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Gregor is dead! Why is no one celebrating?
I knew it was probably thanks to the effects of shock. I’m sure everyone believed there was a big chance they wouldn’t see tomorrow and now . . . Now they were free. An entire year spent in hiding, and now they were free from Gregor’s terror. It all happened so quickly and painlessly; I could hardly believe it myself.
“Ansel? Are you okay?” Liam asked softly.
Without a word, Ansel turned off the phone and handed it to Demie. The muscles in Ansel’s body were so rigid, he could probably crack a rock between his shoulder blades right now. “Everyone stay put. I need to confirm this with Felix first,” Ansel said, somehow avoiding everyone’s eyes as he grabbed his jacket and strode towards the entrance.
I watched Ansel leave and although I was so relieved, worry filled my heart. Was this going to be the last time I saw Ansel?
Demie appeared next to me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Skye. Ansel will be back soon. Once he confirms we’re all clear, we can take you home. I promise.”
I nodded, wiping away a tear before Demie could see.
I laid in bed staring up at the ceiling. The room was dark except for moonlight shining in through the open window. We had waited all day for Ansel to return. Or at least, I did. Demie and Liam didn’t seem too concerned that it had been hours since we hadn’t heard from the orc boss. They wasted no time celebrating with the wine they had stashed away in a broom closet somewhere in the warehouse.
They offered me a glass. This was a celebration for me too—I would be going home soon. But I didn’t feel like celebrating. My stomach was too knotted to drink anything.
After spending most of the day on the couch, watching Demie and Liam get progressively more and more drunk, I kept an ear open for the sound of the front door opening. When nighttime rolled around, I decided to take my pity party upstairs. Though misery loves company, I preferred to lick my wounds alone.
I sighed, checking the time on my phone for the millionth time tonight. A half hour past midnight.
I sat up in bed, rubbing the heels of my hands against my eyes. I was beginning to worry. I know Ansel was a big scary orc boss who had single-handedly taken out a big chunk of Gregor’s soldiers, but what if something happened? What if this was some trick by Gregor to lure him out of hiding?
I was considering heading downstairs and waking Liam, who was probably facedown in a couch cushion right now, and demanding he call and check on Ansel. I would steal their van keys and drive around the docks if I needed to. But then I heard the doorknob turn.
Ansel opened the door slowly, careful not to make any noise. “Oh,” he said, once he found me staring at him in the dark. “You’re still awake.”
I pulled my knees to my chest. “Yeah, I couldn’t really sleep. I . . .” I stopped myself short. “So? Is Gregor really dead?”
Ansel regarded me for a long moment. “He’s dead,” he finally breathed.
“So . . . no more black rock? Trafficking?”
Ansel shrugged, looking defeated. “For now. If I’ve learned anything, once one mob boss goes down, another is eager to take his spot.”
I nodded to myself; my chest tightening. I was so, so happy to hear Gregor was dead, but I knew this was the end. They would drop me off at my apartment tomorrow, and I would never see Ansel again.
And I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
Ansel rubbed the back of his neck. “Skye, I am so sorry about everything . . .”
I sucked in a deep breath. If this was to be our last night together, I didn’t want to spend it fighting or apologizing. Ansel had made up his mind—he was moving to Scotland without me—and nothing I said was going to change that.
“I know,” I replied. “Do you mind sleeping in the bed tonight? With me?” I chuckled under my breath, even though I could already feel the tears brimming. “I’ll let you call me lass or sweetling as much as you want. I won’t even get mad. I just don’t want to spend my last night here without you.”
“Of course. Anything you want, my little lass.”
Ansel undressed to just his briefs and crawled into bed with me, wrapping his arms around me. His warmth and scent surrounded me like a protective cocoon. Each familiar sensation—his callused hands brushing against my soft stomach, his lips pressed against my hair—tore a new piece into my heart each time. I had to concentrate hard on not crying. I didn’t want to spend our last night in his arms blubbering.
This feels so right,I thought, as his biceps tightened around me. He filled the hole in my heart just as much as I filled his. And it shocked me that Ansel could have such strong feelings, and yet push them away.
“Thank you,” he murmured into my hair. “For being here for me. I know it was against your choice at first, but I want you to know how much I appreciate it. This past year has felt like a dark fog that I didn’t think would ever end. Then you showed up out of the blue, and you brought me so much happiness when I thought I could never feel again. You will never know how much you mean to me, Skye.”
I sniffed, wiping away a tear that had rolled down my cheek. I rolled over in his arms so we were face-to-face. Without a word, I leaned forward and kissed him. Ansel’s hands wrapped around the base of my neck, sending shivers down my spine as his pillowy lips opened for me.
Our kiss deepened as I slid my hand down his muscled abdomen towards his cock. He groaned into my mouth as I reached into his briefs and wrapped my fingers around the base of his erection.
He pulled away from my kiss to stare at me in the darkness. “Are you sure?” he asked, sounding a little breathless. “You want to do this?”
