From Sanctum with Love (Masters and Mercenaries #10) - Lexi Blake Page 0,135

a great guy.”

Her instincts had told her he was the one. That magical one everyone talked about. “Yes.”

Erin’s hand drifted down, resting on her belly as though she could already feel the baby growing there. “So why are you letting a couple of words he said change everything? You’re actually allowing a few seconds you heard in a hallway to have more weight than all the other time you spent with him. Did you think for a second that maybe what he meant was he wanted you out of the op? That the ‘crap with Kori’ was about being forced to lie to you? Case could do that to him. Don’t forget the brotherhood. They like their secrets, especially when it’s all in the name of protecting the womenfolk. Maybe instead of him using you, he leapt at the opportunity to hop into bed with you because he’s wanted you forever.”

“He told me he loved me.” That was the part that hurt the most. She’d opened herself up to him, made herself vulnerable. More vulnerable than she’d ever been before since she’d never said those words to a man. She loved Kai. She probably would always love Kai.

“Maybe he told you that because he loves you,” Erin insisted. “Guys like Kai don’t normally lie about that. Would you have slept with him if he hadn’t said it?”

She could still feel his hands on her body, strong hands that dominated her, caressed her, made her feel alive. “I was having sex with him when he said it.”

Erin’s lips turned up in a knowing grin. “See. He didn’t have to say it at all. At the end of the day, it’s your relationship and your choice. You can stand tall and tell him to fuck off and never believe a word he says again. I’m sure that feels like the way to go. I know I did that to Theo more than once. I thought being strong meant telling everyone to fuck off, but I was a scared little girl. Be a strong woman and ask him what he meant. You can give him a chance. Do you have any idea what I would give to have taken that chance before I did? To be able to look back and have had more time with him. But I was stubborn and arrogant and I was so scared. He scared the hell out of me.”

Her heart ached for Erin and for herself. For what Erin lost. For what Kori had never really had. “Would you take it back? If you could. Would you go back and erase it all so you don’t feel the pain you do now?”

It was an actual ache in her body. The loss of Kai felt like emptiness one minute and agony the next. She wasn’t sure how she would get through the next few weeks. How was she going to be able to face him?

“Not a second,” Erin said, her face flushed with emotion. “Not one single second. If you would go back and erase Kai from your life, then walk away now because that’s not love. If you would do that, then he’s not the right man and you can move on. But if he is, then have some faith in him. Have some faith in you.”

There was a short knock on the door and then the alarm pinged briefly as it came open. A few more beeps and Big Tag was walking in, his massive shoulders filling the hallway. There was proof that Erin trusted him. He had a key and knew her code.

“Okay, I’m here. Someone want to explain why I’m not springing my brother from the big house?” Ian asked with a frown.

Erin rose to her feet. “Case isn’t arrested, the big baby. Besides, jail would do him good. Rough him up a little. Your whole line is soft, Taggart. Did you call Sean to pick him up?”

“Yes, and he was pissed about it. Why can’t people get thrown in jail during business hours?” Ian nodded Kori’s way. “Hello, Kori. Is there a reason you’re running around in the middle of the night without your Master?”

“My Master turned out to be a total douchebag who can bite my ass.” She was still thinking about Erin’s words. She knew what she’d heard, but did she honestly know what Kai had meant? Was she filtering his words through all the crap from her past? “Maybe. I’m not sure yet.”

Ian frowned. “You should talk to him. Kai’s