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Him
I can’t lie to her anymore. I’m done playing games. “I was there tonight because I needed to see you. I had to make sure you were all right.”
Her gaze rakes over me, probably trying to weigh the truth against the fabrication. Her attention is like a touch—A slight sweep of gentle fingertips against my skin.
This is what I’ve missed, the addictive sensation that follows wherever she goes. Her scrutiny is like a drug. Without it, my insides scream and claw, begging to be sated.
“But you had no intention of saving Brent.”
I stare her down, determined not to lie. “My first concern was your safety.”
“Did you even message Decker to ask for help?”
“Yes.” It was the truth. Kind of.
“And you left him to show up to an ambush?”
“No. I messaged him after I got you in the car.” Again, truth. “A rental, I might add, seeing as though mine was stolen and stripped. Thank you very much.”
Her lips kick at one side, but the satisfaction doesn’t reach her eyes. It touches my dick, though, makes it fucking throb.
She lowers her gaze and stares at the kitchen counter. “So, that’s it?” She shrugs. “You just wanted to start the cat-and-mouse chase all over again?”
“No. We’re not doing that anymore. You need to stay with me until things die down.”
She turns her back and faces the room. “And when do you think that will happen?”
My preference? Never. But the time for the finer intricacies of the truth will come later. “I don’t know. Maybe a few months.”
She doesn’t respond with a sharp quip like I expect. Instead, she remains silent, her arms moving to wrap around her waist.
“Will you stay?” I round the island counter, edging closer. She’s turned me into a needy little bitch, and I hate it. I hate every fucking minute of it, and still, I can’t ditch the hold she has on me.
“I’ve got nowhere else to go,” she murmurs. “The police will be looking for me by now.”
“Because of Brent?” She doesn’t need to worry about that.
“That…” She nods. “And the car I stole in an effort to get to the bar in a hurry.”
I raise my brows, impressed. “Did anyone see you?”
“No, but it’s obvious. I stole it from the B&B owner where I was staying. One minute I asked to use her phone, the next I was walking out her front door with her car keys in my hand.”
Her tone is full of regret, making remorse punch me in the gut. I stride for her, eating up the distance between us so I can place my hands on her waist.
She doesn’t flinch, doesn’t protest. She lets me touch her, and fuck, am I thankful.
“What did you do with the car?”
“I parked it in someone’s driveway. I thought maybe the person who lives there would call the cops in the morning.”
“That’s good,” I whisper into her hair. “No harm. No foul. Right?”
She releases a barely audible scoff. “Yeah. Maybe. But I took off without packing my things. I left everything there. The few clothes I had. My purse.”
Shit. “Your I.D?”
“No. I don’t carry it. Only cash. I placed a few valuables and some money in a locked box a week ago, but apart from that…” She sighs, her shoulders falling. “I literally have nothing.”
I rest my forehead into her hair and breathe her deep. The scent of flowers and candy slaughters me. “Can I show you something?”
“Why not?” She releases a heavy breath. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
I slide my palm over her wrist and lower it to entwine our fingers. “It’s down the other end of the house.”
She stares where our hands meet, and I wait for a protest to the co
“Okay.” She nods and meets my gaze.
I could fuck her right here. On the floor. Clothes on. Face pale. Eyes filled with sorrow. I fucking could. But would I regret it?
I doubt it.
She wants this as much as I do. Needs it.
Instead of succumbing, I start for the opposite side of the room, toward the far hall. She keeps her hand against mine, warm and gently clasping, until I stop before a closed door.
“Go on.” I jerk my chin. “Open it.”
She frowns as she releases my hand and steps forward to grip the handle. I can’t hear her breathe. I can’t hear anything but lust and anticipation rushing through my ears.
She twists the handle and inches into the bedroom, her gaze sca
“You emptied my apartment,” she whispers.
“I thought I owed you that much. Otherwise Torian would’ve sent someone to ransack it.” There is a slip of truth in there somewhere.
“Did you go through my stuff?”
“Yeah.” I don’t even pause. That won’t be the worst admission she hears from me tonight.
“Everything?” She shoots me a glower over her shoulder.
“From the kitchen cupboards, to your bathroom supplies, and all those pretty pieces of lingerie that turned my dick to stone.” I smirk, without an ounce of remorse. “There’s a black leather item in there somewhere that I wouldn’t mind seeing again.”
There had also been other things she wouldn’t have wanted me to snoop through. Not just the sex toys, but the information. I’d found her hidden box of articles on Jacob after walking over the only creaking floorboard in her entire apartment.
I’d read every word in my car as she slept in cheap hotels. There were details on her, too. Snippets of her life the Seattle newspaper had catalogued after her family died. There were details on the sale of her childhood home and her bank accounts. I know it all. At least everything that has been written down on paper.
She kicks off her sneakers, pads to the far side of the bed, and pulls a pillow to her chest as she stands looking down at the mattress.
“It still smells like you,” I murmur.
She shoots me an are-you-fucking-kidding look with one hike of her brow. “Smells a little like you, too.”
I shrug. “I may have slept in here a time or two since you skipped town.”
Her eyes narrow. “Liar.”
“No lies here. I told you I missed you.”
A flash of surprise passes across her features before she turns her back and slumps onto the bed.
“You don’t believe me?” I start toward her, my steps slow.
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.” She buries her head in the pillow.
The need to bare my soul drags me forward. “I’m never going to lie to you again.” It isn’t a vain attempt to make her happy. It’s a promise. A vow.
I had cause to lie before. Now my objective is keeping her here, and I know that will only happen if I give her the truth. The full truth.
She raises her face, and those pleading eyes are glazed, but she doesn’t cry. Not one tear escapes. She’s strong. Too fucking strong.
“There’s something else I need to tell you, though.” I force the words out, knowing this quiet moment will be over once I confess.
She blinks up at me and swallows. “I’m not going to like it, am I?”
“No, you’re not.”
She nods and lowers her attention to the floor. “Then don’t tell me. Not yet. I need time to regroup or I’m going to break.”
My chest hollows. I wasn’t expecting to be denied. The reprieve is too damn good to be true. Any additional minute with her at my mercy is a blessing. A fucking gift. “You won’t break.”
She lets out a derisive laugh. “I’m glad you’re confident.”
I grab the pillow clutched in her arms and tug until she lets it go. Her hands fall to the mattress as I move forward bringing us toe to toe, her knees to mine.
“I won’t let you break,” I pledge, grasping her chin to drag her attention back to me.