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She smiles and gently kisses my neck. Closing her eyes, she sighs and nuzzles against me. I let my lids fall closed, lightly trailing my fingers across her hip.
“I love you too, Dresden.”
10
~Lily~
Pain radiates through my back as I roll over. Dresden curls his arms around me, his finger trailing lightly across my forehead. My eyes flutter open, moonlight illuminating Dresden’s face. He’s propped on his elbow, pain shimmering in his irises, which almost glow in the light. Softly, I cup the side of his face, barely feeling his skin.
Agony is the only thing registering in my brain. Physical, emotional, everything at once pulling me down into a place I don’t want to go. We’ve been back a month, barely, and everything that kept us going for the last year has turned into nothing short of a nightmare. Dresden leans forward, pressing his lips to my temple.
I should feel something. Guilt, anger . . . something. Nothing comes through.
“I hate seeing you like this, Lil,” he whispers against my skin.
For a long moment, neither of us says anything. It’s as if I’m here, but not really. A shell of me lying in bed with a man I never should’ve touched. The comfort he gave me last night was amazing— wrong, but amazing. He’s not Blake though, and every fiber of my being belongs to the man who’s going to have a baby with that evil bitch.
“I love him, Dres. What am I supposed to do?”
He sits back and sighs, rubbing his hand over his head. “You’ve got to forgive him, Lil. He fucked up. We fucked up— last night and last year. Everyone makes mistakes.”
“Can you forgive Shannon?”
“I want to. Eventually, yes. Being with you was . . . amazing. But, she’s my future. No amount of anger is going to change that. Blake is your future.”
Huffing, I slide out of bed and yank my pants on. My back stings as I clip on my bra and adjust it. Gritting my teeth and running my fingers through my tangled mess of hair, I mentally prepare myself to go back to the main house. Dresden gets dressed and kisses my shoulder as we leave the comfort of the guesthouse.
It’s after nine at night and, in the back of my mind, I’m surprised no one came looking for us. The light shines through the curtains of the safe house and two SUV’s, that aren’t ours, are parked out front.
“Wonder who’s here?” Dresden’s voice is tight.
“Don’t say anything about last night,” I whisper as we stop outside the front door.
He nods, opening the door. All the color drains from my face as my eyes fall on Blake and Maria. Coldness runs through me, causing my shoulders to shake. Rounding the corner, I’m halted. Hyde, Hastin, and Dr. Kinderson, another Interpol psychiatrist, stand with an older woman in a doctor’s coat. She’s short with gray hair and startling blue eyes and a no-nonsense stance.
“Good evening, Agents,” Hyde says, failing to disguise the anger in his voice.
“Evening, sir,” Dresden says, stopping next to me.
Tears pool in my eyes again, scenes from last night flashing through my memory.
I can’t do this.
Hyde starts talking, but it’s as if we’re in a wind tunnel. The words don’t fully reach my ears— it’s just a muffled mess. My body shakes, the room darkening at the edges.
“Lily,” Hastin says, his voice breaking through the blackness.
I meet his gaze, the tears spilling down my cheeks. He pulls me into a hug, his hand pressing into the wounds on my back and I cry out, almost crumbling to the ground.
“What’s happened?” He lets go immediately as Dresden grabs my waist, holding me upright.
Blake and Hastin move behind me.
“Shit,” Hastin gasps under his breath. “Did she do this to herself?”
“Yes,” Dresden whispers.
“Oh, Lily,” Blake breathes.
