“You shut me out,” she said softly. “More than once. And then you moved on.”
“I never did. I couldn’t.”
If only that were true. “I saw you with another submissive, Rhys.”
His brow furrowed. “That’s not possible, Gaby.”
“It was at the club.”
“In a scene?”
“You want the details?”
“Yes, because it couldn’t have been me.”
“It was in the lounge. Not a scene per se, but aftercare.” Her voice shook with emotion as she revealed, “I saw tenderness I thought was meant for me offered to someone else.”
He stared at her for a single heartbeat, incredulous. “You mean Cissy? Jordan’s wife?” he added pointedly.
“Wife?” Gaby echoed.
“She wasn’t then. I was monitoring. A scene went wrong. I stepped in and provided aftercare until the dom could take over. That’s my responsibility.”
He didn’t tell her everything, but as far as she knew, he hadn’t outright lied to her. Her stomach twisted, and her gaze dropped to her hands. “I guess I should have asked you about it.”
“Probably. Because I was never with anyone else once I met you.”
He wasn’t helping here. “I feel stupid.”
“Not nearly as stupid as I do.”
Her chin came up. “What?”
“I didn’t see you for who you are,” Rhys said. “I was still too entrenched in old wounds and, I’ll admit, bitterness. But you’re everything she wasn’t. Kind. Determined. Looking outward rather than in. You’ve proved it over and over.”
“You hurt me,” Gaby admitted, her voice small.
“Yes.”
“The silence. The distance. The way you locked me out more than once.”
“I know.” He stepped closer, voice low and rough. “I thought I was protecting myself. But all I did was punish you for a wound you never gave me.”
“I need you to see me, not her.”
“I do.” His answer came without hesitation. “Clearly. Completely. Finally. I love you, Gaby. And I’m not backing away from that—or you—again.”
His words didn’t just land. They took root. A choice awaited them, one that could change everything.
“Where do we go from here?” she whispered.
“Forward,” he said. “If you’re willing.”
She searched his eyes, finding desire, hope—and beneath it, something hard-won—trust. “I am,” she breathed. “Because I love you too. I wouldn’t still be standing here if I didn’t.”
The barrier keeping them apart shattered. He laughed, a short, sudden burst of joy, and swept her off her feet, spinning her in one effortless motion. When he stopped, holding her at eye level, they were both breathless and grinning like fools.
“Any questions before I take you to bed?”
