Warmth seeps into me. They let me take the lead. Let me choose. They trusted me to handle it.
Ashlyn moves between us, her hands on her hips. “Go. You aren’t welcome in my home.”
Tabby gives me one last pleading look that looks a lot like regret for her choices. While Jared shrugs and turns to go as if it doesn’t matter one way or another.
As soon as the door closes between us, I exhale the remaining bitterness I’ve carried. It’s closure I didn’t know I needed. Nothing will change the past, but looking at it without the sugarcoated vision gives a new perspective.
Elliott threads his fingers with mine behind Rafe’s back. And I lean up to press a kiss to Rafe’s cheek before turning in his arms and reaching for Miles' hand to pull him closer.
Ashlynn hugs herself as she watches us. “If they told me that was going to happen…it never would have happened.”
I meet her steady stare and nod. I know that she would have done everything in the world to protect me from something she thought would hurt me. Turning my attention back to the guys, I say, “Thank you.”
“For what?” Rafe asks.
A small smile pulls at my lips. “For letting me face my past.”
The whole nighthas been everything I could ever want. From the visit with my sister to the magical ride over the city in a helicopter and the rooftop five star meal, all the way down to the limo ride to the hotel.
It allowed me to pretend for a minute that all three of them want me as part of their pack. But as the doors open in the penthouse and we leave the camera crew behind, I know it’s time for the hard conversation. Time to remove those rose-colored glasses and be honest with them and myself.
Crossing to the floor-to-ceiling windows, I suck in a breath. Steadying myself, I turn to face them. Miles has sunk into an armchair, his crutches propped next to him. While Elliott’s perched on the arm of the sofa watching me. Rafe has shrugged out of his suit jacket and pauses untying his tie when our eyes meet.
They go still like the predators they are. Sensing the change in my perfume or the tension building in the room as it comes off of me in waves.
It also probably has to do with me locking down that bond between Miles and Elliott. The silence it creates in my head is almost too much. I enjoy feeling the buzz of them so close that now that I’ve blocked it, I feel the loss. How did I go my whole life without it? Will I ever forget that feeling?
“Are you okay?” Elliott stands straight, his brows dipping low.
Miles leans forward, his elbows on his knees as he watches me silently.
But it’s Rafe that has a knowing look in his eyes. He crosses the space, his tie hanging loose on his neck. “I love you. Lilah, I love you. Okay? Don’t do this. You don’t need to do this.”
I shake my head, an automatic denial of his words. I’ve convinced myself that I’m saving him from a future he doesn’t want. That’s how I’m even able to do this. Tears flood my eyes unbidden. My heart wants to soak up his words and hold them close, but I can’t.
“Rafe, there are no cameras here. You don’t have to say that to me.”
He cups my face, dipping his face to mine and capturing my eyes with his golden-flecked irises. “I know.” He brushes my tears away with the pad of his thumb. “Don’t cry, sweetheart.”
Still, I can’t shake the need to deny the words he’s saying. “You want me. That’s all.”
He smiles. “That’s all?” He releases a dry chuckle that sends a shiver down my spine. “That’s true, I’ve wanted you since I saw you in that club. You watched me with an innocence I hadn’t seen in years. I forgot it existed. But now…it’s so much more than lust. It has been for a while. I love your smile, your laugh, the way your eyes crinkle at the sides when you’re happy. Even the way you snort when you don’t agree with what I say. Everything, Lilah. I love all of you like I’ve never loved anyone else before. And it scared the shit out of me. But I won’t lose you because I’m afraid of being hurt. I can’t because losing you will destroy me.”
The breath catches in my lungs as my heart lodges itself in my throat. I feel lightheaded. His thumb brushes over my cheekbone. As I look into his eyes, I feel a magnetic pull, as if his gaze is reaching into my very soul. His stare’s unwavering, intense, and filled with a depth that makes my heart race. I can see tiny flecks of color I hadn’t noticed before, and it feels like time slows down.
“Rafe—” My gaze darts from one of his eyes to the other, unable to settle in one place. The intensity of his stare makes me feel exposed, and I can't help but shift my focus, trying to grasp the full scope of what he just said. “You don’t have to say things like that.”
His face transforms, pain ghosting over it, then he’s dropping to his knees in front of me. The palms of his hands mold to my sides as he stares up at me. “What will make you believe me?” his voice breaks with the question.
I brush a curl away from his forehead, and he leansforward into my touch, resting against my stomach. His fingers tighten against my skin, and his breath’s ragged with emotion.
“Lilah, we can’t lose you. I need you. My pack needs you. Please—” he begs.
“I believe you?—”
“It’s more than that, you are—” his words cut off, and he lifts his head to look up at me. “What did you just say?”
“I believe you,” I repeat.
