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“The last couple of months of our senior year we were no longer close. The two of them seemed happy. Before you ask me if I was in love with her, I was. But I was also angry, furious with how everything had happened. After graduation, I was invited to a party in Chicago. They were there. Devon and I got into a fight and Annie was exasperated, furious with both of us. She left the party by herself.”
“What happened?”
He swirled the wine in his glass, taking several deep breaths. When I wrapped my fingers around his arm, he exhaled. “I found her at her favorite spot looking down at the rocky shoreline. When I called out her name, she just jumped.”
“Oh, my God.”
He closed his eyes, fisting his hand tightly around the glass. “I found out later she was three and a half months pregnant.”
A cold chill drifted through my core. No wonder there was so much bad blood between them. “Your child?”
As he threw back a gulp of wine, I moved closer, hoping the heat of my body would help.
“I don’t know. That’s the truth. I didn’t want to know, Eden. I just… anyway, we blamed each other. I almost killed him with my bare hands.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Now, at least you understand the level of hatred we have for each other. I allowed it to spiral into a level of anger that drove me into a deep depression. The painting helped at first. Then I couldn’t bear to touch a brush because painting reminded me of the time spent with her.”
“Why did you start again?”
“It felt right, but stiff. Until you. You have no reason to believe me, but the need burned within me. I’m not a good man, Eden. I didn’t lie to you about that, but the night in the studio was the most alive I’ve felt in ten years. I adore you. No, that’s not the truth. I love you. I’m sorry I’ve disrupted your world. Once I’ve dealt with Devon, you’ll be free to return to your life.”
Was he really setting me free? I held my breath, my heart racing. Was that what I wanted?
“What are you going to do?”
His hesitation shoved another moment of fear into my system. “I’m going to end the feud. What happened needs to be in the past. However, I will not allow him to hurt you. I want you to stay with me until your birthday. I’ll make certain the gallery is protected, the rent paid. Whatever you need. Then you’re free to go.”
There was such conviction in his voice, but there was hunger in his eyes as well as something else.
Love.
There was no doubting it.
I had no idea what to say. Instead, I rose onto my tiptoes, pressing my lips against his. As he wrapped his arm around me, my heart fluttered in a way that made me lightheaded.
Then he crushed his mouth over mine, pulling me against the heat of his chest. As the kiss became the same roar I’d always experienced, I was lost in the power of his masculinity. He slipped his tongue inside, sweeping it back and forth across mine. The beautiful moment lifted the fog in my brain, allowing me to feel every touch, the explosive heat of his body. I’d never felt so safe, so wanted in my life. I couldn’t imagine spending a day without him.
He broke the intimacy moments later, taking my wineglass into his hand. As he placed them both on the table, slowly turning his head, I could tell exactly what he had on his mind.
Ravaging me.
My breath was stolen, butterflies consuming my stomach. This man, this beautiful, dangerous man was going to take what he wanted.
And there was nothing I craved more.
He closed the distance, slowly rolling the tips of his fingers down the dress he’d bought for me. He’d showered me with gifts, doing everything he could to make me feel welcome. The man was hard edged, a killer to some. I’d been able to take a glimpse of the softer side of him, the one without all the armor.
That was the man I’d fallen in love with.
There might be no rhyme or reason, no understanding for anyone else how I could allow a man who’d hated me, hunted me, stalked me, and captured me into my heart, but it was clear to me that we’d been meant for each other from the start.
I’d never forgotten the way I felt, even if the darkness of my past had formed an impenetrable barrier that only he’d been able to smash through. Would I be able to heal his heart? Only time could salvage that part of him. What I knew is that in the crazy sense of karma, the man had been my destiny.
As he wrapped his finger around the thin elastic of my thong, he gave me a wicked smile.
“What are you doing?” I demanded, although my voice was barely more than a whisper.
