“Legally.” His gaze captured mine. “I’ll bring them down legally, Ari. I’ll find a way. I just … I need you to trust me. Give me some time.”
“Dane.” Emotion welled fast and furious. I set my drink aside and crossed to where he stood in front of the fireplace. I hadn’t experienced many defining moments in my life but the ones I had seemed to all be centered around this man. And this particular moment was no less significant than all the others. “You’ll make a promise you won’t ever, ever break? No matter what?”
He stared down at me, clearly not wanting to give up his inherent need to do whatever necessary when it came to safeguarding his assets.
“Dane,” I urged. “It has to be this way. Otherwise…” God, these words were going to gut me again. But I had to say them. “I’m gone. Done. No more. Forget you ever knew me.”
More tears spilled down my cheeks. Christ, I’d already faced the cold, hard reality of what it was like to be separated from him, to walk away. I’d suffered the excruciating loss, and for the life of me I never wanted to go through it again. Yet I had to draw that line I’d thought of earlier. I had to know that when he assured me he wasn’t the bad guy it was true.
“Please,” I said. “If Vale would have pulled his gun on you, that would have been different. He didn’t and you couldn’t stop…”
I shook my head. Here was the really twisted and confusing part about all of this. Dane was justified in attacking a man who’d attacked me. I was justified in being horrified over the violence and the lengths to which Dane would go to protect me.
This was what I’d mulled over since I’d relayed the situation to Kyle, a semi-impartial audience.
There had to be a compromise, a balance. Justice was just so damn tricky to achieve with this scenario.
I said, “You and Amano rescued me. No need to kill the guy who’d kidnapped me—I was safe at that point. You still have to worry about the Lux, but if you have a legal way to come at this problem, great. It puts us on the same page with each other, right?”
He scowled.
I simmered.
We stared.
Endless seconds ticked by until he finally lifted his arm, drained his brandy, and returned his glass to the wet bar.
I stood where I was, riveted, as he sauntered toward me.
“What is it that you really want, Ari?”
My breath suddenly came in slower, heavier pulls as heat burned through me. Closing the gap between us, I splayed my palms over his bare chest and nearly melted at the warmth and hardness beneath my fingers. I’d missed him more than anything I could imagine. And knew, very simply, that I couldn’t live without him. Not a second more.
His head dipped and he whispered, “Answer me.”
There was no way to escape this. I instantly knew why I was here. Why I couldn’t stay away.
“I love you,” I said. “I can’t—” Tears flooded my eyes and emotion choked me up. “I can’t live without you. I can’t … exist … without you. I love you,” I told him again. “You own my soul, Dane.” I stared up at him, the fat drops spilling down my flushed cheeks.
He held my face in his hands. Tenderly. “Ari. Baby.” He let out a strangled sound. “I’m so sorry, for everything. You have to forgive me and you have to believe that I will make this all right.” His lips pressed to mine. Against them, he murmured, “Because I can’t exist without you.”
My arms circled his neck. His hands shifted to my back and he held me tight, crushing me to him.
My tears fell against the crook of his neck.
He stroked my hair and said, “Ari, don’t cry. Baby, please. I don’t ever want to make you cry again.”
“I know. I can’t help it. It’s just been so awful, Dane. So horrible without you. I couldn’t go another night without being with you, without you holding me.”
“Stay with me, Ari,” he said in his low, sensual voice. “Stay.”
“I’ll call Amano and tell him I don’t need him to give me a ride home tonight.”
“Or ever. Stay with me, Ari. For good.”
I choked on a sob. Pulling away slightly, I stared up at him. “You want me to move in?”
With a nod, he said, “Live with me. You like it here, right?”