“Rory…” Suddenly, it hits me. Worse than us not seeing each other anymore is the fact that this might actually be our final goodbye.
All kinds of things are happening inside me that shouldn’t be. I can’t breathe. Can’t think.
Rory pulls something out from under his shirt. He closes my hand over the object, leaving his palms wrapped around mine.“Here’s ten thousand dollars. I can drive you to the hotel the twins were taking you to. That’ll give you a safe place to wait until we get you a fake ID and another fifty grand. Riley has contacts through a women’s shelter that can probably help you figure out your next steps.”
An anvil crashes onto my heart. “You’re sending me away?”
Just as I suspected, he can’t stand to be around me anymore.
“No.”
Confusion muddles my head. “Then what are you doing?”
He stares at me for a long moment. “I’m setting you free.”
“You…what?”
“I’m giving you the freedom you’ve always deserved. You can go anywhere, do anything. Get a fresh start somewhere.”
I swallow a lump in my throat. “So you…you don’t want me to go away?”
“I want you to decide for yourself.”
Rory inches closer. The heat of his body touches my skin. His scent invades my nose like a heady earthen incense. His warm hand, still folded around mine, is gentle but firm.
“But before you decide, I just want to be with you, one more time.” His free hand comes up to brush against my neck, cupping the back of my head. “If I’m letting you go, let’s end with a bang. Create a memory we can look back on and smile about years from now.”
Resentment and regret stab me through the heart.
“If… Do you think if things had been different…” I give a little hopeless shrug. “If we were just two people anywhere who showed up at the same bar one night, do you think we would have met? Would you have even talked to me?”
In the narrow space between us, I sense that this moment is as hard on him as it is on me.
“Kiara De Luca, there is no universe where I could have resisted you.” He rests his forehead against mine, warming mefrom the inside out. The urgency in his voice heightens, and the hand behind my head knots in my hair. “Even now, I can’t help myself.”
Rory’s mouth comes for mine with all the force and intensity of a car crash. The press of his body against mine eats up all my awareness. I drop the envelope, wrap my arms around him, and moan his name as his hand races up the back of my shirt. When his hot palm settles on my cold skin, I shiver.
“I don’t want to let you go.” His other hand lands on my ass as he growls against my lips. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d kill to make you mine.”
My face is damp with tears. “I don’t want to leave you.”
The hard, bitter expression on his face grounds me. At least I’m not alone in commiserating over the tragedy of our impending separation.
Rory’s eyes almost glow in the light from the street. “Come here, sweetheart.”
I don’t know what he means until he cages his body around my torso and lifts me right off the ground.
My legs fly around his waist, and his satisfied noise tells me that’s exactly what he wanted me to do.
Slinging my arms around Rory’s neck, I kiss him harder.
I kiss him like this is the last intimate moment we’ll ever have together, because it will be. And the reality of that hurts more than I can comprehend.
All I know is that our desperation is real as our tongues collide. Our chests press together tightly enough to crack a rib. After untold minutes of Rory’s savage, untamed kisses, I’m lightheaded with desire.
I gasp as Rory licks his way down my throat and back up again.
“Kiara.” He trails kisses along the curve of my jaw. “I want you to do everything you’ve ever dreamed of doing, and go everyplace you want to go. But before that…” He draws back so I can see the sincerity simmering in his tormented eyes. “I need to make love to you.”
