Truths and Lies Duet

Reasons that niggle and tug at me, desperate to be thrown out in the open.

I pull up to the house and park in the driveway. Lights shine from a window in front of the house and then some upstairs. Climbing out, I pause to listen. Nothing but the breeze picking up as a fall storm rolls in. The wind whistles and I scent the promise of rain.

As I walk toward the front door, my eyes drift of their own accord to the window where I’d thought I’d seen someone. When a figure stands in front of the glass, the light shining around them, my heart does a squeeze in my chest.

I blink several times to clear my vision.

Still there.

Blond hair. A woman.

I’m storming over to the window before I can stop myself. Wide, teary blue eyes meet mine. Familiar blue eyes. Her blue eyes.

No. Fucking. Way.

“Zoí mou.” My life.

Her bottom lip trembles—lips I’ve ached to kiss for so long it’s maddening. This can’t be real. She can’t be staring back at me from behind the glass of Aris’s fucking house. It makes no sense. I’m truly losing my goddamn mind.

“Kostas.”

The voice of an angel carries through the glass, shattering what little bit was left of my heart. She’s alive. She’s alive and well and standing right in fucking front of me.

“Open the window,” I rumble, my words barely a whisper.

She looks over her shoulder and shakes her head. “I can’t.”

Fury swells up inside me to incredible heights. “Open the fucking window.”

Tears race down her cheeks as she moves her plump lips rapidly, speaking in hushed tones that are somehow supposed to send me away.

I’m not going anywhere.

Bending, I try to open the window, but it’s locked shut. I point at the lever and thump the glass hard. “Talia, unlock the window.”

“I can’t.”

I slam my fist on the window, making her cry out in surprise.

“I said open the window or so help me I’m coming right through it,” I growl. “Open it. Talia, open it!”

When she steps away, turning to look toward the door again, I lose it. With a swift swing of my elbow, I bust out a pane of glass. I reach my hand inside and flip the lock. It still won’t open.

Talia rushes back over to me and reaches her hand through the glass pane. Her touch is soft as she runs her fingertips along my cheek. “I can’t, Kostas. It’s nailed shut.”

Nailed shut.

What in the actual fuck?

I grip her wrist in a tight grip and then lean in to kiss her palm. I’m afraid to let her go because she might just fucking vanish again, but I need to get to her. I need to hold her.

“Stand back,” I order.

She jerks her hand back and steps away from the window. I could go beat on the front door, make my brother answer, and demand he hand her over, but right now I’m on a one-track mission. Get to my fucking wife. Hiking my leg up, I kick hard along the metal strip along the middle of the window.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

I kick over and over until the metal frame of the window is mutilated and folded in, glass broken all over at my feet. Once I’ve weakened it enough, I slam my shoulder into what’s left of the window and send it and myself careening to the floor. I’m on my feet in the next second, prowling after Talia.

Anger. Betrayal. Sadness. Confusion.

My emotions spin around and around like a fucking tornado. I’m ready to cause massive destruction. I want to destroy everyone.

Gripping Talia’s throat, I walk her back until her ass hits the door. I bury my nose in her hair, inhaling the scent of her shampoo mixed with her natural sweat. The growl rumbling through me is a possessive one bordering on rage. My thumb traces along the vein in her throat that’s pulsing rapidly.

“Why?” It’s the only word I have. It’s a loaded question.

“I don’t know.”

I pull away and glower at her. “You want to be here?”

She shakes her head, fat tears rolling down her red cheeks.

“You’re trapped here?”

A sob escapes her. “We have to get out of here.”

I’m distracted by her bottom wobbly lip, and now that I know she’s a captive for some fucked-up reason, I need her like I need my next breath.

“Zoí mou,” I whisper over her lips. “I’ve fucking missed you.”

Slamming my lips to hers, I take the kiss I’ve been craving since the moment I let her walk away from me after our fight. I slide my hand up to her jaw, gripping her tight so she can’t escape me as I ravish her perfect mouth. She moans as I devour her lips and tongue. Her fingers thread through my hair, cradling me to her. My other hand finds her hip and I slide it to her ass that’s fleshier than I remember. I want to strip her down right here and inspect every part of her body to see if she’s changed. A choked sound escapes her when I rotate my hips, rubbing my aching cock against her body.