Page 34 of Secrets of the Brother
I almost moved back to New York with no money, foolishly believing I could make it on my own because of those clients.
Clients that didn’t exist. It was a lie. All a lie.
I tightened my arms around my middle as if by doing so I could somehow hold the pieces of my life together while everything seemed to be falling apart.
My lower lip trembled. “Why? Why would you do all that to me?”
His hands curled into fists at his sides as his brow lowered. “Dammit, becauseyou’re mine.”
I stared at him for several seconds, certain I hadn’t heard him correctly. I couldn’t possibly have heard him correctly because what he said would be the words of an absolute sociopath. “But I’mnotyours.”
He spoke through clenched teeth. “Don’t say that.”
I blinked. “Don’t say what? The truth?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I know it was wrong. I tried a thousand times to call off the surveillance. To sever the link to you. To let you just move on with your life.”
He stormed up to me, wrapping his hands around my jaw.
He looked down at me, desperation etched into the lines around his eyes. “But each time I saw one of your designs, it was like I was touching a small piece of you. My day didn’t start until I saw a photo of you and knew you were safe and protected.”
I wrapped my hands around his wrists, unwittingly being drawn into the green depths of his eyes as he gazed down at me.
I could physically feel his pain and longing. My soul cried out to him. The part of me that still deeply loved him sparked to life at his words.
He leaned in.
His mouth brushed mine.
My lips opened under the gentle caress.
I breathed his air.
Time stood still.
I knew he was waiting…
Waiting for me…
All I needed to do was rise up on my toes, just the barest of inches.
His thumbs rubbed circles on the edge of my jaw.
Just the slightest of touches.
The smallest brush of my mouth against his, and he would take over… claim, possess, dominate.
I would be tossed on the turbulent storm of his embrace.
Sucked under.
Drowned.
But it would be worth it.
I would be with him again. The man I loved. The man I longed for. The man I cried out for in the night. The man I ached for.
Who cared about the rest?
