already and steam billowed through the room. She opened the door and slammed it hard behind her, her ire fully piqued. His back was to her, his tribal tats glistening with water.

“Theo, you’re not getting away with that. I won’t accept that bullshit from you. Are you a coward? Are you scared of me? Are you—”

“You talk way too much.” He turned and drew her close, his mouth coming down on hers. He kissed her until she was warm all over and it had nothing at all to do with the temperature of the water.

Her knees swayed when he released her. “And you know nothing about me.” He growled. “Nothing. So don’t start.”

She frowned. “That’s just more bullshit, Theo. After living hip to hip with you for these many weeks, I do know you. I probably know you better than anyone in the Coven, maybe the world.”

Sarafina yelped when he pushed her up against the wall of the shower. The tile was slick and smooth on her bare back.