Dominion by Marissa Farrar Read Free Book Online Page B

you think.”
    “No? So you didn’t go out and kill someone last night?”
    His stomach sank. So this was what she was angry about. He’d thought she was upset with him about the proposal and then him walking out on her during their conversation. He’d not realized she was mad because she’d seen blood on his clothes and put two and two together.
    He put his hand s out toward her. “Serenity, it isn’t what you think —”
    “Don’t lie to me, Sebastian.”
    “I wouldn’t lie to you.”
    How could he explain this to her without terrifying her? He didn’t want to scare her. But she didn’t give him the chance to explain.
    “I f we fight and you go out and hurt someone, that’s as bad as if you’ve been violent toward me or Elizabeth . Am I supposed to have that death on my hands now? Should I be forced to placate you out of fea r that you’ll kill someone else? ”
    “No, Serenity, you don’t understand—”
    She shook her head and focused her dark eyes on his. “That’s just it. I do understand. I understand only too well. I’ve been living with this since I met you.”
    He stepped back as though she’d slapped him and then spat back, “Because your life was so perfect before I came into it.”
    She stared back at him, angry tears trembling in her eyes.
    Sebastian caught sight of Elizabeth standing in the doorway, watching them with wide, dark eyes, tears trembling in their depths, so reminiscent of her mother .
    “I hate it when you guys fight!” she said, be fore turning and running away. Sebastian f ollowed the sound of her footsteps as she ran back upstairs. Her bedroom door slammed.
    “Elizabeth!” Serenity called afte r her. She shot Sebastian a glare that said ‘ N ow look what you’ve done.’ Then she gave a deep, exhausted sigh. “We’re tired, Sebastian. It’s been a long day. I’ve b een driving half the day and Elizabeth hasn’t been sleeping well. She’s bound to be upset by all of this. ”
    “I’ll go up to her.”
    “No, let me. I think you’ve done enough.”
    Pain and resentment hung between them. Sebastian didn’t want to feel as though he was being pushed out, but he couldn’t help himself. Elizabeth and Serenity had always had a special bond—something he’d expect considering he’d missed out on the first few years of her life—but he’d hoped he’d made up for that.
    It seemed no matter what he did, it would never be enough. What he was would always come back to haunt them.
     
    All of Serenity’s emotions seemed to have balled together in the base of her stomach. How had this happened? Only the previous night, Sebastian had been asking her to marry him. Now, the tension between them was strained to the point of breaking.
    His presence burned into her back. She knew he stood watching her, his arms folded across his chest, smoldering at her with his green-eyed gaze. She didn’t dare look back, knowing she would crumble and fall into his arms, kissing his face and dragging him up to see his daughter. She wanted them to be a family, but though she’d taken a step away from that with her rejection of his proposal, he’d also played a part in how she felt now.
    He needed to understand that killing just because he was upset would never be okay, no matter what the circumstances. No excuses could cover an unnecessary death.
    But he’s a vampire and an adult , she reminded herself. Who was she to tell him what to do or try to control him? She knew what she was getting herself into when she took him back. The very idea of her trying to control him was ludicrous. Plus, she’d been so worried about anyone controlling her, yet she was trying to do the same thing to him. Wasn’t she punishing him now in order to get him to behave the way she wanted? Weren’t her actions equally as manipulative?
    Her emotions churned. Perhaps she was reacting so strongly because of what she’d been through with Jackson. She’d gone from being completely controlled to being