“Maybe, but considering everything, I can’t hold that against you.”
“Maybe you should anyway.I chose to be with you, Vale.I knew who you were and what you did, and I still chose you.That means I should trust you.I should be able to ignore my dislike for the kind of work you do and focus on you.”
Maybe Cyril was right, but that wasn’t how Vale saw things.“Look, I’m not going to deny it hurts that you didn’t believe me right away, especially when Russell and Rachel did, but it doesn’t matter.What does matter is that you’re talking to me again.I don’t want us to keep this kind of thing to ourselves.If you have doubts about anything, I want you to come and talk to me.”
Cyril snorted.“You better believe I’ll do that after what happened this time around.I feel like an idiot.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself.This is the first experience we’ve both had with a real relationship.We’re going to stumble and make mistakes.We shouldn’t hold that against each other.”
“You won’t hold it against me?”
“How can I?I’m hurt, but I can be logical.I understand what happened, and I don’t blame you.We’ve already been dealing with enough without the Organization getting involved.You keep dreaming of people’s last moments.Anyone would be freaked out in your place.”
“But I should’ve talked to you.”
“You should have,” Vale agreed.“I would’ve told you about Melissa.I would’ve told you that I was initially supposed to take that job, but I was delayed on another one, and I was too late to save her.I tried, but she was already gone.”And Vale had always felt guilty for that.He should have been the one there.She wouldn’t have died if he had been.
“You did what you could to help her.”
“I did.Please, next time, just ask.We can talk about these things as many times as you need us to.”
Cyril arched a brow.“Can we?Because you didn’t tell me about the Organization until you were forced to.”
“You’re right, and it’s my fault.I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to look at me differently.Like I said, I did what I could to keep people safe and help them escape from the Organization and whoever wanted them dead, but it wasn’t always possible.”
“I promise I’ll talk to you next time.You’re right.We need to talk about these things before they become a problem.”
Vale hoped he wasn’t pushing his luck, but since they were talking already, he decided to ask.“Can we talk about your ability changing, too?”
Cyril groaned.“Do we really have to?”
“I think it’s becoming stronger, Cyril.”
“I don’t think that’s possible.”
“I don’t think there’s another explanation.You’re having dreams about people dying.Oscar has become stronger, and we know how strongly he’s linked to you.I don’t believe those two things are a coincidence.I think they’re happening now because you’re getting stronger.”
“I wish I had someone to talk to about these things,” Cyril said with a groan.
Vale hoped he wasn’t about to get rejected when he opened his arms, but he wouldn’t blame Cyril if he decided he needed space or more time.Being in love with a professional assassin couldn’t be easy for someone not in the business, and that was without adding the mess of the Organization and Cyril’s dreams to the equation.It was a miracle that Cyril wasn’t hiding under the blankets on their bed.
But Cyril didn’t hesitate.He stepped closer and dropped into Vale’s lap, wrapping his arms around Vale’s neck and snuggling close.He relaxed, and Vale held him, feeling content.Their problems were far from being over, but the two of them were good again, and right now, that was all Vale cared about.
They had plenty of problems to focus on, but they could take ten minutes to be together.Vale had believed that Cyril would break up with him once he found out about the Organization, but he was still here, and after the conversation, Vale was sure that Cyril was here to stay.
It would take work, but that was okay.Cyril deserved for Vale to put work into their relationship.They both did.
Chapter Eight
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CYRIL AND VALE WEREout on a date, and Cyril couldn’t stop glancing at his boyfriend.The warm glow of the restaurant’s lighting caught the angles of Vale’s face, highlighting the line of his jaw and the freckle just above his upper lip that Cyril loved so much.He’d gone all out tonight, trading his usual casual clothing for perfectly fitted dark jeans and a nice button-down shirt.The jacket he wore over it fit him like a glove.
He looked good enough to eat, and it had been incredibly tempting to stay home and do just that—to pull him back into their bedroom and show him how gorgeous he looked.But Vale had insisted on taking Cyril out, and Cyril could rarely say no to his man.
Vale had said he wanted to spoil Cyril, and apparently, he’d meant it.They were seated at the best table in one of the city’s most exclusive French restaurants, a place that Cyril could only have dreamed of visiting before.They’d been led to a corner booth with soft leather seats that looked more expensive than every piece of furniture in their apartment put together, which made Cyril nervous.
But this had to be the most perfect date of Cyril’s life—not that he’d had many.The meal had been delicious and like nothing Cyril had ever experienced—the food had arrived displayed on plates that made it look like small works of art that were almost too beautiful to eat.Vale had ordered wine that probably cost more than Cyril’s rent.He was making Cyril feel cherished, which he hadn’t realized he needed after everything that had happened between them.
