“Why didn’t you call me?” he grits out.
“I panicked. I didn’t want to believe it was anything more than young kids messing around, but last night…”
“Last night what?”
“Well, it happened again. This time while Ava was awake. I slept with her in her room, too afraid to leave her side. Whoever it is isn’t doing anything harmful. They’re just there. He doesn’t ring it again, but look here. He just stands there, staring at the house.”
“Whoever it is, they obviously want to scare you.”
“Well, it’s working.”
His brows are still drawn in, as he stares at the screen, the cogs in his brain churning. “I’m staying here tonight.”
I swallow thickly, worried that maybe I’m not too far off for feeling the way I do. If this wasn’t a big deal, I have no doubt that Baz would brush it off, but he’s obviously not doing that.
Baz helps me while I get him settled on the couch. Even though we have a perfectly good guest room he can use, he suggested the couch, so he could be in the center in case anything were to happen.
I hover at the threshold of the living room, not wanting to leave. I’m sure he wants his space, but I can’t seem to get my feet to move in the direction I need them to.
“You have nothing to worry about. I’m not going to let anything happen to either of you.”
“I know. I’ve just been thinking. You don’t think it’s…” I trail off, not even wanting to finish that sentence.
Baz heaves a deep sigh, then settles back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. “I don’t know. I’m not ruling anyone out at this point. We’ll see what happens tonight, then go from there.”
I stand there fidgeting, my mind whirring with scary possibilities. Baz must realize how much this is weighing on me because he pats the spot on the couch next to him.
“Sit down.” His tone brooks no room for discussion. Heaving a deep sigh, I take a seat on the couch, putting a healthy amount of space between us. I’ve sat on this couch countless times with Ava, but sitting here with Baz feels different. The air feels thick, hard to breathe through, and even though this is my space, my domain, I suddenly feel like an imposter in my own home. That is just the effect Baz has. His dominating presence takes over a room.
“Thank you again for staying.” It’s a futile attempt to keep the peace, to try to make the rest of this night with just the two of us less awkward.
Baz rakes a hand through those unruly dark strands, and I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen him dressed this casually. After our swim and dinner, he threw on a black T-shirt and a pair of sweats that somehow still look amazing on him. He looks like he’s on his way out for a run, and it’s a stark change from the suits and normal work attire I always see him in.
Irritation flits across his face. “Stop thanking me, Mackenzie.”
I shake my head, a sad smile twisting my lips. “I can’t. I have all of this”—I gesture around the room— “because of you. If tonight were a regular night, I’d be up in that bed with Ava, holding her tight. And you’re the reason that’s possible.”
His entire being softens. The irritation that was just on his face softens. I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen him look so at ease and gentle.
“You deserve to be happy.”
“So do you,” I counter.
“Seeing you happy makes me happy.”
We sit there quietly just staring at one another, taking our time, as we get our fill. It’s been far too long since I’ve been able to just sit here and admire him. Even when I was pretending to hate him, I stole moments when he didn’t think I was looking, and I’d ogle him, committing him to memory.
After the silence ticks on, he asks, “How is it, being a mom? Changing someone’s life?”
My smile takes over my face as I think about Ava. I talk about her for the next fifteen minutes, and surprisingly, Baz sits and listens with a small grin on his face. His eyes rake across my face, settling on my lips as I talk.
Heat rises to my cheeks at the intensity of his stare, so I cough, trying to change the subject. “What about you? How was Bali?”
He smirks, clearly knowing the only way I’d know that he was in Bali is if I was looking him up. And that’s precisely what I’ve been doing.
“It was good,” he replies vaguely, irking me to no end. I shift on the cushion, trying to pry more of an answer out of him.
“Did you…?” I trial off, trying to find a better, less conspicuous way of asking.
He rolls his eyes at my weak attempt. “Just ask whatever it is that’s on your mind.”
I wring my hands together nervously, hating that he can see right through me. Squaring my shoulders, I look him in the eye and spit out the question I’m dying to know. “Fine, what did you go to Bali for and…did you meet anyone there?”
It’s silent.
Dead silent.
A gasp slips past my lips when Baz reaches out, cupping my face in his hand. Warmth builds at the base of my spine, and those pesky butterflies roar to life in my stomach, their wings fluttering wildly, taking my breath away. His thumb glides along the skin of my cheek in tantalizing motions.
“I keep telling you, there is no one else, just you. There has never been anyone but you, Dirty Girl.”
My heart splinters, confusion flitting over my features. “But you said…you said you were with Mia, and those girls in your bed… I don’t understand.”
“It was a lie. To keep you at arm’s length.”
“Why push me away?”
He shrugs, seeming deep in thought. “Seemed like a good idea at the time. Giving you a chance to find yourself on your own.”
I work a swallow, oddly endeared that he’d go through all the lengths he did just to let me go, even when he didn’t want to. “And what about now?”
His gaze slams into me, taking my breath away, kickstarting the tempo of my heart. Baz’s thumb gently swipes across my lower lip, sending tingles through my body.
“I don’t want to do that anymore. I just want you. Broken or not.”
My heart does something strange at that moment. It feels like it’s bursting at the seams and on the verge of ripping out of my chest cavity. That’s how recklessly it’s beating. Gripping his arm, I lean into his body, inhaling the dark scent that is him, and I kiss him. Our lips press together softly, a torturous meeting of souls, before it becomes rough. Hot and heavy.
His hand slides into my hair, tugging on the strands, as he works my mouth with the finesse of a man who knows how to bring a woman to her knees. My hands slide around his shoulders, and I dig the pads of my fingers into him, trying to fuse my body with his. With a growl that I feel rumble in his chest, he lifts me into his arms as he rises from the couch. My legs wrap around his center, and my arms circle his neck for support.
We stumble into my bedroom, trying to stay quiet, so we don’t wake Ava. Like two magnets snapping together, our mouths fuse, our tongues tangle, all while we try to strip out of our remaining clothes. When Baz tosses me onto the bed, his large body hovering over mine, all the worries and all the pain slowly ebb away, leaving just the two of us. And when he slides into me for the first time in months, I feel his soul entwine with mine. I feel his heart rip mine from my chest and claim it as his forever.