“I think you do.”
Oh God, he grinds against me, hitting my special spot. “I do—I mean, I don’t! Wait, stop.” I remove my hands from his hair and push on his chest. “Trevor, stop.”
His hesitation is clear. He growls and lets me go, my feet falling to the ground. His eyes are dark. “Why’d you leave?”
“I wasn’t going to let you use me so you could get what you want.” He pulls away, giving me his back. He’s distraught. I hear the numbers. “Trevor.” I reach for him, but he shoves my hand off. He stops at the conference table, gripping the edge and bowing his head. “Don’t turn your back on—”
“Tell me what Eric said to you.”
“I already told you.”
“TELL ME AGAIN,” he roars, shaking the entire table.
I take a step back. “He came over when you were in the shower. He walked in and I didn’t even know who he was. He said he knew who I was and went off about how you had a plan for me and to make it easier for everyone, I should sign the contract so you can stop wasting your time with me. You needed to focus on work.”
There’s silence in the room. Until there’s not. With the strength of a bull, he takes the table and flips it. I jump back, alarmed at his aggressive behavior. “Trevor, what are you—”
“Eric wouldn’t do that to me.”
“Oh, so we’re back to me lying? Fine, you know what—”
He turns, his eyes ablaze, his breathing heavy. His lips are moving a mile a minute, but nothing is coming out. He’s counting. Bad. It kills me to see him this way. Such a strong man looking so broken.
I step up to him, chancing that he may throw me, and with both hands, I cup his face. He’s so lost in his thoughts, he doesn’t register me at first. I caress his cheek, and he brings his eyes to mine. “Hey, come back to me.” I wait for his eyes to dilate. His lips slowly stop.
“He wouldn’t hurt me like that.”
I don’t know how to respond to that. Because, apparently, he would. But Eric is all he’s had for so long. “I know.” I pull his head down so I can reach his lips. I press mine to his and keep them there until I feel his subtle surrender. I decide to change tactics. “I left because I didn’t think you wanted me.” A single tear runs down my cheek. “I wanted so much more, and to think you didn’t…hurt.”
Snapping out of his daze, he thrusts my hands away from his face and scoops me into his arms. “I thought you were playing me.” He coddles me. “You were my solace. My quiet.” He takes a seat in a chair, and I snuggle into the comfort of his large frame, but I can’t dismiss the feel of his heart beating hard against mine. He’s mumbling quietly and fast.
I can’t believe someone he cares for so much would do something so hateful to him. I feel just as angry as he does for what he caused. The past few weeks have been torture. To find out it was all lies…
“I’m going to kill him,” he mumbles.
“Me too. I’ll help bury the body,” I say, holding myself to him.
“I’m serious.” He pulls me off him and stands.
Oh shit. I wasn’t. “I was just kidding. I’m probably not even fit enough to dig a hole that deep.”
He bypasses my humor and picks up the phone on the floor and punches in a few numbers. “Is Eric in yet?” Getting his answer, he hangs up and turns back to me. “Go back to my place and wait there for me.”
“Yeah…that doesn’t sound like a good idea. Maybe I should just stay with you.”
He brings his hands around my shoulders. “I need you not to be here right now. I have so much more shit to say to you, but right now, I need you to leave and wait for me at my house.”
“Trev—”
“And don’t fucking leave this time.” He leans down, placing his lips to mine. I’m not feeling very good about this, but I do as I’m told.
I walk out of Four Fathers with a few thoughts in mind. He wasn’t using me. Life may be good again. And I also may be visiting him in jail soon.
I’ve been at Trevor’s for almost two hours. I’ve paced the entire downstairs a thousand times. Stretched just in case I do need to do some digging. Thought about all the things I was going to say to him before they carted him off in handcuffs. Debated on whether I could live the rest of my life in a foreign country where the law wouldn’t find us.
When I finally hear the door open, I gun it from the back deck to see Trevor walking in and slide to a complete stop in front of him.
“Geeeez. I’d hate to see the other guy,” I say, looking at his bruised and bloodied face. He walks up to me, pulling me into his arms. “Do we need to run?” I feel him shake his head. “Bury anyone?” A small chuckle followed by another headshake. “Will I be having to dig any holes? I’ve been stretching and feel a bit more confident on how much I can dig.”
He pulls me away. “No. Eric is very much alive. Barely breathing, but alive.”
God, that sounds good, but not so good at the same time. “What happened?”
“I made sure he knows never to meddle in my life again.” He bends down to kiss me, but groans when his cut lip brushes against mine.
“I’m sorry. I know he’s your partner and best friend—”
“Stop. Eric’s had that coming for years. It was something that would’ve happened sooner or later. We hashed it out. It’s done. Let’s just say he’s sorry.” He kisses me again. When he pulls away, I get a good look at him. Once I get past the cut lip, blood around his nose, and bruise possibly forming on his cheek, I capture his eyes.
“Are you okay, though?” I ask. “Like really okay?”
He leans in, kissing me. “No.”
His answer kills me.
I start to cry.
I feel such regret for jumping the gun. If I hadn’t been such a brat and left without confronting him, things would have been so different. Sudden remorse fills me. “The contract. I saw it in your coat pocket all ready to be signed,” I weep, wrapping my arms around him. “Oh, Trevor, that’s why I believed—”
He picks me up and carries me over to the gigantic leather couch. He sits, holding me tightly in his lap. “I had it, but the night I took you to dinner, I knew I wasn’t going to make you give up your Gran’s house. I knew I had other plans for you.”
I smile against his shoulder. “Oh yeah? And what were those?”
“Aside from fucking you senseless? Figuring out how to get you to stay.” He pulls away, cupping my cheeks. “I was going to ask you to stay that day. A friend of mine has an opening in the music department at the local school. I was going to coerce you into staying. You’ve been the best thing that’s come into my life. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt free. And I just can’t let that go. So, whatever it took. I was willing to play dirty to make that happen.”
“Well shit,” I say, the tears falling freely down my face. I bring my lips to his, kissing him with all my might. I don’t let him go until I’m fresh out of air and my lips become numb. Also, because I’m pretty sure I made his lip worse. When our eyes are on one another, I smile. “Well, why don’t you show me just how you were going to get me to stay, so I can tell you I would love to.”