He moves the ball of his hand back to his temple, propping himself up.
‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Anything,’ he says.
‘The night I came home and you were on the phone to Lara. The night she’d been questioned by the police. You were talking about a woman, someone the police had brought up and questioned your mother about. It was Elsa, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes.’ Another gulp of Pinot Noir. ‘The night Elsa killed herself, everything came out. It was as if my mother finally opened her eyes. I don’t know everything. I was ten but I still had to give a statement. It’s the only time I’ve talked about what I saw before tonight.’
‘What happened to your father?’
‘He was convicted of sexual assault. He was sentenced. Then Lawrence was on the scene.’
I raise my eyebrows.
He shrugs. ‘I’ve never asked. It doesn’t matter any more and I’ll always be grateful to him.’
‘That’s when he brought you to England?’
‘Ja. He’s a good man. He loves my mother. Those are the only things I care about now.’
I slowly draw a deep breath.
‘Heard enough?’ he asks with a short, troubled laugh.
‘I think maybe for one night.’
He takes my wine glass from me. ‘You’ve got work tomorrow. I’d still like you to stay… in your own room… if you want. I’d like to wake up in the same place as you.’
I nod, biting my lip nervously, unsure whether I should stay but not wanting to leave.
He lifts his fingertips to my temple and I close my eyes under his gentle touch. ‘Until tomorrow then.’ He bends and I gasp as his soft lips press against my cheek.
‘Tomorrow,’ I manage.
6
So many things make sense now that didn’t before. His violent overprotectiveness with me and with Williams’s sister. His explosive reaction to my old boss, Jack, who cornered me but never outright touched me. Gregory went out of his way to dig into Jack’s past and make sure he was put behind bars, where he couldn’t hurt women any more. How he nearly lost his mind when I fell asleep in my office and didn’t call. That he was genuinely afraid I would have harmed myself. It seemed ridiculous then but not any more. His fear of being loved and beinginlove. All he knew was that people he loved, people who loved him back, got hurt. And he blamed himself.
There isn’t a clock in my room but I’ve been lying under the gold satin sheets for what feels like forever, a thousand thoughts spinning through my mind. Images of him as a boy. Wishing his own father would kill him and put an end to it all. Tears. Blood.
If I’d seen those things, if I’d felt the way he must have, I’d wait for the first opportunity I had and I’d kill the bastard who dared to lay a finger on me and the people I love. As I lie here, I’m glad I killed Kevin Pearson.
Finally, Gregory can be free and truly free. He told me. He let me in. He’s been terrified of letting someone get close to him for twenty years and now…
I slip out of the covers, pull my hair across one shoulder and go where I should have been for the last hour.
I bend the handle and slowly push open the door to his dark bedroom. The dim light of the moon and the twinkle of Dubai’s lights cast a gentle hue across the space. The satin sheets of his king bed are pushed onto one side, the bed empty, and Gregory stands in silhouette before the wall of windows. His arms folded across his naked chest, dark loungewear hanging low on his hips.
My heart races as I move towards his back. He flinches when I slide my hands down his toned biceps as if he hasn’t heard me come in, then he sighs and unfolds his arms to his sides as my lips brush his shoulders, one then the other.
God, I’ve missed the feel of his skin on mine.
I press my chest against his back, my pelvis to his firm arse. With a sharp inhale, he turns, pulling me into him. Even in the darkness, I feel his mesmerising stare, connecting with every nerve in my body. His fingertips stroke my temple, down my cheek, then slide to the back of my neck.
His breath teases my lips. ‘Aurora.’ That one word makes my stomach flip.
He presses his mouth to mine and my body melts into his kiss. Greedily taking his lip between my teeth, I groan under the touch I’ve missed so much. His tongue matches the swirling desperation of my own.
