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“Where is my father?” I question, crossing my arms over my chest. Bert doesn’t respond and instead turns to head back inside. Fear trickles down my spine, worry consuming me, and then I see him.
Sullivan. It can’t be. This has to be a dream. All of my previous feelings fade away, and I race toward him, wrapping my arms around his middle, and burying my nose into his shirt, inhaling his familiar scent into my nostrils. A soft chuckle escapes his lips, and I peer up at him through my hair.
“Banks was so sure you had moved on, but you wouldn’t be hugging me like this if that’s true.” His arms wrap around me as well, tightening almost as if he’s trying to embed me into his chest. I can hear him inhaling my scent, my body melting into a pile of mush at his feet.
And then I realize… Shit. I just gave myself away.
“I….” Is there any point in trying to hide it anymore?
“It’s okay, I know. We knew all along that it was an act. Whatever you’re trying to protect us from, that shit ends now.”
Pulling away so I can look up at him, I ask, “How did you get here? How did you know I was even here?”
Sullivan smiles, and I swear my core clenches a hundred times over. I miss that smile, his touch, his scent. I miss him and his brothers, and the way they make me feel, so cherished, so loved. I just miss them, so damn much. I have so many more questions I want to ask him, but all those things fall away now that I’m in his arms. Without breaking our hug, he walks me down the stairs and into the garden. There is a tiny maze, and we hide behind one of the ivy-covered walls. This way, we remain hidden from any wandering eyes.
As soon as we’re hidden, Sullivan pulls away, his hold on me loosens, and his fingers trail up my skin, stopping once they reach my cheeks where he cradles them. “I’ve got connections, people helping me. Now I need you to tell me what’s going on? I don’t know how much time we have, and I need to know everything. Don’t lie to me or spare me any of the details. We’re going to get you out of this.”
“No, you can’t.” I gasp, crippling fear overtaking me. “My father will hurt you; he’ll destroy you and your brothers. He won’t stop at framing you this time. I can’t let that happen. I won’t.” I cry, realizing a moment too late that I’ve given him all the information he needs.
Tears start to fall from my eyes again, and Sullivan wipes each of them away with his thumb, his sea-blue eyes bore into mine, as he does. He looks conflicted, like he might want to kiss me but also throttle me at the same time.
“Fuck, Harlow, don’t cry,” he pleads with me, and the ache in his voice only makes me cry harder.
“I can’t help it. I don’t want to do this. I want to be with you guys, but there is nothing I can do, and I won’t let him hurt you any more than he has.” By now I’m sobbing, my make-up is completely ruined, and I look like a mess, I’m sure of it, but I don’t care, not when I’m in Sullivan’s arms.
“Shhh, there is no need to save us. We can fight our own battles against your father. Right now, I need you to do something for me. We’re going to stop this wedding…”
My fingers dig into the expensive suit he’s wearing. “No. You can’t. He’ll find a way to hurt you. I can’t let him.” I’m frantic. Trying to protect them. I know my father, and I know he’ll do whatever he can to get his way.
“Stop, Harlow,” Sullivan whispers and then shuts me up with a kiss that’s hard, fierce, and needy. In that kiss, I feel every ounce of pain, every drop of need. I feel the love he has for me, and I never ever want to let it go. Grabbing onto him, I deepen the kiss, becoming crazed with need. My hands roam over every inch of him, as he does the same, holding me close like I’m a fragile piece of glass.
“I need you,” I pant against his lips as I break the kiss a moment later. Looking up at him, I can see the hunger flickering in his smoldering gaze. He wants me just as badly as I want him, and if this is going to be our last time together, forever, which it has to be, then I’m going to take it. I’m going to take my fill of him until there is nothing more to take.
