Villain (Hero 1.50)

“I love you,” I blurted out, sliding my hands up his arms to his shoulders and leaning into him. “I love you so much.”

Suddenly I was in his arms and he was kissing me, pouring every ounce of his love for me into our connection. When we finally broke apart, breathless, Henry stared at me in wonder as he brushed my hair from my face.

Then quite abruptly, he scowled. “You said you met the bastard outside.”

And that’s when I laid out the rest of it. Quentin’s stalkerish behavior a few months ago and now this—his blackmail.

Henry grew very still, very quiet, and it concerned me more than an outburst ever could.

“I’m going to kill him.”

He sounded so sincere, I gasped. “No, you are not.”

“Yes, I am.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I’m going to eviscerate him.”

“That’s the same as killing him, Henry, except more descriptive.”

He shot me a look before he got to his feet and began pacing my small living room. “I thought this man was supposed to be smart,” he spat. “Does he have any idea who he’s dealing with? I can end him without killing him.”

Yes, but Quentin was relying on the woman who felt so ashamed by her actions that she’d changed her name and appearance to escape her past. He was relying on her to have the same kind of self-preservation as he had. However, I wasn’t Quentin. Unlike him, I would never betray the person I loved most in the world.

“He was counting on me to keep this from you. To want to keep this from you more than anything. Also, he probably knows this could ruin my career. It wouldn’t be the first time someone has held it over my head.”

Henry stopped mid-pace. “What does that mean?”

“It’s what Dick was blackmailing me with.”

“Fuck,” he hissed. And then he was across the room pulling me into his arms, hugging me so tight, his grip was almost bruising.

“What’s this for?”

“Because it’s a fucking miracle you even gave me a chance considering how many bastards you’ve had to deal with.”

I sunk into his embrace and he relaxed a little. His familiar scent, a mix of cologne and something that was all Henry, was just as comforting as his hard, strong arms. I’d never wanted to rely on anyone. The thought scared me. But I was coming to realize relying on Henry was no longer a choice. I needed him. I craved his love and support. Even more so now that I knew he loved me despite all my mistakes.

“What are we going to do?” I whispered.

Henry was quiet a moment as he rubbed soothing circles over my back. “Right now I’m taking you to bed and you’re going to tell me over and over that you love me while I’m inside you. And afterward we’ll eat banana bread and brioche in bed and forget anything else exists. Tomorrow, I’ll deal with Quentin.” He felt me tense and kissed my hair. “I won’t kill him but when I’m done with him, he’ll wish I had. All you need to know is that he is out of your life for good and nothing will come between you and your career, or more importantly, between you and me.”

I lifted my head to stare up into his beautiful face. “You’re the best person I know.” I reached for his lips and pressed the softest, sweetest kiss to them. “So I think you’ll understand why I can’t let you take care of this.”

“What?” His eyes narrowed.

Determination blazed out of me. “I have to deal with Quentin. I’m honest enough and I think strong enough to admit that I need you. I do. But I’m also still trying to be a better person, and to do that, I must shut Quentin down myself. And I can do that knowing that I have your support. He has to know I’m not that naïve, starved of affection, helpless girl anymore. I’m a successful career woman,” I grinned saucily, “with friends in high places.”

“Fine,” he bit out. “You can be the one to talk to him, but I’ll be nearby watching. No arguments. And if your way doesn’t work, then we do it my way.”

“Done.”

Henry suddenly grinned. “We’re good at this.”

“We are good at this.” I grabbed his shirt and pulled him backward toward the bedroom. “But I hope not too good. I quite like arguing with you. I especially like the kissing-making-up part.”

Quite abruptly, Henry swung me up into his arms and smirked. “Sunshine, kissing isn’t the making-up part.” He threw me and I gasped in surprise, bouncing on my bed. I stared up in anticipation as Henry practically ripped off his shirt, dropped it, and crawled onto the bed up my body. His eyes smoldered. “This is the making-up part.”

“But we haven’t argued,” I teased.

