In the last couple of days, she’d withdrawn into herself more, becoming a shell of a woman.
No smiles. No humming. No nothing.
This wasn’t right.
Stepping into the room, he folded his arms.
He’d never been the kind of guy to pussyfoot around shit, but with Beth, he didn’t want to hurt or upset her. Gritting his teeth, he tried to figure out what he could say without pissing her off.
Rubbing the back of his head, he glanced around the room and came up with nothing. Shit. “I’m not going to allow this to go on for much longer,” he said.
She tensed up at his voice. Still, she didn’t turn around.
“You’re not going to look at me now?”
There were still no words but she glanced over her shoulder to face him. She looked so fucking lost.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“That’s not a good enough excuse, Beth.”
“I’m not making excuses. I don’t want to eat. You can’t make me.”
He didn’t like this distance and so he stepped right up behind her, placing his hand against her stomach.
“Did those men touch what was mine?” he asked.
“No.”
“Then what’s the problem? I’ll kill every single motherfucker who hurt you.”
“I’m not yours.”
“What the fuck? Who says you’re not mine?”
She pulled away from him and stormed off toward the bed, sitting on the edge. She ran her fingers through her hair, gritted her teeth, and she looked angry as fuck. He didn’t like this.
“I know what it means to belong to someone. Romy showed me why I will never be good enough. Why you’ll always want her. You were supposed to be with her.”
He saw her hands clench as she said the words. Was she jealous?
“I never belonged to Romy.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Tough.” He walked over to where she sat, crouched down, took her hands in his, and held her still. She tried to tug out of his hold, but he simply held on to her. There was no way he was going to let her go. She wasn’t going to win this fight, not with him. “Romy means nothing to me.”
“She said she was supposed to be with you, that I ruined her life. She said her kids—”
“They were taken from her way before she ever came to my club. Her parental rights were revoked because she put them through hell. I have no respect for her. Don’t believe a single fucking lie she tells you.”
“Forge, please, stop.” She could say whatever she wanted, but he could see the relief on her face.
“I’m not going to stop. You’re mine.”
“Then why won’t you sleep with me?” She growled each word out, her eyebrows drawing inward as she frowned at him. “I know why. It’s because I’m too fat and you’ll never want to be with me.”