Page 107 of No Greater Oblivion

Dahlia makes her way around the kitchen island and just as I’m about to put a container of leftovers in the fridge, she catches my wrist and pulls me toward her. I abandon the Tupperware on the counter and wrap my arm around her waist, drawing her into the circle of my embrace. Her breathing becomes unsteady and I can practically hear the way her heart races as I graze my lips against her temple.

“Say my name…” Her voice catches at the end. “Please.”

The request surprises me. “Your name?”

“My name.”

“Dahlia.”

Her entire body trembles. “Again.”

I press a kiss against her temple. “Dahlia.” Then the corner of her jaw. “Dahlia.”

She drags her hands up my arms before clenching her fists against my chest.

A single kiss at the base of her throat. “Dahlia.”

“You say it…the way you used to.”

I’m not sure what she means. I lift my head to ask her but can’t focus on anything beyond the tears gathering in her eyes, unshed by sheer force of will. Her eyes are so amber they burn like real fire whenever she looks at me.

She whispers my name but can’t seem to get another word out. A swallow works its way down her throat and it’s like the tighter I hold her, the more she shakes and tremors like a leaf in the wind.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m a little drunk.”

“That’s okay.”

“Do you still love me?” She blinks and her lashes are wet. “Like you did before?”

“Nunca dejé de amarte. Nunca.”

“I…I’m still so angry. I can’t let it go.” She squeezes her eyes shut and I drag my thumbs across the apples of her cheeks, drying whatever tears cross my path. “But…tonight…I don’t know. I remembered how things used to be.”

This is as close to a confession as I’ll ever get but I’ll take it. She may not be brave enough to come outright and say it but I can read between the lines.

Dahlia still loves me and I don’t think she ever stopped.

When I press my lips against the side of her neck, she lets her head fall back, exposing more of her skin to me and I’m aware of how tenuous her consent is. At any moment she could retreat to the safety of her impenetrable emotional fortress and all I’ve wanted to do since coming here was take a sledgehammer to the walls around her. I want my Dahlia back and if it means tearing through flesh and bone to get to the heart of her, then I will. I won’t stop until the two of us are completely undone.

Dahlia’s breath catches and she pulls away. Before I can say or do anything, she presses her fingers against my lips, silencing me.

“No.”

She untangles herself from me and leaves the room without looking back.

26

LOOK HER IN THE EYE WHEN SHE LIES

Alejandro

The Present

Rian paces the length of his office with a pinched expression on his face while Damiano starts juggling a paperweight and a stapler.

Dahlia places her final bets and moves all the chips on her side of the table into the pot at the center. If we were using real money, she’d be betting half a million dollars on a hand of cards I can’t imagine are worth much. Right now I’m holding on to four of a kind and there are only two other, very unlikely, hands she could use to win.