Chapter 29
Leeva
Ariotoftumultuousthoughts and emotions hit me at once.
Hayes’ dark words.
I just slept with my best friend.
He’s the masked wolf man from Hedon.
I just knelt before him and let him come all over me, and then together, we rubbed it in like it was some top-end designer moisturizer.
A panicked laugh rips from me as tears fill my eyes.
Confusion. Shame. Hurt. Love. Need.
A thousand questions burn in my throat, but I can’t get any of them out as the pain from the past threatens to choke me.
I burst into tears, the sound of my sobs filling the kitchen.
My mind is in a chaotic war with itself. Attacks come from multiple angles, and I don’t know which one to try to combat first.
Strong arms wrap around me, and I cling to the man who lifts me off the floor and cradles me tight to his chest, holding me like I’m some precious treasure.
But I’m not.
You’re a wanton whore.
The part of me that still resists my non-vanilla desires and urges rears its ugly head.
“I’m not a wanton whore,” I claim through my stuttering sobs.
He grips my face tightly. “Open your eyes, Leeva.” His voice is harsh and commanding.
I’m not sure whether it’s my emotional state or because my body, mind, soul, and heart want to obey him, but I open my eyes.
He kneels before me as I sit on the sofa that faces the back of the house and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Fury darkens his face. He’s beautiful, like a vengeful angel descended from heaven to deliver judgment and retribution to sinners on earth.
“You are not a whore.” His blue eyes are pure fire. “What you desire and want is not wrong. And what we did is not wrong.”
“You’re my best friend.” My vision blurs as a wave of fresh tears assaults me. “You never wanted me that way. But now that you slept with me at Hedon without knowing it was me…now you think you want me.”
He thumbs away my tears. “I’ve always wanted you, Leeva Catherine Malone.” The way he says my full name clenches my heart as much as his words. “I had just convinced myself the moment I met you that I and everyone else were unworthy of you.”
“Little dove,” I whisper his nickname for me.
“So pure and innocent.”
Love is etched on his face. I knew he loved me, but he only allowed me to see the love of a friend, and this love is different. All-consuming and…deep.
“You still are my little dove, but now you’re also my siren. And I’m the only one blessed to experience and see that side of you.”
Emotions overwhelm me again, and I shake my head. “I didn’t come back for this.”
“Why did you come back?” I see that question and many others in his eyes.
