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“Just like getting high and fucking my way through a club full of mail-order brides is theleastof mine! Nice to know you trust me.”
“The same way you trust me?”
“I made you a promise! Does that mean nothing?”
“Actions speak louder than words.” He gave me a pointed once-over, his lip curled. “You, of all people, know that.”
“What do I need to do to convince you I’m not going anywhere? Hmm? I’ve killed for you, Leander. I nearly died to keep you out of harm’s way. Do you want me to bleed again to prove how far I’m willing to go to make you happy?”
I didn’t wait for an answer. Without even thinking, I grabbed a knife from the wooden block on the counter and sliced across my forearm. Blood rushed out, hot and stinging, eliciting an involuntary hiss.
“Christ!” Leander gaped at me for a split second before grabbing the knife away from me and launching it in the sink.
“Sincere enough for you? Want to go draw up a contract? I’ll sign with this so you have no more reasons to doubt me.” I swiped my fingers across the stream of red and flicked it on the tile, adding to the splatter mosaic at my feet.
He ripped a towel out of the drawer and pressed it over my arm, clamping down on it with both hands. “Youarea fucking lunatic, you know that?! Jesus Christ, Bennett...”
“‘I was never reallyinsaneexcept upon occasions when myheartwas touched.’” I’ll see your insult, asshole, and raise you one Poe quote.
His green eyes flashed up to mine, brimming with a mixture of emotions. Anger, primarily, but also understanding. There was even a fleeting glimpse of fear. Perhaps a touch of nostalgia? After all, “fucking lunatic” was the same insult he lobbed at me in Venice after I crashed the boat.
I swept a curl off of his forehead, tucking it behind his ear. They say love makes you do crazy things. “They” had no idea. Crazy didn’t even scratch the surface of what I was willing to do for him. I hoped he saw that now.
We leaned in at the same time, lips brushing against the other’s. Once the ice was broken, we plunged in head-first, kissing each other roughly, as much a punishment as it was a reconciliation. Our hands tangled in each other’s hair, our clothing, pulling the other closer and closer, regardless of the blood running down my arm. It wasn’t until I swayed in a moment of dizziness that either of us pulled back.
“We have to go to the hospital,” Leander said, resting his forehead against mine.
“Not a chance.”
“Don’t be an idiot. You need stitches.”
“I know someone that makes house calls.”
“Of course you do...”
I smirked and kissed him gently. Even though my arm was throbbing and I couldn’t really feel my fingers anymore, I chalked the whole incident up to a win.
7
Bennett
Ihadn’t been to Leander’s mansion since he was in Stratford under house arrest. In the intermittent weeks, it became foreign territory to me. Then once he was back, withHer, it went from foreign to hostile.
Even though Olivia assured me Lorelei moved out of the house weeks ago, I dreaded crossing the threshold. Who knew what would be there. Who knew what Leander’s reaction would be to whatever was there — ornotthere.
But I couldn’t put it off forever. Out of the frying pan and all that.
Thankfully, the house was empty when we strolled through the back door.Shewas gone, but her presence lingered everywhere I looked, crashing against my own memories. I questioned what happened in each and every room, wondering what their relatively short time together had been like. It was torture, but I couldn’t stop.
Leander dropped his luggage at the base of the servant stairs and disappeared deeper into the house. “Annabel?”
Annabel?!
“Who’s Annabel?” I asked, following after him.
“My cat.”
“Oh.” Did he really just say cat? How many more bombs was he going to drop in the first ten seconds? “When the hell did you have time to get a cat?”
