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Unable to see anything in the darkened room, he flipped on the light switch. The lamps on the side tables provided enough illumination for him to see Journey curled up in a ball on the bed.
Laz’s pulse beat a little faster and hammered in his ears. The exhaustion and pain from moments ago were all but gone.
His wife had come to him.
That thought had his heart turning over in his chest, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t glad to see her. He missed the hell out of her. Not because he hadn’t seen her since early that morning, but because of the tension that had them arguing more than talking. That wasn’t them. That’s not how they usually communicated, and that wasn’t what he wanted for their future.
I want what we had.
Kenton had been giving him updates throughout the day about her, but seeing Journey with his own eyes brought a level of peace that Laz hadn’t felt all day.
Yeah, he was happy to see her. They might have their issues, but his love for her was as strong as ever. He needed to get his head out of his ass and figure out how to fix whatever the hell was broken between them.
Journey’s light snores met his ears, and his gaze swept the length of her, taking in her shapely form in a red sweater dress. Her long legs were bare, and he wanted to go over and run his hand along her soft skin and not stop until he reached the sweet spot between her thighs.
He groaned at the thought and shook his head. Sex wouldn’t fix their relationship but damned if he wasn’t craving his wife.
Instead of waking Journey, he grabbed the duffel bag sitting on the floor near the door, the one he had dropped off earlier, and went into the bathroom. It was a hassle taking a shower and trying not to get the bandage wet, especially since he didn’t feel up to changing it, but he made it work.
Twenty minutes later, he had showered and slipped into a pair of navy-blue sleep pants. No way would he be able to get a T-shirt over his head. Instead, he just put the sling back on. He could barely keep his eyes open as he grabbed his two cell phones and left his bag in the bathroom.
Stepping into the bedroom, Laz stopped when his gaze collided with Journey’s.
“Hi,” she said, her voice low and thick with sleep. She looked as tired as he felt.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
His body tightened with need as she stood and slowly moved toward him. Seeing how the dress hugged her figure, bringing attention to her pebbled nipples, it was clear that she wasn’t wearing a bra.
Laz swallowed hard as she ran her hands down the sides of her body and smoothed her short dress as if self-conscious. Strands of her thick hair had come loose from the ponytail on top of her head and were sticking out, but it didn’t detract from her beauty.
Between the hair and her face scrubbed free of makeup, she definitely had that sexyI-just-woke-upthing going on, and her natural beauty stole his breath.
“I can’t sleep without you next to me,” she said, mirroring his thoughts from a little while ago. Her words were almost funny, considering she’d been sound asleep when he’d walked in.
She eased toward him, and his dick stirred the closer she got. Now that she was there, looking sexy in red, he probably wouldn’t be able to fall asleep anytime soon.
“I also came because we need to talk.”
Laz shook his head. “No. Not tonight, Jay. I’m all talked out, and I can’t handle another argument right now.”
“I know—me either. That’s why I’m going to do the talking, and you’ll for-real listen this time. Have a seat.” She pointed at one of the chairs at the small bistro-like table near the single window.
Instead of arguing, Laz did as she said and almost laughed. He had a love-hate relationship with what he referred to as her lawyer tone. He loved how ballsy she was when she had something to say or a point to get across like she was questioning someone on the witness stand. That didn’t keep him from hating when she used the tone on him.
Laz set the phones on the table. He pulled the chair out and turned it to face her before sitting down.
“I love you,” she said as she eased even closer. “I love you more than I did the day I agreed to marry you, and I’m going to love you until the day I die. I know you don’t want to hear it again, but I’m sorry for taking you and our marriage for granted. And I’m sure you don’t want to listen to promises that I’ll get my act together and remember what’s most important to me—you and Arielle.
“But Laz, I really am sorry. If I could have a do-over for yesterday, I’d take it in a heartbeat. I was horrified by what you and Ari went through. I can only remember one other time in my life when I’d been as scared as I was hearing the news—and that was when I was kidnapped.”
Laz shuddered inside as memories of that time flooded his mind. Terrible regrets would haunt him to the end of time, knowing that someone had taken her. They had planned to do harm to her because of him. She might’ve only been scared at the time, but he’d been terrified that he wouldn’t find her. That he wouldn’t see her again.
Journey stopped directly in front of him.
“The only thing that helped me stay calm during that time was knowing that you would find me. There was no doubt in my mind. You’ll never understand how horrible I felt yesterday when I wasn’t there for the man who holds my heart. Please forgive me for not being there when you needed me. I swear that willneverhappen again. I will do anything to make things right between us, even quit my job.”
She said the last part quietly, but Laz didn’t miss the conviction in her eyes or her tone. He would never ask her to leave a career that meant the world to her. It brought her joy to help get criminals off the streets, and she was damn good at it. No way would he ask her to quit.
