Page 71 of The Devil’s Lair

“Don’t let her take advantage,” I warn. “She may be cute, but she still needs discipline.”

Tobias rests his chin on top of my head. I could stay here all night, I’m so comfortable, and warm. Being in his arms is bliss.

“You’re an amazing mother. She’s a credit to you.”

“She’s the one good thing I’ve done in my entire life,” I whisper. “The only thing I could never regret.”

He makes a sound. I lean back. Our eyes connect, and there’s a moment. A fleeting moment that’s gone before I can make sense of it. My breath snags in my throat. I sit up, sliding out of Tobias’s embrace.

“I’m tired. I think I’m going to head to bed.”

I feel his eyes on me, assessing, studying. I keep looking at the patterns in the carpet, unable to force myself to meet his gaze. Something has shifted, and I don’t know what.

Tobias pushes to his feet and stands there. Eventually, I glance up. He caresses my cheek with the backs of his fingers, then his hand drops to his side. “Goodnight, Wren. Sleep well.”

He crosses the room and disappears into the hallway. For several minutes, I stand there, staring at the closed door. Wren. It feels… intimate. And I’m not afraid of that intimacy. I want to lean into it, not run away from it.

I wrap my arms around myself. Am I falling for my husband?

Chapter Twenty-Two

TOBIAS

I’ve spent the last five days away on business, and I still haven’t found the right time to tell Rebecca about my altercation with Preston. Granted, I didn’t want to have the conversation over the phone, but the longer it goes on without me telling her, the more it’s started to feel as though I’m keeping his request from her on purpose. Shielding her from harm. I doubt she’d see it that way, though.

The moment we shared last Sunday plays on a loop in my mind like a stuck fucking record. Was that intimacy? I have no experience one way or the other. If I had to put a label on it, though, I’d say that’s what it was. The strange urge to stay close, to be close, when every instinct usually screams at me to keep my distance.

There’s no argument that we’ve grown closer, but I assumed it was based on mutual respect and friendship.

What I wanted to do to her was not friendship.

I’ve never felt anything like it. The magnetic pull, the ache in my chest, the yearning to nestle in until a sheet of paper wouldn’t fit between us. If she hadn’t pulled away when she did, I’d have made a move to kiss her… and probably ruined everything.

We made an agreement: no physical relationship. I was perfectly happy with that—until I wasn’t. I’m not capable of physical intimacy. My past has proved that, yet I yearn to try. With her. Only her.

The plane hits the ground with a bump. I scrub a hand over my face and stare out the Plexiglas. Rain splatters the windows, and the wind buffets the fuselage as the captain throws the engines into reverse. Typical English weather. Right when you think spring might’ve sprung, Mother Nature throws you for a loop.

“You’ve been quieter than usual this week.” Xan unclips his seat belt. “Is everything okay?”

“I thought I’d give you a rest from my jokes.”

“It’s appreciated. You’re relentless at times.”

I grin. “It’s part of my charm.”

“That’s one word for it.”

I dig him with my elbow. “Nothing to see here. Just got a bit on my mind.”

“Anything I can help with?”

Possibly, he could, but I’m not about to let my mask slip. “Nah, I’m good.” I flick open the seatbelt and grab my carry on from the overhead bin.

“Tobias.”

I glance at my brother. He’s got that look on his face. The one that signals he’s not letting go until he gets answers.

“Had anymore thoughts about what to do with George?”