I don’t know why, but her words make complete sense. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Once you’re done fucking and making up, call me, and we can make plans. Also, I’m going to need to give you some kind of piercing to cement our new bestieship, so ask your man if he’d rather you have your clit or your nipples pierced.”
“What?” I squeak.
“I have both. I recommend you get your clitoral hood; you’ll have to be careful with it for a while, but it’s a game changer.” She winks, then nods in the direction of his house. “Go get him. I’ll be here if it all goes to shit.”
“Thank you, Leo,” I say, leaning across the car to give her a one-armed hug before I climb out on shaky legs and make my way toward the front door.
The key he gave me is in my purse, but it feels wrong to let myself in when he basically kicked me out. Lifting my fist, I knock on the door, then take a step back and wait.
TWENTY-ONE
WARRICK
The sound of someone knocking on my front door shatters the ugly silence that’s enshrouded me since I got home after dropping Verity’s things off to Henry. I’ve been alone for fucking decades, and it’s never once bothered me, but the two hours since I packed up her belongings and removed all traces of her from my home have been the loneliest of my life.
I didn’t realize it was possible to miss someone so much, so quickly, but I feel hollow without her.
She accused me of trying to buy her. The woman I love with all my heart. The woman that I want to marry, that I want to have a family with and spend the rest of my life with, thinks I gave her a place to stay and food to eat in exchange for sex. She thinks I only brought her here so that I could fuck her.
I thought she understood how I feel about her, but not only have I clearly not shown her how important she is to me, I’ve actually made her feel like a prostitute. Only instead of money, I’ve traded sexual favors for safety and a fucking bed.
Fresh nausea rushes up the back of my throat, but I swallow the acid down, breathing through my nose as self-hatred tries to consume me. The moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she wasmine. I knew she was it for me, and I thought she understood that too.
But maybe she didn’t. Maybe I wasn’t clear enough when I told her I loved her. Maybe she misconstrued me asking her to marry me. Maybe I’m just a creepy fucking thirty-eight-year-old man who stupidly thought a beautiful twenty-year-old would want me.
Another knock drags me from my self-recriminations, and I push to my feet and make my way to the door. Closing my eyes, I wish whoever is outside away. I don’t want to see any of my brothers right now. I don’t want to have to explain that the woman I love thinks I’m the type of man who’d be willing to blackmail her in exchange for sex.
Unlocking the door, I pull it open an inch, my hand falling to my side when I see Verity standing on my doorstep.
“I didn’t mean it, I’m so sorry,” she wails, then throws herself into my arms, wrapping her tiny shaking body around mine so quickly that I stumble back a step.
It takes me a moment to process what’s happening before I slowly curl my arm around her, guiding us both into the house far enough that I can close the door.
“Verity,” I call her name.
“I’m sorry,” she says again, pulling away only far enough to look up at me, her face wet with tears that continue to fall from her hollow eyes.
“What are you doing here?” I ask cautiously, not sure what to do or say now that she’s in my arms again.
“I called you, but you didn’t answer or call me back. I needed to see you. I went to see Octy, but she was working, so Leo offered to bring me up here so I could see you,” she rambles.
“Who the fuck is Leo?” I growl, palming her arms and pushing her far enough away that I can see her properly.
“She works at the tattoo studio. Apparently, we’re besties now,” Verity says, but the only word I hear isshe.
“Leo is a woman?” I ask, needing to clarify.
“Yes.” Verity nods.
Tension melts from my muscles, and I pull her back into me, hugging her tightly while she buries her face into my chest. For the first time since I left her at the apartment, my heart starts to beat again, like I need her close to function. I don’t know why she’s here, but my tight chest starts to loosen, and the color that had leeched from my life when I left her in the apartment, starts to brighten again.
Moments pass while we cling to each other, not speaking, just holding on tightly, our heartbeats syncing until they’re matching once again.
I don’t want to pry her off me. In fact, all I want to do is carry her to our bed, strip her naked, and fuck her until she’s so pregnant that she can’t leave, but she doesn’t want that. I don’t know if she wants me at all or if she just feels some kind of fucked-up sense of obligation to be in a relationship with me because I gave her a home, food, and a bank card.
“Verity, what are you doing here?” I ask again, slowly inching away from her, until I finally let go of her and step back, putting distance between us.
