Her words wrecked me. I wanted to pull her into my arms and shout that I loved her more than ever. But I didn’t want to scare her. She set the pace now. She got to decide when to give me her heart.
“It’s a shame I didn’t know sooner because you were in my dreams too. We could’ve had a date there.”
She laughed. “Probably.”
A silence settled between us as I kept my eyes on her. Every minute that passed, I realized I was falling even harder for her.
“Dance with me,” I said, standing and offering my hand.
She smiled softly and took it. I pulled her close, my hands settled at her waist, hers looped around my neck. As the music played, we swayed together, pressed close.
“The first time we danced, you wanted to kill me,” I teased.
“That’s because you wanted to kill Knox.”
“Your favorite escort. You did everything to protect him. If it hadn’t been me, I would’ve been so jealous I’d have tortured him in the worst way.”
“If I’d known it was you, trust me, I wouldn’t have fucked you. Not after the way you left me in that room on our wedding night. You said you wanted to kill me.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“I guess it’s okay, I’m less pissed now. I don’t want to kill youanymore. Yesterday, I was still debating whether or not to use my Glock on you.”
“Well, thanks to the lobsters, I guess,” I joked.
“Yeah, they definitely helped smooth things over. But I think opening up to each other let me see a different side of you. I guess I’m not as mad anymore.”
Her words warmed my heart and gave me hope. I pulled her closer, holding her tight as we danced together in silence for a while. My lips brushed her ear, and the need to touch her, to feel her, to kiss her just got stronger.
After holding her in my arms for a while, I finally broke the silence again.
“Do you miss him? Knox?” I asked quietly.
She didn’t answer right away, taking her time to think.
“No,” she finally said.
“Why?”
“Because I think he was you in my mind, but not really you. It’s like he never existed, like I was just using his body to have you the way I couldn’t. So, no, I don’t miss Knox.”
“I see.”
My hands roamed up her back, holding her while I drank her in. I wanted to crawl under her skin, never leave. I wanted to slip into the spaces between her heartbeats, so she breathed me, lived with me, functioned with me. I wanted to possess her completely—hold her heart and take care of it. I was sick with love for this woman.
“Serenity…” I breathed against her ear.
“Konflict…”
“Please look at the sky.”
She pulled back and looked up. Fireworks exploded, and a message lit up the night:
Will you forgive me?
She looked at me, surprised.
“I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll never stop saying it. I’m sorry, Serenity. I’m sorry for being a coward, for hurting you with my silence, my threats, and my cruelty. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you sooner, for making you feel like you didn’t matter or deserve to be cherished. I’m sorry I wasn’t the man you dreamed of, and for destroying the love you had for me. I’m sorry for taking what you didn’t willingly give because you thought it was someone else. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make it right if you could ever forgive me and trust me again. Please, baby… just love me one more time, and I swear you’ll never have to regret it again.”
