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“I swear to fuck if that man wasn’t already dead I’d hunt his selfish ass down and kill him with my bare hands. You were not the problem in that relationship that was loosely described as a marriage. Any man worth his salt would never take his pleasure and leave his woman wanting more. A man who loves you will give and give until you’re quivering and delirious with pleasure and he won’t give a damn if he gets his or not. His greatest pleasure would be in seeing the love of his life reeling with satisfaction. That is what a real man does. What a real man wants.” My eyes stay fixed on her, narrowing at the stunned look in her eyes.
“The person that you married didn’t love you. If he did, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself knowing that he didn’t please you. He would work his ass off to get you off. “
She studies me, finally nodding her head but I can tell she’s thinking, wondering.
Wondering if I have feelings for her…if I care. But I also know that she’s probably seen all kinds of emotional blackmail at that useless piece of shit’s hands.
I’m not going to be another link in the chain that tries to hold her back. I’ll set her free when she needs to go. But I will make sure that her eyes aren’t sad anymore, that she has found some of the self-respect that he stole from her.
If you love something, set it free. Fuck, that one sentence hurts like a dagger to the fucking heart.
I rub my chest as she curls up against me, sighing, her fingers swirling around on my chest until I grasp them in mine and just hold her until I feel her body go limp and her breath slow, steady.
And I stare at her for hours, watching her dark lashes flutter on her pale skin. Watching her sleep-flushed cheeks, barely holding back from touching her soft skin, from running my fingertips along her rounded cheeks, across the constellation of freckles on her cheeks and across the bridge of her delicate little nose.
I draw in a deep, stuttering breath as I hear my daughter getting home and know that I have to get up. Know that my time with Sarah is drawing to a close.
Know that all good things must come to an end. Sometimes love isn’t enough and sometimes it’s too much. I’d do anything for this woman…including letting her go.
CHAPTER 11
Sarah
Laughter brings me up out of a dead sleep. The best sleep that I’ve had in a solid year at least.
“Dad…stop!” The girl’s voice is actually happy. I recognize it as Leon’s daughter, Penny.
“Drop that spatula, Dad! We’ve got to go. I’m meeting Kai at her house in fifteen minutes. I’m gonna be late if you don’t let me go!”
She shrieks with laughter and I sit up and stretch before getting up and scuttling around looking for my clothes. I don’t know how I got in the spare room but Leon must have moved me before his daughter could find me in his bed. Flushing, I thank the heavens that he did. I don’t want that to happen at all.
Finally I find a pair of sweats and a big, oversized t-shirt that falls off my shoulder and I slip out of the door, petting at my short curls to try and get them under control.
I reach the doorway to the kitchen and stand, barefoot, shifting from one foot to another.
Leon looks up at me and smiles, but this time it feels like something’s shifted, like he’s controlling his emotions.
“Hello, Sarah. You remember my daughter, Penny.”
The girl’s shrewd eyes study me like a bug under glass even as she smiles.
“I do remember her. Nice to see you again, Penny.”
“Dad said you had some trouble and got kicked out of your hotel. That sucks.”
I nod my head. “Yeah. I’d say so. I hope I’m not putting y’all out in any way.”
Leon’s pale blue gaze locks on mine. “You’re not a bit of trouble, Sarah.”
Penny glances back and forth between the two of us. I can feel the tension in the air and she must too.
She clears her throat. “I need to go, Dad.”
He stares at me. “Yeah, go get in the car. I’ll be there in a second.”
She eyes us up but slips out of the room silently.
Neither of us even glance away. He finally clears his throat. “I’ll be right back and then we can talk or something. Maybe we can watch a movie tonight. You can check out the tv while I’m gone and see if there’s something you want to see.”
