AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My fingers flew to the buttons on his shirt, and when I couldn’t get them undone because of my impatience, I ripped it wide open. I was desperate to feel his skin against mine again. I groaned at how hot and hard he was under my fingers.
He worked on the buttons of the shirt I was wearing but fumbled, and I smiled against his mouth; I had the same effect on him that he had on me. Realizing I was winning, he tore his mouth off of mine, his expression livid.
“This will not happen again,” he grated, reaching behind himself to unhook my legs.
Once my feet were on the floor, I was grateful for the support of the wall behind me. I was used to going from playful to serious and back again with him, but never from scorching hot to ice cold. For a moment, I was at a loss. He looked devastated and pissed off at the same time.
“Yes, it will,” I said when I finally found my voice.
His eyes flashed with anger as he plowed a hand through his hair. “Goddamn it, Vivian. Why can’t you just let it go?”
“If you wanted a woman who just lets things go, you wouldn’t have been with me for so long.” He glared because I was right. “I don’t know why you’re doing this. I do know you love me. If you would tell me what’s going on, we could get through it together and save both of us the heartache.”
“There is no getting through it,” he snarled.
Silly man. Did he think he would scare me with that?I stepped toward him and touched his cheek. His phone rang again.
“She’s not the answer either.” I stroked his face and stopped trying to hide my pain. “If you were attempting to hurt me, you succeeded.”
He closed his eyes, as if he couldn’t stand to look at me. “I don’t want to hurt you, V. I’m trying my damnedest not to.” The words were whisper soft and so full of anguish, my heart broke for him.
I pushed up onto my toes, brushed my lips against his, his forehead fell against mine. “Then stop lying to both of us.”
His lip curled into a snarl. “Are you ready to keep your word to stand by me no matter the circumstance?”
“Absolutely,” I said without hesitation, though his question gave me pause.
“I won’t let you,” he growled.
“You can’t stop me,” I countered. I would keep any and every promise I’d ever made to him.
“You’d better get used to gray and concrete. And maybe they’ll show mercy and give you an extra blanket,” he said bitterly. I blinked at him, at a loss. “Prison. I’m going to prison.”
Pieces began to click into place, though not enough to form the whole picture. “That’s why you were so angry about me finding the autopsy report.”
“I’ve kept you away from parts of my world for reasons you said you understood.”
“I do understand,” I shot back. I grasped his face in my palms. “Why would you think I’d let prison get in the way of us? Did you think I’d leave you?”
“No. Quite the opposite, actually. You’d do anything to keep me out of it.” Somehow I didn’t think he meant that as a compliment.
“Damn right, I would,” I affirmed, gripping his face.
“In this case, if you did, then someone else would get hurt. I can’t allow that.” He turned his head, and I dropped my hands.
I pressed my lips together and studied him. “I don’t care about anyone else,” I finally said.
Daniel’s eyes blazed. “What if it was someone who meant as much to you as Muriella?”
My lips parted before I snapped them shut. The man knew how to make a point.
“Do as I’ve asked. Let this go. Give me the peace I need knowing you’re as far away from this as possible,” he begged. He reached out to touch me, but when he realized it, he stopped.
I took in a deep breath and tried to center my whirring thoughts. They scattered and fluttered just out of my reach, so I just went with my instincts, like he’d told me to.
“I’m with you. All the way.” I softened my tone, and he took another step back.
Daniel held his hands out in the stop position. I stepped in between them.
