I take a deep breath. It’s now or never. “Partly.”
Sloane glances down at her watch. “Well, you’d better get to the other part.”
I waste a few seconds looking her over. She’s wearing a black shirt with a deep V neck, a short, silver skirt and silver sandals. Her toenails are painted bright red, as are her fingernails, which I notice as she smoothes her skirt over her thighs nervously. I realize when I see her gesture that this is just as hard for her as it is for me, maybe more so. It’s time to go balls out.
I take a step toward her. I don’t know if she’ll welcome my closeness, but I’m not waiting around to find out. I’m jumping in. Head first.
“From the very first time I saw you, there was something in your eyes that I felt like I connected with. I chalked it up to all kinds of other things, like physical attraction, having been without companionship for a while, you name it. And then when I saw how innocent you were…even though you had this kick ass sex appeal…oh God! I didn’t know how the hell I’d ever be able to resist you. I knew I didn’t need a distraction like you, which is why I told you I wouldn’t teach you how to tattoo. But then I saw you with your brother. I knew that I’d probably never have another opportunity like that again—to be able to find out more about someone I considered a suspect. So I took it. I told myself that I would stay away from you in every way except to teach you. And in the meantime, I’d pick your brain about your family. And I got what I thought I wanted, what I thought I needed. As soon as I heard you confirm that your brother had a connection to Tumblin, I ran with it. I mean, all I’ve been able to think about for two years was finding my brother’s killer. But that was before I met you.
“Even when I believed I had found the right guy, I felt like shit for passing on that information. I knew it would hurt you, but I did it anyway. And every day that passed, I felt worse and worse about it. Hurting you wasn’t worth it. It didn’t bring my brother back. It just tore my heart out. And now I know why, I know why it hurt me so much to hurt you. Even then, I was already falling in love with you. I resisted you as long as I could, telling myself that it was just sexual and that once I had you, you’d be out of my system. But that was not the case. If anything, that just made it worse.”
Sloane hasn’t said a word, but at least she’s listening. And the more I talk about the way things were, about the way she makes me feel, the more drawn to her I feel. So I step even closer, close enough to touch her.
“It’s addictive, having something that no one else has touched. It made me want more. I didn’t just want to have you. I wanted to possess you. I wanted to make you mine, to mark you so deeply that you could never be anyone else’s. I want you, Sloane,” I confess, reaching out to stroke her satiny cheek with the back of my index finger. “I always have. But it’s not enough. It’s not enough just to have you once or twice, or for a little while. I want you to be mine. Forever. Because I love you even more than I want you. And I never want to let you go. Never.”
Looking into her eyes, I see the break. I see the moment she lets down her guard enough that I can see that she still feels something for me other than hate. “Please tell me you can forgive me, Sloane. Please. Tell me it’s not too late.” It’s when I see her lips part to release a shaky breath that I lose the tight grip I had on my control. “Ask me to kiss you, baby. Please. Please, God, ask me to kiss you. I need you, Sloane. I need to feel you.”
I’m crowding her. I know I am, but I can’t help it. I want to touch her, to kiss her, to take her in my arms so bad that I can almost taste it. Beyond the tequila, I can remember what she tastes like on the tip of my tongue. And beyond the tequila, I crave it. Like I’ve never craved anything else. Not even revenge. Or justice.
I raise my hands to cup her face, begging her, “Please, Sloane. Please.”
She searches my eyes for so long that I actually ache for her. In my chest, in my gut, in my groin. In my head. I want her with everything I am. And I want it all. All of her. Body, heart and soul.
And then she mutters the words that turn my world around. “Kiss me.”
So I do. I take her soft lips in a kiss that’s as sweet as the love I feel for her. I drag my tongue over the crease between them, drawing her bottom lip into my mouth and sucking gently on it. I feel her groan, her minty breath warm on my face.
When my tongue enters her mouth, hers is there, licking at mine, teasing me with the memory of her. I reach behind her, pressing my palm to her lower back and crushing her body against mine. I feel her fingers weave through my hair and hold on tight, driving me up to the next level of my repressed desire.
I hold fast to the reins of my passion. Now is not the time to lose it with her. She needs to feel what I’m trying to say to her, she needs to feel how much she means to me. She needs to know that it’s not all about sex; it’s all about love.
Sloane jerks back, startling me as she looks up into my face. There are tears in her eyes and a tremor in her voice.
“Make love to me, Hemi,” she demands quietly. “Make love to me and promise me that everything is going to be all right.”
“I thought you didn’t want promises.”
“I’ve never wanted to believe one more than I do right this minute. So tell me. Tell me all the pretty lies. Tell me everything will be okay.”
One tear spills from her lashes and I kiss it away with the feather light brush of my lips. “Everything will be okay, Sloane. I promise you. I promise you that I’ll do everything in my power to make it that way. I’ll do anything for you. Anything to make you happy. Just say you’ll stay. Say you’ll stay with me and I’ll never have to feel miserable without you again.”
More tears puddle in her eyes. “I’ll stay as long as life lets me.”
And that’s enough for me.
When she presses her lips to mine, I let go of all that I was holding onto. All the reservations, all the anger, all the fear, and I dive into Sloane.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE - Sloane
My hands on Hemi are urgent. Touching. My lips on Hemi’s are desperate. Tasting. My heart on Hemi is certain. Exploding. I love him. And he loves me. There is no more perfect day than today. After all the pain, there is joy. Joy unspeakable. And I have no regret. It was worth it. Worth it all to hear him say he loves me.
Hemi’s skin has never felt smoother under my palms. His mouth has never tasted so sweet. It’s like rediscovering him, like falling for him all over again. Only this time, there’s a net to catch me. He’s my net because he loves me, too. And that makes him worth the risk. Worth anything.