Betrayal (Infidelity Book 1) - Aleatha Romig Page 0,64

sources that keep me satisfied, but that’s not the same thing. I haven’t even tried to be in a relationship for quite awhile.”

I looked at him through my lashes. On his face I saw the sincerity mirrored in his words.

“There was something about you,” he went on, “about us, that was different—different than anything I’ve ever experienced. I was drawn to you that morning at the pool. There was—no, is—electricity that surrounds us like I’ve never known.”

The void in my chest gaped open. It was so painful I feared looking down. If I did, I was sure I’d see bloody shreds of vessels and flesh where my heart had been. Nox felt what I felt. It wasn’t just me. We had a connection and soon it would be over.

“I-I wish,” I said through ragged breaths, “I wish this were another time and place. I wish this were longer than a week. I wish I could, but I can’t.”

He squeezed my hand again. “I’m not asking—not because I don’t want that. I do. I’m not asking because we both went into this with the same expectations. Believe me, I’ve been racking my brain for ways to make you stay, for me to stay.” He looked around, taking in the balcony and the ocean beyond. His cheeks rose as he said, “I don’t really live here. I also have a life to return to.”

My eyes darted to his when he said life.

“Life, Charli, not wife. I didn’t lie. Both of us have lives. Maybe one day, if it’s meant to be, they’ll intersect. In the meantime, we’ll always have Del Mar and 101.” He added the last part with the menacing grin that made my tummy do somersaults.

Nox stood and lifted my hand. When I rose, he pulled me into his arms and our lips met. I wanted to stay in his embrace forever. His kiss was tender and giving. The urgency we’d had over the past week had been replaced by a need to share what little of ourselves we could. His lips and tongue tasted like coffee. I knew that every time I drank a cup, I’d remember Nox. I’d also remember the way we fit together. Whenever I was chilled, I’d recall the warmth of his solid body against mine. That memory would become my blanket as I resumed my life, my real one.

I longed to give him something, too. As his fingers raked the waves of my long hair, I wanted him to remember me, to remember us. I would have gladly given him anything he desired, but the pain in my chest meant I had nothing left to give. Nox already owned me—heart, body, and soul.

I was no longer my own to bestow.

“I’ll take you and Chelsea to the airport.”

I shook my head. “No, I can’t. I can’t do this again. This has to be our goodbye.” The word was a knife gutting the void.

The vein and tendons in his neck told me that he wanted to argue, perhaps demand. After all, he hadn’t asked. The navy swirling in his light blue eyes also let me know that his emotions were on overload. He was debating his next words.

“Please, Nox, please don’t make this more difficult than it already is.”

His lips captured mine. One last kiss—no longer gentle. This was rough and devouring.

I moaned as our bodies melted together.

When Nox released me, he brushed my bruised lips with his. It was as if he needed one more connection. “Charli, I’ll never forget you.” Taking my chin in his grasp, he said, “I’m not going to tell you which one or that I’m sorry for doing it, but when you discover the rule I broke, I hope you know that it was because of you.”

I shook my head. “I don’t understand. What rule?”

He kissed my nose. “I said I wasn’t going to tell you.”

“Will you tell me why it was because of me?”

“Because since the first moment I saw you, I’ve made exceptions. I’ve done and said things that I do not, as a rule, do. You do that to me. You make me rebel even against myself.”

I nodded, understanding exactly what he was saying. Nox had done the same thing to me. He’d made Charli into someone Alex or Alexandria would never be. Because of him I’d cheated on myself. And I loved him for it.

My eyes closed as another tear cascaded down my cheek. I’d said the word, if only in my head. I loved Nox,