“I miss beating you in debates.”
“Fuck you. I’m the one who beats your and Cole’s asses.”
“That’s a lie and you know it.”
“Is there a point to your call?” I shake my head. “Shouldn’t you be cuddling with Elsa and making babies?”
“Don’t ever mention my wife’s name and making babies in the same sentence or I’ll fucking kill you. Deal? Deal.”
I shake my head. The asshole is so possessive of his wife, and I always wondered how she took his attitude. Then I returned to Blackwood and realized I’m no different than him.
“Elsa once said she fought you, hard.” I flop on the chair in the balcony and cross my legs at the ankles. “How did you overcome that?”
Not that Reina is fighting me right now, but I feel like she’ll go back to doing that soon. Every day, I wake up and hold my breath, waiting for the moment she walks out of her room, thinking she’ll be the same old cold person.
“Simple,” he says. “I didn’t give her a choice, especially at the beginning. The more she ran, the faster I chased. The deeper she hid, the harder I conquered.”
“What if, after you chase and conquer, she still doesn’t want you?”
“Then you’re not doing it the right way. Tie her to you and make her see you. If she doesn’t like what she sees, make her like it.”
“What if she never does?”
“Then you’re a fucking loser and probably never deserved her in the first place.” He pauses. “As much fun as it’s been talking to you, I’m going back to my wife. She’s been asking about you, and this is a friendly reminder not to call her. If you do, I’m flying there and cutting out your tongue.”
The line goes dead.
Dick.
I’m surprised Elsa asked about me in the first place. She doesn’t like me that much, always saying Aiden doesn’t need any more deranged friends.
I throw my head back, mulling his words over. It’s an interesting angle, the one about never deserving her.
Has that been the trick all along?
I lift my head and stare at the stars. In the blackness of the night, there are a few, but I can almost see a boy and a girl holding each other’s hands and grieving together in silence.
Then that image is shattered with no way to be repaired.
Deciding I’ve given the neighboring building enough of a nude show, I head back inside.
Instead of going to the guest room where I usually sleep, my feet carry me straight to Reina. She’s like a fucking magnet, refusing to let me go.
She’s still deep asleep on her side. The cover has ridden down her shoulder, exposing the swell of her pale tit.
I don’t allow myself to think about it as I slide behind her and wrap a hand around her middle. She’s mumbling something in Russian, which means she’s probably dreaming about her childhood.
Her brows furrow and her murmurs turn louder. I rub a hand over her cold skin and cover her to the chin. After a few seconds, her lips stop moving and she goes back to sleeping soundly.
I wrap my leg around hers, lay my face near hers, and just like that, I fall asleep.
* * *
A nightmare pulls me awake in the middle of the night. I don’t remember it, but I don’t have to.
Every time I try to ignore the past and sleep with Reina, my brain summons my guilt and makes me relive that nightmarish day.
Reina is still fast asleep in my hold. In the dark, I can only make out the line of her face and neck and feel how her other arm is holding on to mine like it’s some sort of a lifeline.