I wanted a lifetime of this. Of the breathless, beautiful woman in my arms. A lifetime of her smiles, laughter, and yes, her gorgeous body wrapped up with mine.
As I reached the end, I couldn’t stop myself from whispering the truth to her. That I loved her. That I wanted forever.
I wasn’t sure if she heard me. We were both too dazed. But it wasn’t the end. We held each other and talked late into the night. I wanted to take her again but I knew she would be sore, so I held back. But we kissed and touched. It was impossible to keep my hands off her completely. We finally fell asleep like two spoons, with my arms wrapped tight around her.
When I woke up in the morning, she was gone. I looked around, wondering what had happened. Until I saw it on the small kitchen table.
She had left me a note.
Jaken, I found this. I don’t know if this is a sick joke or if this is part of your game. You got what you wanted. I never want to see you again.
-Colleen
I stared in horror at the manilla folder that Trace had given me what felt like a million years ago. I’d already loved her then, but she couldn’t know that. I knew this looked bad. She didn’t know how I felt. I had to tell her. I had to explain.
I pulled on my motorcycle jacket and ran down to the street, mounting my bike and riding like the devil was on my heels. And with what I was on the verge of losing, it felt like he truly was.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Colleen
“What are you doing here?” I asked the impossibly handsome man standing on the walkway. I hadn’t expected to see him ever again. He had gotten what he wanted from me. I was the one left with a broken heart.
I brushed my cheeks, sure he could see that I had been crying for hours. I noticed he didn’t come to the porch. Even now, he’s respectful, a tiny voice said inside me. Maybe you should hear him out . . .
“Colleen . . . it’s not what you think.”
“What do you think I think?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. I did want to hear his explanation. I fully expected it to be 100% bullshit, but I needed the clarity.
And the closure.
“That this was a game or something like that. But it wasn’t. I’ve been serious about you since the start. Deadly serious.”
I narrowed my eyes but didn’t stop him when he took a step forward. He had his hat in his hand, literally. Well, his motorcycle helmet, anyway.
“I fell for you that first night. Even before what happened with the Hell Raisers. I wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting into. That I’d be . . . that I’d be good for you.”
“Why wouldn’t you be good for me?” I asked with exasperated curiosity. “I’m the one whose life is a mess.”
“Your life is not a mess. It’s complicated, sure. Hard, definitely. Christ, I don’t know how you do it sometimes. But you are the strongest damned person I know.” He ran his hand through his hair as he paused for a moment. I didn’t speak, but I had to admit I was a lot less angry. “There are . . . things about me that you might not like. But I’ll tell you now, if you’ll listen.”
I nodded slowly, stepping back and sitting in one of the rocking chairs on the porch. He spoke slowly at first, getting closer, eventually sitting on the porch stairs. But then his story gained speed. I listened as the ice around my heart started to melt.
He’d taken the fall for someone. For family. He’d stopped some hotheaded boys from building a device that could have hurt a lot of people. But it was his fingerprints they’d found when the garage was raided. He’d refused to turn in his little brother. Instead, he’d been smuggled out of the country and to the United States. He’d been on the move ever since.
And now he was thinking about going home.
To turn himself in. So that he’d be good enough for me.
“You can’t,” I said firmly, standing up and stomping my foot. “They’ll throw away the key!”
“Maybe. Maybe not. But I can’t keep running. I can’t keep lying. Not if I want to be the right man for you.”
“That’s what you want? To be the man for me?”
“I love you, woman, can’t you see that?”
I couldn’t help it. I started to cry. He loved me. And I loved him, too. I didn’t want him to leave!
“Then stay here! We’ll figure this out together! There has to be another way.”
He pulled me into his arms.
“You don’t hate me then? For being a creepy stalker?”