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He didn’t care about the people who’d started to stare at us. “I want to do this. The only reason I stopped was because you asked me to stop. But now that you aren’t here anymore, I want to resume. I’m just giving you a goddamn courtesy. If you really want me to stay out of the ring, then you have the power to stop it.”
“By doing something I don’t want to do.”
“No. Something you’re scared to do. You just said you still love me—”
“Not like that,” I snapped. “In an affectionate way, in a fondness for the years we shared together. I told you I’m seeing someone.”
“No. You said you were seeing other people.”
“Well, I’ve been seeing one specific person for a few months now, and I don’t want to stop seeing him.”
His body sagged noticeably, like I’d punched him in the stomach. “Is it serious?”
“I don’t know…we aren’t seeing other people.” Because I didn’t want to. Because I couldn’t stand the thought of sharing him. Because I wanted him all to myself…every night…for the foreseeable future.
“We just got divorced,” he said coldly. “Don’t you think that’s too soon?”
“We’ve been divorced for nine months, Liam. And the last three months of that marriage don’t count. I was miserable. Every time we made love, all I could think about was you and that other woman. So it’s been over a year. A damn year.”
He had the humility to look away for a second, still ashamed of what he did.
“So, it’s not too soon. I like him…a lot.”
He blinked again, as if that hurt. “He’ll never love you the way I do.”
“Maybe. But at least I trust him.”
His eyes narrowed. “It’s easier to trust someone when things are good. But what about when it goes to shit? You have no way to predict what he’ll do. He’s not better than me. He’ll fuck up like all men do. At least I actually love you, would die to protect you, would do anything to make you smile.”
“Liam—”
“You don’t know him well enough to trust him. Who is he?”
I wouldn’t throw Damien under the bus like that. Liam still used his bank, and if he knew…he’d burn that place to the ground. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it fucking matters. Answer me.” He continued to raise his voice, but the staff didn’t dare quiet him, not when they knew who he was.
I slightly raised my hand off the table to silence him. “Liam.”
He shut his mouth, but his red face showed his rage.
“The answer is no.”
His eyes didn’t blink.
I got out of my chair because I couldn’t stay there any longer. “I hope that you love me enough not to do this…because I would be devastated if you weren’t here anymore. But I won’t sacrifice my happiness to keep you alive. I won’t settle for a man who hurt me, betrayed me at my lowest point, just so he won’t recklessly throw his life away.”
I was low and wanted the one person who took away all my stress. His fingers in my hair always calmed me down, his powerful gaze always made me feel safe, but if I called him, I would have to tell him why I was upset. And I didn’t want to talk about it.
But I was sitting in the dark, suffocated by my thoughts.
I texted him. Come over. I didn’t want to be needy or demanding, but I was anxious to see him, wanted him to drop whatever he was doing to hold me.
He responded immediately, like he’d been staring at his phone when my message popped up. Want me to pick up something on the way? Anything but pizza. I need to lay off that shit.
He made me chuckle. No. Just you.
Fifteen minutes later, he let himself into the apartment without knocking. He was in jeans and a t-shirt, his jaw smooth because he’d shaved that morning. If he noticed the puffiness around my eyes, he didn’t act like it. He took the seat beside me on the couch, his arm moving behind my neck as he held me close. His fingers slid into the back of my hair, the touch exactly what I’d been craving.
I looked into his handsome face, my expression growing soft as I appreciated all those masculine features, especially that hard jawline. My hand reached up, and my fingers rested against his lips, feeling the only soft feature he possessed.
While staring at me, his mouth kissed my fingertips, treasuring them the way he did with the rest of my body.
My fingers moved to his chin and touched his jaw before they dropped to his chest. Conversation wasn’t what I needed to feel comforted. It was just…his attention, his affection. I loved how he could convey so much without saying a single word.
“Want to talk about it?” His hand wrapped around mine, and he drew my wrist to his lips, kissing the sensitive area gently, his mouth bringing warmth to my delicate skin.
