“I couldn’t protect you. By faking our deaths, we thought it’d safeguard you and the others, and give us time,” I say in an uneven tone.
“You should’ve told me,” he hisses, anger building in his eyes.
“I couldn’t, Blake. Interpol didn’t give us any other options. Dresden and I made the choice and we had to see it through.”
“Do you have any idea what I went through . . . hearing you’d been killed?”
“Yes, I do.”
“No, you fucking don’t.”
“Yes, I do. Monroe made us watch the security cameras on the plane while he talked to the public. I watched . . . I watched it all.”
I haven’t looked in his eyes for a year. The urge to touch him, hold him, is almost unbearable. The longing to feel his lips against mine, his skin under my fingertips— it’s maddening. I’ve died a hundred times over the last year thinking of what I did to him, and the possibility that by the time this is over, it’ll be too late.
He shakes his head, closing his eyes. I step toward the bed and stop as he rakes his fingers in his hair and sobs. My heart stops.
Without thinking, I sit next to him. He snaps his head up, shakes rippling through him as tears stream down his face.
“I’m sorry, Blake. I know that doesn’t fix anything and I don’t know what else to say. I don’t deserve your forgiveness—”
He reaches out and grabs my neck, pulling my lips to his. Fire ignites through my body as his tongue pushes into my mouth. I grab his head in my hands and deepen the kiss, savoring every moment of his mouth on mine. He bites my bottom lip and I growl, fisting my hands in his hair.
He pulls away and pins me in place with hard brown eyes. “I’m so fucking mad at you I could scream,” he says with a menacing undercurrent.
“Am I too late?” My heart pounds in my ears.
“Too late for what?”
“To fix this. To fix us. You said you loved me once. Is that a thing of the past now?” I shake, dreading his answer, but needing to hear it.
He moans, shaking his head. “I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you. Nothing will change that,” he says, pulling my lips back to his.
I could kiss him forever. His lips are smooth and needy, my body trembling at his touch. I’ve missed him so much the pain is immeasurable. Fuck Interpol and fuck Hyde. I’m not leaving him again.
Someone behind us clears their throat. Blake kisses my lips, pressing his forehead to mine. “Go away,” he growls, kissing me again.
I chuckle, trailing my fingers through his hair. “I love you,” I whisper against his lips.
He groans and kisses me again. “I love you, too. And I’m still pissed.”
“I know,” I say, pressing my lips to his before sitting up.
The tightness in Vlad’s eyes, the square set of his shoulders, makes my stomach knot as I glance over at him. He swallows, taking a hesitant step forward.
I let go of Blake and stand, turning toward him. “Hi, Vlad.”
“You’re a bitch. You know that, right?” Tears form in his eyes.
I dart to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He squeezes me hard against him as the door creeks open. “I’m sorry, Vlad.”
“I know. Welcome back,” he whispers against my shoulder.
“Lily, you and Dresden need to get back,” Hyde says as the room fills with people again.
My head snaps up and I push away from Vlad, glaring at Hyde. “Fuck that. We aren’t going anywhere.”
“Excuse me?” he says, his eyes betraying his shock.