Page 35 of Payback

“Paul’s, of course. He wanted to make sure you didn’t wake and raise the alarm.” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “I’m so sorry for that and sorry for letting him convince the others in the squat into blaming you if anything went wrong.”

Any residual anger I’d held about the kidnapping drained out of me. I’d finally gotten what I had sought from Henry, a heartfelt apology.

“I really did feel something for you during those days.” He guided me to the edge of his bed, sank down on the mattress, and positioned me between his legs. “A lot, actually.”

“What happened the day you disappeared?” I stepped into his personal space and slid both hands over the muscles on the sides of his neck.

Henry stared up at me through green eyes that glistened with remorse. “Paul arrived to discuss what to do if you ever called the police. He told the people in the squat to blame you. I went along with it because I didn’t think you’d seen anything useful enough to lead to an arrest.”

“I was awake when we left the car, cataloging landmarks, like Mulberry Terrace, the three-story house, and the photographer with the dreadlocks,” I said.

He groaned. “If I’d known that, I would have explained our plans.”

Warmth spread across my chest. Finally, I understood Henry. I leaned down and pressed a kiss against his temple. “I also get why you didn’t confide in me. You didn’t want to jeopardize helping Edward’s father. He was lucid today, and I couldn’t believe someone could be struck down so young.” All the air left me in one outward breath. “Now I wish I hadn’t taken matters into my own hands and contacted the police.”

He wrapped his arms around my waist and squeezed me around the middle. “You were worried. And I must have sounded flippant.”

“I thought you and Blake had gone crazy.” A laugh bubbled up in my throat. “The excuses you made for not being scared of the kidnappers were so frivolous.”

He drew back and fixed me with his earnest, green eyes. “From now on, there’ll be no lies or half-truths. If I can’t tell you something, I’ll just say.”

“And I won’t sneak about behind your back.”

He pulled me onto his lap and wrapped both arms around my waist. A comfortable silence stretched out between us, and all the tension from the day melted away.

In this bedroom, in this secure apartment, and in his warm, firm embrace, I finally felt safe. If only we could stay here forever and never leave until the police caught Mr. Carbuncle and arrested Rudolph. But a nagging voice in the back of my head told me that it was time for me to unburden myself.

“I’m sorry, too.”

He stilled. “What for?”

“This whole mess you’re in is because of me. If I hadn’t worked with the Saturday Correspondent, Rudolph would never have gotten that footage of you and Blake, and he wouldn’t have released it on the internet.”

“I blame Rudolph and Father for that part, not you.”

I dipped my head. “Can we call a truce?”

His lips spread into a smile. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Henry gave me a gentle kiss on the lips. It was probably meant as a peck, but I snaked my arm around his neck and held him in place before he could withdraw. Now that we had really spoken about out grievances, I wasn’t about to let him go.

His strong lips moved against mine in a series of toe-curling caresses. I moaned, and his tongue slipped between my lips. His tongue caressed mine, each stroke causing tingles of pleasure between my legs.

He adjusted me onto his lap, so my legs straddled his, and my knees sank into the mattress. We sat chest-to-chest, drinking each other in. This was the closest I had felt to him since our time in that dingy room. The first time in months, we had expressed affection in the form of a kiss instead of out of lust.

My heart fluttered with the wing-power of a hundred butterflies. This was new. Exciting, even better than it had been the first time around.

I pulled back and stared into his forest-green eyes. My face reflected in pupils widened into vast pools of black. “I’ve missed you.”

“Not as much as I’ve missed you,” he replied.

His hardness pressed against my core, and I writhed on top of him, enjoying the way tiny bolts of sensation sparked from my nub.

Henry placed both hands on my hips and groaned. “I can’t get enough of you.”

I felt the same way. His tongue twisted and curled around mine, eliciting the most delicious sensations. My core, aching and needy, writhed against his clothed length. It was nice, but not enough. I wanted more.

Desire made my hands shake, and need made the muscles of my core twitch. I unbuttoned his shirt and ran my hands over his hard, muscular chest. This was the first time in an eternity that I’d gotten the chance to explore him without the others.