Page 120 of Reveal

“If you’re looking for some grand gesture to make you feel better—me holding a radio outside your bedroom window—I’m afraid boom boxes are dead, and Bluetooth speakers don’t exactly have the same effect.”

Where the hell did that come from, Lockhart?

But it earns a laugh from her, and God, does it do things to my insides I’d rather not admit.

“Have you ever done something you know is wrong, but you do it anyway because it’s the right thing?” she asks and totally throws me for a loop.

What is she getting at?

“I think everyone has at some point in their life, don’t you?”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm?” I ask. “Does this have anything to do with the other day?”

She doesn’t answer.

“Vaughn?”

“If you made a mistake, I’d forgive you, you know. Just like I’d hope you’d forgive me.”

“You’re not making any sense. Are you sure you’re okay?” In my mind I’m already halfway across the bridge to her house.

“Yes. I’m fine.” Her breath hitches. “I’ve had a glass or two or three of wine. I miss you, Ryker.”

“I miss you too. When can I see—”

But I don’t get to finish my sentence because she ends the call.

She might have just told me she misses me, but hell if it doesn’t feel like that was a goodbye.

CHAPTER FORTY

Vaughn

The pounding on the door startles me awake.

The family room is pitch black, and for a moment I sit there thinking I’ve just had a nightmare.

Then it starts again.

Instinct has me moving toward the peephole, fearful it’s the police—that something has happened to Lucy—when it should have me pretending I’m not home and dialing 9-1-1.

And I’m not sure if it’s the remnants of the bottle of wine still in my system, but when I see Ryker standing on my porch in the middle of the night—or is it early morning?—I open the door without question.

His fist is midknock when I pull it open. There’s anger etched in the lines of his face, and concern owns every muscle in his expression as we stand a few feet apart.

Without speaking a single word, Ryker frames both sides of my face and brings his lips to mine. The kiss starts out slow—a silent show of desperation—and has us both moving into the house, the door being kicked shut behind us.

It’s heaven and hell at my fingertips. It’s certainty and doubt in my touch.

It’s him.

It’s Ryker.

And I need him more than I’ve ever needed him before.

We undress between kisses. Shirts and shoes and pants. The darkness of the night hiding the things we’re still keeping from each other. Secrets that are tearing me apart. A love I’m afraid to profess in case my world comes tumbling down around me.