coming back to my place. No arguments.”
“Eh, excuse me?”
“You refused to stay longer than a night—even though I’ve been explicit about the danger—”
“You haven’t told me anything—”
“Let me finish.” He scowled. “I get that I came off...overbearing. So, I’m asking you to stay with me until I can fix this.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he sighed, “And if you’re going to stay, you’ll need clothes.”
I blinked. “How long are you suggesting?”
“I don’t know.” His shoulders slumped. “I’ve failed in every way to resolve it quickly, but it has to end...soon.”
“Why?”
His face etched with shadows. “Because there’s only so much a person can tolerate before they’re pushed too far.”
I froze. The need to touch him overrode all other function. Moving closer, I cupped his cheek. “You can tell me what—”
Arching his face out of my reach, his forehead furrowed with impatience at himself, at me, at whatever he battled. “You’re living with me until I say otherwise.”
“And if I don’t like sharing a home?”
“You don’t really have a choice.”
“I always have a choice, Gil.”
His eyes shot black as memories sucked him deep. “No one has a choice.”
The softness between us vanished into thick smoke, leaving behind the charred remains.
He raked a hand through his hair. “Three nights, okay?” His eyes jumped over suited men and women, assessing for threats. “That’s all I’ll ask for.”
Three nights were an eternity.
An eternity for all new romances.
Time took on a different depth at the beginning of a fledgling love affair. An hour wasn’t just an hour when love and lust were involved. A minute wasn’t just a minute when hearts had countless of opportunities to fall.
There would be no more places to hide. No more lies we could tell ourselves. Only the stark truth that both of us were in danger and had been for years.
Couldn’t he see that?
Couldn’t he taste the hypocrisy?
Three nights would destroy us both.
Gil fought against my silence, saying, “Pack a bag with clothes for three nights. If I haven’t fixed the problem...then you’ll probably have to move countries because you won’t be safe anywhere.”
I snapped out of my worry. “I never took you for being dramatic.”
“I’m being deadly serious.” His voice was flat and cold.
Ice slithered down my spine. I shivered, pointing to the sunny evening, needing warmth and open air. “Let’s go. We can talk about living arrangements later.” If we were ever to have an honest conversation, I wanted to be anywhere else but here, surrounded by strangers.
“Fine.” Gil bowed a little, letting me lead the way.
My back prickled as he fell into step with me—not submissive in my leadership but wary and watchful. I understood why he’d placed himself behind me. He’d done it out of protection. Even in my office building, he acted as if the devil himself was going to crawl through the floorboards and claim me.
Pushing open the glass doors, I turned to face him as he stepped into the late afternoon sunshine. “How long have you been waiting for me?”
He kept his eyes on the men and women leaving for the day. “Since I kicked Justin out and came directly here.” He glanced at me. “I saw you arrive. I got here before you did.”
“You’ve waited all day for me?”
“I told you I wasn’t going to let you out of my sight.”
“I was out of your sight, though.” Striking off into a walk, my black kitten toe heels clicked on the pavement.
“You were in the office building all day. I was satisfied you’d be safe up there.”
“You were satisfied?”
He nodded, ducking behind me to let a man stride past talking loudly on his cell phone.
“So, you decided not to drag me from my place of employment even though you did such a thing yesterday?”
“I was wrong.” He walked beside me with firm, even steps. “You were right.”
I slammed to a stop, my temper rising for no other reason than sexual frustration and star-crossed heartaches. “Wow. I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Sarcasm isn’t becoming on you, O.” Grabbing my elbow, he pulled me back into motion. “Where do you live?”
I studied him, unable to take my eyes off his thick eyelashes or the way he still had black smudged on his cheek and yellow decorating his hair. He’d told the truth. He’d raced to my work the moment Justin was gone.
His desire to protect me wasn’t just some pantomime but a deep-seated drive.
Once again, guilt crushed me for the awful, awful thought I’d had and my messages with Justin.
How could I