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At five on the dot, I was grabbing my bag and rushing out of the museum. Tor’s place wasn’t too far, but I was in a hurry, so I shelled out a few crumpled dollars for a cab and made it to his building by ten after. As I took the elevator up, my palms were sweaty, and I hadn’t even noticed how hard I was breathing. It was as if I was meeting him for the first time all over again, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would he be glad to see me? Would he still be angry? Or would he be giving me an “it was good while it lasted” speech? I hadn’t even thought about that. What if he decided it was getting too much like a relationship and wanted to cut ties before it went that far? The thought did nothing to slow my heart rate as the elevator doors opened and I came face to face with the man I’d spent every waking hour thinking about since I met him.
Wearing a suit with no tie or jacket, and with his hands in his pockets, Tor looked at me, gauging my reaction. He was more handsome than I remembered, if that was possible, but I could see a flash of longing in his eyes, and without another thought, I launched myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck, and he greeted me by pulling me in tight.
“I’m sorry,” I said, and it was an apology for several things in one: scaring him, leaving him, not responding to him. Doubting him even for a second.
“I’m the one who’s sorry,” he said, his voice rough as his strong arms held me against him. Then his hand came up to the back of my neck and brought my lips to his, and I melted, falling into him like it’d been months, not days, since I’d seen him last. Though his mouth was crushed to mine, as passionate and forceful as ever, there was something else there too. A sort of warmth that made my heart stutter. All too soon, Tor was letting me go so I could catch my breath.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Tor murmured against my neck, making me shiver. “I wasn’t sure you’d ever want to see me again.”
“Of course I wanted to see you. I knew you were upset, so I was giving you space, but when you didn’t call or text, I thought…”
Tor pulled back, holding me by the arms. “You thought what?”
“I thought…” I bit down on my lip before telling him the worry that had been tripping up my stomach since I’d left Saturday. “That maybe you were done with me. Like you’d realize I didn’t belong in your world anymore.”
Tor reared back like I’d slapped him, and then he slowly began to shake his head. “No. No, my little lamb. I would never give you up so easily.”
Warmth spread through my body at his words, but I still felt the disappointment that he hadn’t even tried to reach me. “I thought you had. You didn’t call or text or anything.”
“Ah. So Brayden didn’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“That I called.”
“You did? When?”
“Sunday. He answered and let me know in no uncertain terms that you didn’t want to hear from me or see me.”
My mind reeled. “But…why would he say that?” I said, even though I knew full well why. Brayden didn’t want me anywhere near Tor, and apparently, he’d taken to intercepting my phone calls when I’d stepped out of the room. “I didn’t know. I never said that, I swear.”
“Hmm.” Tor took a step back, his hands back in his pockets.
“He’s just being overprotective, that’s all.”
“I see.” Tor walked over to the wall of windows and looked out at the fog-ridden city as Faolán trotted over and nuzzled his head into Tor’s hand. “I suppose if he didn’t tell you I called, then he definitely didn’t tell you I stopped by.”
“You what? When? Where? At Brayden’s?”
Tor looked over his shoulder at me and lifted an eyebrow. “That’s where you were, wasn’t it?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“I assumed, since he answered your phone and you weren’t at your apartment, that you were with him.”
“But how did you know where he lived?”
“You had my driver take you there,” he said with a shrug. “And even if you hadn’t, Brayden’s a member of the Wolfe’s Den. I could’ve found his address on the paperwork.”
Of course. I hadn’t thought of that. “Wait, so you came to see me at Brayden’s and I didn’t know about it? What did he say?”
“Let’s just say your friend has very strong opinions about what you may or may not want.”
What the hell, Bray? I’m gonna kill him. “My friend doesn’t speak for me.” I crossed over to Tor but stopped just short of touching him. Instead, I let Faolán sniff my hand, and then I stroked down the long line of his back. “I’m sorry he did that.”
