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“Now Edge, I think that’s up to Rae –”
“Get the fuck out now, or I’ll put you out myself!” he thundered.
Paul smirked and walked toward the door, saying over his shoulder before he left, “Bye Rae, we’ll talk soon.”
I didn’t answer, too preoccupied with the angry alpha male in front of me. My eyes narrowed at his caveman performance, “I can do whatever I want Peter Harding. Now get the hell out of my apartment!”
He took a step forward and growled like a freaking bear. That’s what he was, a wild animal. I saw it in his hardened eyes and chiseled jaw, in his stiff shoulders and angry stance, but most of all I saw the deep vulnerability and fear he tried to hide. Lurking behind the macho façade and harsh words was the guy I fell in love with as a young girl. The one who promised to love and protect me so many years ago.
He lingered inside like a lonely and scared little boy discarded as if he was unimportant, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. My heart broke at the thought he could be as empty and heartbroken as I was. Maybe I misjudged him?
We lost each other five years ago and now we were on the verge of doing it all over again. Seemed like we were destined to fail before we really had a chance to begin.
Torn apart by chance and one fateful night, was love enough to reunite us?
Peter was watching the different emotions play out on my face as my chaotic thoughts ran through my head.
“Trust me, baby,” he begged. “Don’t give up on us.”
The way his voice brushed over me, so sad and yet so full of love and promise, caused a wave of uncertainty to wash over me, a wave that clawed at my composure and threatened to tear all my walls down.
Could I afford to let him back in? To take a chance he could break my heart again?
Pete wasn’t the same guy I knew back in high school, but the truth was I had changed too. Our innocence was stolen from us both, our love ripped apart, and if we didn’t give it a chance now I wasn’t sure another opportunity would ever arise again. Second chances didn’t happen often, but when they did, I knew enough not to throw them away.
My parents didn’t get a second chance. They lost everything.
If I let Peter walk out my door right now, I would lose the only man I ever truly loved. The thought of never seeing him again frightened the hell out of me. He was my anchor. My hero. My solid rock. In this cruel and unpredictable world, he was the only thing that made sense.
What if I lost him again? What if he walked out my door and never returned?
Could I live with that?
“Peter, I’m afraid.”
His face softened, the hard edge disappearing as quickly as it appeared, “I’m scared too Rae but baby I love you.” He stepped closer as his hands lifted to my cheeks and his palms pressed softly against my skin. “Do you still love me Rae?” his breath caught in his throat as if he was uncertain of my answer.
I searched his pleading eyes knowing there was only one reply I could give, “With all my heart Pete.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled into the sexiest little lines as he replied gruffly, “That’s enough for us to start over honey. Don’t you think?” His voice lowered seductively, raspy and deep as he leaned in and let his lips hover above mine.
I closed my eyes and breathed him in, that old familiar scent of masculinity and aftershave and leather, hoping he would kiss me. I could feel his warm breath blanketing my skin, “Yes.”
To Peter, my answer was always yes.
“Rewinding time isn’t possible Rae, but do-overs are baby. We’ve been given another chance to do something right the second time that we got wrong the first time. I’m not taking any chances with you, this time we’re going to make sure this bullshit with Rafe and the SOMC ends, and we secure a future together,” he promised, his hazel eyes searching the depths of mine as they fluttered, desperate to convey his intentions.
“All I want is you, Peter. I don’t want to be left alone, empty, and hurt anymore.”
“Then don’t baby. Let’s pick up right where we left off. You don’t have to live another second alone. Let me erase all the sorrow and pain. Let me take it away and hold you close just like I used to do.”
“Oh Peter,” I whispered. My throat was tight with unshed tears, “Don’t ever leave me again.”
“I can’t Rae. It would kill me,” he gulped, swallowing hard and pulling me tighter against his chest. “I won’t live another minute without you.”
I rose up on my tiptoes and pressed our lips together before he had a chance. There was haunting desperation in that kiss, five years of longing and loneliness as we embraced, each of us clinging to the other because we knew just how fragile and unpredictable the future could be. Peter and I would take our chance, and we wouldn’t squander it.
Not anymore.
