The lady in Red (REWRITTEN!)

Chapter 68

His presence surrounded me, and then his hands reached out to me. Taking advantage of the timing, he snaked his arms around my naked waist and pulled me closer to him. I shivered against his hard, naked, sculptured body despite the hot steam surrounding us. My sigh of acknowledgement was not reciprocated by a move to touch him. He squeezed me harder and brought his mouth closer to my ear. I let out an unexpected whimper before I could stop it.

"You do not have to be afraid for our child. I would never let anything happen to it or to you," he said softly into my ear. Even though I pursed my lips to avoid making sounds of despair, tears still ran down my cheeks. He turned me around to face him, and put his thumbs on my cheeks to wipe my tears away.

"I know you're hurting, and nothing makes sense right now, but it will eventually. I'm going to give you two options." He wiped my wet cheeks again, and I finally looked him in the eye. What I saw in his eyes, however, caught me by surprise. The look in his eyes didn't change even when I blinked twice to let my vision clear. Pain. There was pain in those eyes. I couldn't look away.

Option? What options?" I asked, my heart racing and dizziness sweeping over me. Suddenly, I felt very ill, and I didn't know if it was caused by the hot steam or my sudden drop in blood pressure. I was afraid of what he would say to me, and I didn't know if I was ready to hear it. Reece was silent for a long minute. He simply maintained painful eye contact with me without saying a word, and then finally broke the trance by placing his large, warm hand over my stomach. My stomach clenched on instinct, and I expelled a breath I hadn't even realized I was holding. His gaze fell on my stomach and I followed it.

"There's a reason why we're here," he said, gently fingering my bare stomach, his eyes flitting over mine. At that exact moment, quicker than it came, the pain in his eyes morphed into an emotionless expression.

"What does that mean?" I asked in a whisper. He sighed and knelt, looking up at me. A second shock came when he put his head against my stomach. It took my breath away.

"Your uncle and one of your cousins is in New York." He flickered his eyes towards me again to catch my reaction. His pupils dilated, and my breath hitched in my throat as I looked down at him. My panic flared as I tried to comprehend what he meant, and I immediately reacted purely out of instinct. My back struck the tile wall as I pushed him away. Standing under the spray soaked me, but I never dared to turn my gaze away from him. I panted, growing dizzier and dizzier by the second. After standing, he slowly stalked towards me until he was well under the shower spray with me. His menacing eyes stared back at me.

"Two. They threatened two. You, and our unborn child. And you know very well what happens when someone I love is threatened. I lose my cool, and when I lose my cool, there's no stopping me. So, here's what is going to happen very soon: I'm going to hunt them down, and teach them a lesson not to ever fuck with what's mine," he calmly added.

"Reece--," I began, reaching out to touch him. He immediately grabbed both of my wrists and pinned them against the wall.

"You try to understand me, and you may or may not get me. But one thing is very much clear. You still can't fully grasp my reality. So, here are my options. You either accept me, accept who I am and what I do...or you walk away. I'll protect you both until the very end, and I will always look after you and love you. But the choice is yours. What's it going to be? Are you going to accept who I am or are you going to walk away and live your life in fear every single day?" My mouth parted in a silent cry, and soon my tears turned into a full blown sob. He let go of me and stepped back.

"Reece!" I cried. He pushed forward, grabbed me, and roughly pulled me into his arms. I felt his muscles tense as he tightened his grip on me, and pushed his fingers into my wet hair.

"Answer. I want an answer."

"Don't do this to me."

"Are you going to stay? Or are you going to go?"

"You'll let me go that easily?"

"The choice is yours to make, Catherine. Not mine. So, what's it going to be?"

"Can you live without us, Reece?" I asked, grabbing his hand and placing it on my stomach. I heard a sharp intake of his breath, before he reached over and cut the water off.

"Can you live without me?" He countered, wrapping his arm around my waist. Can I? Would I be able to live without him? Was I able to live my life every day if he wasn't around me anymore?

Please do not put my love for you to the test, Mr. Dean."

"Answer my question, Ms. White. Are you going to walk away, or are you going to stay?"