AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Maybe she’ll fall in love with you—she has a big heart—but she won’t fall out of love with me.”
He leaned over me, took my hand, and pulled me to my feet.
When I was standing, I tried to let go of him, but he didn’t let go of me. Instead, he used his grip to pull me close. His mouth met mine. I tried to resist, but he caught the back of my hair in a cruel hand and kissed me more insistently until I gave in and let him.
His kiss was demanding, hard, like the rest of him, but it mellowed, becoming sensual. He slid his tongue into my mouth, and I sucked it, weirdly pleased when he grunted with surprised arousal. Never in my life had I even thought about kissing someone other than Tarryn, let alone another man, but living so far from Tarryn was lonely.
Would a straight man let another man kiss him like this?
Would a man who supposedly killed people kiss like this?
If he asked to come home with me, would I let him? It was hard to imagine sharing a bed with him, our legs tangled. Waking up and making breakfast together.
He pulled away and exhaled raggedly. “Good night, pretty. Don’t forget me while I’m away.”
He strode off into the woods, leaving me likely standing in a puddle of rapidly cooling cum.
I stood there, watching him until his shadow melded with the rest. When he was gone, I untucked my shirt, hoping to hide the back of my ruined pants. The several-mile walk of shame to my house was going to suck.
Chapter Sixteen: Valor
It was probably the most expensive bottle of whiskey I’d ever consumed, and I was already a quarter way through it.
When I’d arrived home, it was sitting on my kitchen table with a bouquet of flowers in a vase I didn’t own, and a small, wrapped package. Had he left this before or after we’d been together? As sore as I was, it had taken me almost two hours to walk home, so he would have had time to beat me here.
I’d have to leave for work early tomorrow—my car was still at work, as were my keys, wallet and cell phone. I couldn’t even call a cab because I had no phone and no way to pay for my ride.
I was still staring at the package, not sure if I dared to open it.
Was it the video recording of us at the hotel room he’d hinted at?
Anxiety churned my stomach, reminding me I hadn’t eaten.
What if he’d recorded more on his phone tonight? What if he made them public?
I gave my head a shake and downed another shot, shifting my sore ass on my hard kitchen chair.
What was I afraid of?
Other than Tarryn, I had no family to worry about. I was too busy for genuine friends. Maybe the guys I worked with might not feel as comfortable with me if they found out I’d slept with a man, but that was their problem.
Years ago, when Tarryn had told me she thought she might be pansexual, I’d been happy for her. Rejecting her fears about going to Hell had been tough, but she’d worked through it, and I was proud of her for being true to herself even when it felt scary.
He’d left me flowers. Not even something dark, dramatic, or manly. A bouquet of daisies that looked like he’d picked them himself. Such a weird man.
I touched one of the soft petals, remembering pulling them off when I was young and trying to find out if Tarryn loved me or not.
Sighing, I picked up the package and turned it over in my hand. It was maybe half the size of my cell phone, and now that I’d had the balls to pick it up, I could tell it wasn’t the right shape to be a flash drive. Relief made my shoulders relax, but I still wasn’t sure about this.
Carefully, I opened the neatly wrapped package, half expecting it to blow up in my face.
It was a small framed painting of Tarryn, done in painstaking detail. The unexpected sight of her, and so lovingly painted, made me smile wistfully. Fuck, I missed her.
Had Loïc painted this himself, or had he commissioned it? No, there at the bottom were his initials—a small, elegant LL.
Wow. Rich, attentive, and artistically gifted? Maybe I needed to be more creative with my romantic gestures if I wanted to keep my sentimental wife from riding off into the sunset with this guy.
I ran my thumb over the small wooden frame, loving it despite myself. It was going on my nightstand, beside the picture of us at prom.
