Ren's hands froze on her bare shoulders. Slowly, his long, elegant fingers slid up the damp curve of her neck. His sharp, meticulously manicured claws gently, rhythmically began to comb through the tangled, wet mass of her dark curls.
"How could you think that, baby?" Ren murmured, his voice a smooth, silken purr that perfectly masked the absolute devastation ripping through his chest. He pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the crown of her head. "How could you ever think I wouldn't want a piece of you running around the Manor?"
Roxy looked down, her brilliant green eyes watching the swirling ripples in the warm water. She wasn't convinced.
She knew something was deeply, fundamentally bothering him. The panic in the forest, the desperate avoidance in the bedroom, the heavy, suffocating silence, it all pointed to a massive, hidden truth.
And she absolutely hated being entirely blind to it.
