Page 65 of The Ruin
“Who’s my good boy, huh? Oh, I missed you. Yes, I did.” He jumps up to turn in a circle and lick my face, then sits back down for another ear scratch. “What a good boy he is.”
“Did you miss me, too?”
Shivers race over my skin at the smooth, sexy voice I’ve been dreaming about for days. I don’t look up, worried I might start crying the moment I see him. The subtle scent of Luka’s cologne washes over me, reminding me of hot, sexy nights, and riding to dinner in the car with his hand sliding up my thigh. Talking over a beer while we watch TV. Standing close during his father’s trial.
We’ve been through so much. We’vegrownso much. As individuals and as a couple. Now that I’m here, I can’t believe I stayed away. A sob wells in my chest, so I focus on scratching the dog to keep the tears at bay.
“Yes, I did,” I say, my voice wobbling a little.
Suddenly, Luka’s crouched in front of me, his hands coming up to gently cup my face. Mr. Kibbles wiggles between us, so happy to have us both at his level. I can’t not look at my husband now, and the shock of seeing him so close makes my heart jump.
“I missed you more.” His low, rich voice is the most perfect sound I’ve ever heard.
His gaze is soft, with hope twinkling in his eyes—and no sign of the anger I worried would be there. The dam inside me starts to crack.
“Why did you do it, Luka? I took the fall for you, got you completely off the hook. You could have just walked away and saved face.”
“That’s not who we are,” he says simply. “We’re a team, and that means we work through things together.”
“But people think I’m—”
He pulls me to my feet. “I don’t care how anyone sees you but me. And I know what kind of person you are. I know why you took the blame, and I don’t want you sacrificing yourself for me like that ever again.”
My eyes start to blur. “But I heard you on the phone. You told Guy that—”
“I know,” he interrupts. “I said those things to save the company, and maybe it was the best thing for DRM at the time, but I shouldn’t have done or said anything without talking to you first. We should have figured it out together, and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
I fall into his arms, blinking back tears.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come home. After the Monica story hit, I went to your office right away but you were talking to Guy and after I heard what you said, I just…ran. Spilling the story to TMZ seemed like the only way out for me. I thought we’d both be better off if I just…I don’t know, removed myself from the equation. So you all could move on from the scandal as a family. I’m sorry I couldn’t face you.”
Luka squeezes me. “You are my family, Brooklyn. And look, I know I haven’t made you enough of a priority. But the truth is, you’ve been the most important thing in my life for a long time now, and I’ve done a terrible job at showing you that. It’ll never happen again. And I’ll prove it, if you’ll just give me another chance.”
My lower lips quivers at the sincerity in his voice. “Of course I will.”
He pulls back to look me in the eye again. “I love you, Brooklyn. My family loves you. We’re all behind you, no matter what. We’ve got each other and that’s what matters.”
“I love you, too,” I say.
Luka leans down to kiss me. Then he scoops me up in his arms and carries me to the bedroom, setting me gently on top of his bed. Our bed.
“I want to be with you. Always,” he says, dropping kisses down my neck. “I want to build a life with you, and Mr. Kibbles, and I want us to be happy together.”
I run my fingers through his hair. “I want to be with you, too. I couldn’t stand being away all this time. I’m sorry for making you leave all those voicemails.”
“So many,” he murmurs in between kisses. “I made myself hoarse. But I meant them, every single one.”
I wince a little. “I…actually, I couldn’t bring myself to listen to them.”
He draws back in mock horror. “None of them? I poured my heart and soul out to you!”
I kiss him, slow and soft, and then I kiss him again harder. “I’ll make it up to you. Promise.”
Luka settles himself between my legs and tugs my shirt up, cruising his lips along my ribcage and making me laugh. “Hell yes, you will.”
I pull his face back up to mine and catch his eyes. “I promise not to hide from you ever again.”
“Unless we’re playing a sexy game of hide-and-seek, you mean.”
