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“Guys, I think I need to go,” I said with an apologetic expression. “I had such a good time tonight. Thank you all for making this release so special.”
They waved me off with encouraging smiles. Like they already knew Zeno was here. I hugged them goodbye and darted out the door like a woman on a mission.
The sky was a beautiful opalescent and the end of July evening air saturated with a touch of humidity when I stepped out.
My intuition hinted that I would find my husband where he first proposed to me: in MacGregor’s side alleyway with his Lamborghini parked. My long dress billowed behind me as I fast-walked towards him in my six-inch heels.
Zeno leaned languidly against his car, gazing at the sky.
Tonight, he donned a crisp black three-piece suit. Even from far away, I knew, without avail, that his tie was clipped with my DIH pin.
My husband heard the clack of my heels and his body went taut, his head snapping my way. Hunger slashed over those chiseled features and the look in his eyes, the one that screamedI’ve been lost without you, knocked the wind out of me.
I ran.
He opened his arms.
I slammed into him.
Zeno clutched me fiercely and took a deep breath. Then it was just him and me, our voracious heartbeats doing the talking as we gazed at each other, finally finding an anchor in this turbulent sea.
“Twenty-eight days. Eight hours. Six minutes,” he rasped. “That’s how long we’ve been away from each other,mon ange.”
“Zeno.” My voice hitched. I cupped his face. “You came for me.”
Our mouths collided together in a kiss that tilted our world off its axis. Zeno poured all of his longing into it and I soaked it in, letting it coat my insides like gold. The way his fingers mapped over my body like he was afraid I’d disappear tugged at my heart’s strings.
We pulled away when oxygen became a necessity, watching each other through a veil of love and affection. A few tendrils of hair escaped my chignon and whipped in the air. Zeno tucked them back where they belonged. “Has it been three hours, baby?”
“What?” I whispered.
“You’re wearing heels.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “Is your three-hour window complete?”
I swooned and if he weren’t holding me, I’d be a pile of mush at his feet. “I think I have about forty-five minutes left.”
He thumbed my cheek. “Bien. I have a pair of your flats in my car when you’re ready to switch.”
I pushed back that lone strand of hair off his forehead. He cut his hair and while I preferred a bit of length on him, he still looked so beautiful, suave, and regal. “How did you know where to find me?”
“I reached out to Ella and Hera to help organize this for you.”
Of course Zeno was behind this. I should have known he’d go above and beyond to ensure I had the best book launch. “Thank you for always thinking of me. For always putting me first.”
“I will always put you first, for you are the most important thing in my life, Darla.”
Hearing those words again spiked an onslaught of tears. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Not more than I’ve missed you,” he returned with a thick quality.
Zeno always gazed at me like he saw straight into my soul. He had the uncanny ability to reach into my depths and turn the essence tangible so he could behold it in his battle-scarred hands.
My god of the underworld had told me in many ways that my soul was incomparable to any other being he’d ever met.
Valuable and irreplaceable.
“I don’t need any more space.” I layered kisses on his jaw. “I’m never letting you go.”
“I want to grow old with you,” he murmured. “I wish to live every day with you until I take my dying breath.”
