The entire time he’d been talking, relief had been my only emotion, but now that my brain was ticking along again, my stomach sank.
“No, but I’m sorry. I’m such a bad boyfriend. I should’ve been able to do this for you. I should’ve gone out there and taken care of him. This was my fault?—”
“How?” he snapped, fire burning in his eyes.
“I left you, and then I didn’t have the guts to do anything.”
This time Tyler hugged me. “You did what you could, and I never thought about how long you dealt with him. I did this for us. For me, because I deserved my own revenge. And for you, because you should’ve had someone taking care of you, and all you had was that fucking monster.”
I couldn’t talk. I poured all my gratitude into a harsh kiss to his lips. It was sloppy and frantic, but it showed him how much I adored him, far better than any clumsy words I could put together.
When I pulled back, there were more tears.
“Please stop, baby.” I kissed a wandering path over his salty face.
“But do you forgive me?” he asked.
I tugged him in and wrapped him up in my arms. “Nothing to forgive. Absolutely nothing.”
He held on tight, and we swayed together in the hall like we were in a high wind while our hearts synced up and he sniffled.
“We’re a good team. Thank you for killing him.”
He snorted out a watery laugh. “We’re so weird.”
“Yeah, but it’s a good weird because it’s us.”
He used the back of his hand to wipe at a few stray tears as he dragged me down for a kiss.
“We’re free,” I whispered between our lips. “Finally free.” And, for the first time, I could see a future for us. Not in some vague, hazy outline of things I hoped for, but in things I knew could definitely happen.
Tyler would go to school. He would manage a café for Red.
I would keep moving up the ladder at my company.
We would do all the normal couple stuff. I would propose someday, or he would, or hell, maybe both of us. We would get married. Get cute dogs. Go take silly pictures together with them.
We would live a beautiful life.
I couldn’t wait to get started.
He laughed, a bright, happy sound, and nodded.
“I was waiting for you,” I murmured, then attacked his throat with my lips, sucking and nibbling. “I wanted to surprise you, but you were taking so long.”
“Murder isn’t quick. Well, body disposal isn’t. I suppose murder itself might not take too long.” He chuckled and palmed my hard-on. My knees nearly buckled.
“Love that you’re not afraid to go after what you want.” I thrust into his palm.
“You taught me that. Bet you love that what I want right now is your dick.” He stuck his tongue out at me.
“Yep.”
He yelped and giggled as I hoisted him up, and we both moaned when he wrapped his legs around my waist. I thumped him lightly against the wall.
“Eddie,” he said, stripping off his coat and throwing it. “You’re going to kill us both. You’re not coordinated enough to fuck me against this wall.”
“Challenge accepted.”
