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He exhaled quietly, the angles of his face softening. “I tried.”
I asked the question, but like a rookie lawyer I wasn’t prepared for the answer. My chest seized, a figurative ice pick right through the heart. I tried to override the sensation by burning it out with another gulp of bourbon.
“I said I tried,” he repeated, like I didn’t hear him as clear as day the first time around. “But I couldn’t.”
My molars ground together so hard I was sure they were about to crack. I knew I had no right to be mad at him for doing what he had to do. He was so invested in his plan for revenge, he probably believed his own lies. If anything, it made him all the more convincing.
Besides, I practically drove him to her. I wasn’t there and she was, as he’d oh-so-helpfully reminded me. But fuck if I was going to admit to any of that.
His hands slid up to my hips as he leaned forward, his eyes locked on mine. “I never stopped loving you.”
“And yet, you seemed quite content to go on playing house with the little missus while pretending I ceased to exist.” I lifted the tumbler for another sip. He intercepted it, plucking it out of my hand.
“You were always with me,” he murmured, not baited by my rampant insecurity. “Always.”
Setting the glass to the side, he stood. Wedging one knee between my thighs and forcing them apart, he balanced carefully on the edge of the seat. Leaning down, he cradled my face between his hands and kissed me softly, slowly.
My resistance was half-hearted at best. As much as I wanted to be mad at him, I was furious at myself. I’d nearly lost him once and now here I was purposely picking fights instead of accepting what he was saying.
I meant to return his kiss gently, tenderly. And I did, for a minute. Then, somehow, I ended up grabbing him around the waist and slamming him backward onto the couch, intent on devouring every part of him.
Clawing at his throat desperately, I yanked his tie loose and began fighting the buttons on his shirt. I loved the fact that nine times out of ten he was in a suit, but not when it took forever to get him naked.
Since I hadn’t gone through the trouble of dressing up, he peeled off my button-up and jeans before I even got his goddamn cufflinks undone.
“I can’t lose you again,” I breathed, finally ripping his shirt off and throwing it over my shoulder. My hands tangled in his dark curls, crushing my mouth against his.
His tongue caressed mine in earnest, distracting me from the fact he was sliding up into a sitting position. Before I knew it, he had enough leverage to pounce. I was the one on my back before I even knew what hit me.
“I’m yours,” Leander whispered against my lips. “I’ve always been, and always will be, yours.”
* * *
As soon aswe made it to my Chicago apartment, Leander and I sat on opposite ends of the couch, each with a cell phone in hand. Exchanging a glance and resigned sighs, it was time to get the verbal lashings done and over with.
“Are you telling them?” I asked.
He studied me for a minute, blinking solemnly. I couldn’t tell which way he was leaning. We never exactly discussed it beforehand, so who knew what his answer would be. “Doyouwant to?”
“I mean…” I licked my lips, giving him a small shrug. “They’re going to find out eventually.”
“I thought, perhaps, we would do it in person?” Both brows quirked up, like he was worried it was the wrong answer.
“No, that’s a good idea.” Since he wasn’t close by, I flashed him a reassuring smile.
Nodding, he turned his attention to his phone, starting with Elijah. It was a safe place to begin, since Elijah was unequivocally the most understanding of the bunch. There was minimal explanation on Leander’s part, and once Elijah established Leander was “ok” they moved on to business as usual.
The rest of his phone calls were similar, except for Olivia who threw in an ass-chewing before she filled him in on whatever she had to say. Ialsogot an ass-chewing from her, through the speaker on his phone. No business, just a solid fifteen minutes of being told what a self-centered asshole I was. Noted, Kitten. Duly noted.
Since his last known location was Chicago, meeting me, they weren’t too surprised when we both became suddenly unreachable. And given everything Leander endured with the murder trial and imprisonment for five months, they’d assumed correctly he was simply off regrouping.
According to Elijah, they tried to get The Blonde One to back off the whole “missing person” bit, butshehad other ideas. Cole even followed her to Chicago to try and talk some sense into her, but she wouldn’t listen and went sobbing to the police immediately thereafter. Fucking drama queen.
As for my phone calls, I started with my sister. Del was happy with a text, but I knew she would demand a full explanation, just like Gavin and Olivia.
“Bennett?” Damn. Allegra didn’t even say “Hello.” Instead, she launched into a combination of Italian and Spanish so fast I could hardly keep up until she ended her rant with “I am so mad at you!” in Italian.
“Didn't you get my email?” I asked with a wince.
