I can’t hear their voices, but I know they’re agreeing to make Dmitri pay. Aiden’s words are quiet, hollow. He’s exhausted from the revelation. He answers their questions and no more, like it’s too much for him to handle right now.
I don’t know how long this will burden him, but I know I want to help.
We’ve both stumbled over the years. We know what a fall feels like. This has been painful for Aiden—it’s shown him that he hated the wrong man, that he mistrusted me for no reason. It’s shown him that he underestimated a man he thought he knew everything about.
Dmitri had bigger plans than just a wife. He had more in store than marrying me or Willow. He wanted more than to just undermine the O’Reilly family because of what Aiden did back in high school.
Aiden hangs up, and I watch him push his phone away, digesting his brothers’ words. I know nothing will happen tonight, and I know it’s all so much to handle. All I can do is be here for him now, help him remember that he has support.
He turns to me, and his expression softens a little, the flint in his eyes changing when he looks at me. He lifts his hand and traces my face, his skin warm and his touch soft.
“I should have known better,” he says quietly.
I shake my head. “You couldn’t have known.”
“I should have known to trust you.” He tucks a lock of hair behind my ears, pressing a kiss to my temple. “I always will, from now on.”
He picks me up carefully, and I lean into his chest, my arm around his shoulders. I need the warmth of his body against mine right now, need his comfort. He takes me upstairs and sets me on the bed slowly, shifting me as carefully as he can.
“You need rest,” he says quietly. The lights are still off in the room, and with the curtains drawn, it’s nearly dark.
I can still see his face. He’s in pain, brought down by these last two days, but I know he’ll make it through.
And he’s handsome even now, his eyes heavy-lidded and his jaw sharply highlighted by the small bits of late afternoon light coming through the window. I can see how strong he is, the muscles of his arms as he pulls back from depositing me on the bed.
He’s right that I need to rest more, but I’m not badly injured, and I don’t want him to leave. I swallow and hold on to the front of his shirt, stopping him from pulling back too far.
“I’m not hurt.”
“Rose…”
“I’m not,” I repeat softly. “And I don’t want you to go.”
I don’t want to lose this closeness between us. It feels tenuous like a spiderweb, like it could break if I nudge him too hard. I feel like I need to take care with this. With us.
We’re like a broken mug, dropped and then glued back together. There are cracks, but it’s still beautiful.
I still want to keep it. It’s precious to me.
Aiden is precious to me.
I pull him down to me, then wait a moment before I kiss him. I need him to know I’ve thought about this, thought about us.
And I want this.
Despite everything, I still want him.
I can’t forget what we’ve been through. It would be irresponsible and stupid. But I want to move into the future with Aiden, beyond all the pain and confusion. None of it matters as long as we’re together. We can face everything if we’re doing it together.
Aiden kisses me back, his mouth hot against mine. I can feel something burn deep within me, a growing need tempered by the pain and sorrow we’ve both been caught by. This is bittersweet.
But we have each other.
We’re comfort enough right now, blocking out the world in each other’s bodies.
I pull Aiden closer to me, and he kneels on the bed, holding himself carefully above my body. He doesn’t want to hurt me.
I don’t need the roughness of other nights or the pure desire, either. This is a slow fall, a burning love between us that goes further than just a flurry of lust. This is deeper.