“It doesn’t matter,” Henry said, his voice hoarse as he reached down and unzipped his pants slowly. A fizzle of pleasure tingled between my legs. “I’m going to fuck you like we have.” His fingers curled under the waistband of my yoga pants and underwear and he tugged.

“And then we’ll make love?” I asked breathlessly as he divested me of my clothes.

“Someone once told me fucking can be more than just fucking. Fucking, sucking, licking, pawing, grabbing, groping…” He caressed my inner thighs, heading to the ultimate destination in this scenario. “With you, it’s always making love.”

I laughed softly, shaking my head in amusement. “You’re such a smooth talker.”

He gave me a killer-watt smile, his eyes so filled with happiness, I shook with my own giddiness. “It’s also the truth.”

“I know,” I reached up to cup his face in my hand, “I believe you.”

“Well, we’re coming to the end of today’s show,” Andrew said to the camera, “but we had to make time to say a proper goodbye to Barbara.”

On our cue, Angel and I walked on camera, Angel carrying a mammoth bouquet of flowers while I held a basket of wrapped gifts from us and the crew. Barbara gave me a kiss on the cheek, accepting the presents. She even accepted a kiss on the cheek from Andrew.

“I am going to miss you all so much. Thank you. And Nadia, good luck with this one,” she cracked, gesturing to Andrew.

My stomach did a little flip as we all laughed while Andrew rolled his eyes. On Monday I was taking Barbara’s spot as co-anchor on the breakfast show. It wasn’t something I thought I ever wanted, but when Barbara told us all she’d accepted a job as a breakfast show anchor in LA and our new boss Kelly offered me her spot… I found myself excited by the prospect.

It wasn’t something I’d wanted when I’d first started here, and definitely not when Dick was trying to blackmail me into it, but I found I needed a new challenge.

That didn’t mean I wasn’t nervous as hell.

We wrapped up the show with Barbara thanking our viewers, surprising us all when she got choked up as she said she’d miss Boston. But like me, she needed a new challenge and, she joked, a new pool of men.

Afterward we all went out for our last lunch together and I grew tearful when it was finally time to say goodbye. Barbara and I may have been different kinds of women but we’d still connected.

Heading toward Henry’s apartment, our apartment now, via the Public Gardens, I’d stopped to sit on a bench despite the cold. After calling Joe to check if we were still on for dinner the next day, I sat there a while, enjoying the peace. The sun was out, low today, cutting through the bitter January we were experiencing. I spent a lot of time in the gardens now that I lived so close. There was something tranquil about them no matter what time of year it was.

“It’s freezing out here.”

I was startled out of my thoughts about my new job, wide-eyed as Henry sat down beside me. He was bundled up in a wool coat and the scarf I’d bought him for Christmas. He slid his arm around me and pulled me into his side; I soaked up his warmth and his scent.

“What are you doing here?”

He stared down into my face lovingly. “Cut out of work early because I thought you might be here either crying about Barbara or worrying about the new job.”

“I cried first. Now I’m worrying.”

I grinned at how well he knew me.

“You’re going to do great, you know that. This city loves you.”

The last was said with a grumble that made me laugh. Henry vacillated often between being proud of me and smug that I was his woman, and territorial and annoyed that my local fame partly meant I got hit on often.

“So you came to meet me? That was sweet of you.”

His arm tightened around me. “I actually came to ask you something.”

“Oh?”

Something in his voice, something nervous and wary, unsettled me. For the past fourteen months Henry and I had been nothing but honest with each other every step of the way. After my standing up to Quentin did little to make him back off, Henry told me up front he was going to take a turn. He didn’t go behind my back about it, even though he knew his interfering would piss me off. We argued about it, but Henry said it was clear Quentin was a misogynist and didn’t see me as a threat. Also it became clear Quentin was going to continue to be a major pain in our ass, so I had to let Henry try. I didn’t know what was said or done between them; all I knew was that Caine had Henry’s back, and Quentin never bothered us again.

A few months later when Alexa and Caine got married in a tiny, private ceremony only we and a handful of people were invited to, Henry asked me to move in with him. That meant we had lots more opportunity to argue and make up, and we did because we were kind of brutally honest with one another.

We trusted each other enough to be that honest with one another.