AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But then two words, spoken in an oh-so-familiar, husky voice, stop me dead in my tracks. “It’s me.”
He shifts next to me, and suddenly, his warm breath is against my neck, sending goosebumps down my spine. The intoxicating scent of his cologne, the one I first noticed all those years ago at that bar, floods my nostrils.
“I’m going to let you go,” he murmurs. “Don’t scream, all right?”
I nod, conflicting emotions rushing through me, but when he releases me, I don’t cry out. Slowly I turn my head, and with the distance between us closed, I can make out a face in the darkness that I know all too well. “Theo?” I whisper.
He nods. “It’s me, kid.”
I blink, hardly daring to believe it, but it’s true. Here he is: the dark, slightly shaggy hair, the hint of stubble on his strong jawline, the lean, muscular physique. But what really seals it are his eyes: silver, almost wolf-like, gleaming in the darkness of the hospital room, and they’re brimming with worry—and passion.
I throw my arms around him. My heart is thundering in my chest, not just with longing, but also with fear—fear of everything my parents seem to think this man is; everything that, by all accounts, he seems to be. But I can’t resist him, and when his lips meet mine, I go crazy for him all over again. The fear is suddenly gone, replaced by a desperate hunger, and I melt into him, giving into my desire until I can barely breathe. When he finally breaks the kiss, I’m panting. “What are you doing here?” I ask.
Theo pulls back, giving me one of those heart-melting half-smirks of his. “What do you think I’m doing here, kid? I’m getting you out.”
“I...” I stare at him. “Out of the hospital?”
“Yeah.” He’s already getting to his feet, and I catch a glimpse of the pistol he keeps at his hip as he moves. “You’re coming with me.”
I glance from him to the EKG monitor, and then to the door. “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious.” His expression darkens a little. “You didn’t think I’d let Lucas steal you away from me, did you?”
I eye him for a moment, tuned into the way he stares back at me with an intensity I’ve never seen before. “They’re saying you’ve gone mad, Theo.”
“I know.”
“Lucas is making a move for the family business.”
Theo doesn’t even miss a beat. “Believe me, kid, we’re not going to let that happen.”
I blink. “We?”
There’s a long pause. “Listen, Vivian, there’s a lot you don’t know,” Theo says finally.
I snort. “That’s becoming very clear.”
“I’m serious.” His eyes are burning as they stare into mine. “We have some catching up to do, but it’s going to have to wait. Right now, we have to get you out of here.”
But I stay where I am. “Theo, who’s we?”
He hesitates for a moment before a grim determination takes hold of him. “You trust me, Vivian?” he asks, using my real name, and I can’t shake the feeling that, whatever answer I give him, nothing is going to be the same again. Not for me, not for our families—hell, maybe not even for the two of us.
But when have I ever done the smart thing?
I nod, despite knowing I probably shouldn’t. “Yes,” I whisper.
“Good.” Theo nods, that knowing smile crossing his face as he presses his lips to mine once more, and I know in an instant that I made the right decision. He takes my hand and helps me gently to my feet, but my injury still flares up, making me grimace. Theo notices, and the sheer protectiveness of the look he gives me reassures me that his feelings for me haven’t diminished in the slightest. “Kid? You all right?”
“I’m fine,” I mutter through gritted teeth. “It’s just...” I gesture weakly at the place where the bullet pierced my flesh, glad he can’t see the way my face heats up in the darkness. Strange that after everything we’ve been through together, this is what would embarrass me.
His expression stoic, Theo reaches out slowly to move the collar of my hospital gown down. His gray eyes are on the injury as his fingers brush ever so lightly over the bandage, and I don’t miss the way his brow furrows with worry. “Fuck, kid,” he says, and there’s pain in his voice. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I take an unsteady breath and give him my gamest grin. “What is it that they say? ‘Pain is weakness leaving the body’?”
Theo chuckles, that low rumbling sound in his chest that makes me go warm all over. “I missed you, kid.”
I duck my head. “I missed you, too.”
