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As I turned to walk away, Vik’s hand shot out and gently but firmly circled my wrist. I twisted back to find his gaze had darkened some, and he uttered, “Stay.”
It wasn’t a plea nor a demand. I might’ve been delusional, but to my ears, it sounded like a wish.
My rigid stance loosened mildly.
Only one word out of his mouth, but I felt the caress of it all over.
I peered down at that hand. It held me firmly as his obsidian gaze locked me in. “I heard you’ve been spending time at Laredo’s. I know you’re smarter than to try to get the attention of a particular Frenchman, so I won’t warn you against it.” Those eyes sliced over the length of me. “You know better, don’t you, baby?”
Every fiber of my being screamed to sit and stay, but the insecure part of me told me to leave before we hurt each other. Against my better judgement, I sat opposite him, and because I often had trouble keeping my mouth shut, I said smugly, “Sounds like you might be jealous.”
The hand on my wrist flexed, and Vik held me down with his glacial gaze. “Wanna test that theory?”
My chest squeezed.
My ego was a petty bitch and hooted loudly, all for it. My heart thought nothing would be more romantic. But my brain, on the other hand, knew what Vik plus jealousy was capable of. And it wasn’t pretty.
Don’t get me wrong. I was never the target of his anger when he got like that. The men standing in his warpath, however, usually ended up with a split lip, a broken nose, or a concussion, or all three. And after it was all done and dusted, Vik would then take me home, take my mouth, and then take me roughly against the nearest surface, all while maintaining eye contact.
Ugh. It was so fucking hot.
The memory had my knees snapping together under that table, trying in vain to ignore the thrumming warmth that suddenly lit in my core.
Hmmm. Maybe we should test that theory after all.
No.
But—
Not a good idea.
My inner self pouted and called me a prude.
Not so smug anymore, I cleared my throat and asked, “What do you want from me, Vik?”
Refusing to let go, his thumb gently caressed the sensitive spot at my inner wrist, and without hesitation, he responded one word that shattered my resolve.
“Everything.”
The way he said it, with zero hesitation, had my heart aching. I wanted that too. If only the stakes were even. If only he had as much to lose as I did. My heart was on the line. I wasn’t sure if Vik even knew how to access his.
Placing my hand on the cool surface of the table, he released me. As if he only just noticed something, his brows lowered. “You look tired.”
I was. So tired. The bottoms of my feet hurt too.
What am I doing here?
“Thanks,” I scoffed, because… what an ass.
But his brow furrowed. “Take off your glasses.”
Oh crap. “I don’t want to.”
“Nas.” A warning.
I could do two things here. I could take off my damn glasses and show the dark bags under my eyes, or I could leave. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to be close to him. So, I slowly removed my glasses and peered down at the table.
“What the fuck?” Alarmed, he shuffled closer to me. Like it was nothing at all, he put gentle finger to my chin and propped my head up, looking further alarmed when he took in the state of me.
My voice turned whisper-soft, and I didn’t miss the way it trembled. “I haven’t been sleeping well.”
There must have been something about the way I said it, because immediately, he stilled.
His tone was gentle, but he didn’t hesitate to ask, “Is she back?”
I played dumb, looking anywhere but directly at him. “Who?”
A weary sigh left him. He released my face, and I felt the loss immediately. “I knew it was getting close to that time, but….” He drifted off.
All I could do was shrug.
“It’s been years, Nas.” I knew that. “Why is she back? Why now?”
I blamed what I said on the exhaustion. Refusing to look at him, I tapped a light fingernail onto the tabletop and shared miserably, “I think it’s because I’m lonely.”
Desolation.
It was the only word I could use to describe Vik’s expression. Funnily enough, my appearance matched his own. And as we sat across from each other, so close together yet feeling so distant, my chest ached with the realization of what I just admitted to.
And my mother’s laughter echoed throughout my head.
Fool.
I was a fool.
This man was lying to me. Hiding things from me.
Why the hell hadn’t he told me he moved?
Why was it a secret?
Why?
I was so confused.
Standing so fast my head spun, my heel stung wildly as I picked up my sunglasses with shaking hands and slipped them back onto my face. “I just realized I’ve got somewhere to be.”
