Did he die in the attempt? You wouldn’t be sleeping with me if he were still around.”
Balto gave Evan far too much credit. “He never tried to save me. In fact…he’s married. He has a baby now. He moved on less than three months after I sacrificed myself for him…as if I’d never meant anything to him at all.” I slid out of the bed and didn’t look back at Balto. There were no tears in my eyes, but my cheeks were ghostly pale, and I felt sick to my stomach. I wasn’t just hurt by Evan’s betrayal—but ashamed of what he did to me. “Don’t judge me when you don’t know me. Don’t assume I’m weak because of the small piece of the story you’ve witnessed. Don’t assume anything about me ever again. And don’t you dare tell me I’m stupid for what I did—because I already know.” I grabbed my dress from the floor and pulled it over my body. I left my panties behind because they were nowhere in sight and not worth looking for. I slipped on my heels next and rose to my feet, unable to believe I’d felt so much unbridled passion just thirty minutes ago.
The mattress shifted when he rose from the bed. His footsteps sounded against the floor as he picked up his clothes and pulled them on. He didn’t berate me for my story or try to make me feel better. He said nothing at all…because what were you supposed to say to something like that? I ruined my life for a man who never loved me. It was pathetic.
He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He pulled me into him slowly, his powerful chest pressing against my back. He squeezed me gently then rested his face against the back of my neck. His breaths slowly fell across my heavy locks and drifted over the small hairs at the nape of my neck.
He didn’t say a word, but somehow his presence was comforting.
His hands squeezed against my stomach, lightly tugging on me, like his body wanted to swallow mine whole.
I closed my eyes as I let my body lean against his, using him as a crutch because my legs were too useless to carry me. My arms slid over his, and I leaned my head back against him.
We stood there together for minutes, saying nothing, just breathing.
His hand moved to the strap of my dress, and he pulled it over my shoulder.
I didn’t stop him.
He pulled the other one. Then the dress slowly slid down my body until it landed in a pile on the floor.
I stood there naked, somehow more vulnerable than I’d ever been.
His hand undid his jeans, and he pushed them down his narrow hips, his boxers sliding down too. His hard cock pressed right between my cheeks, long, hard, and searing hot. “You never loved Evan. You think you did, but you never did.” He grabbed my hips and turned me around so we were face-to-face.
I expected to see judgment or disgust, but I saw the same expression he always gave me.
“And no, he didn’t love you either. Because a man who loves a woman is selfless, devoted, and murderous. He would rather die a million times than let the woman he loves open her legs to some asshole—until death do you part. That was lust mixed with immaturity. That was hope mixed with confusion. When you really love a man, you’ll know. And you’ll know because he’ll love you more fiercely than you ever could love him in return. That’s love. Real fucking love. And you’ve never experienced it.”
He spoke like a man who understood it all too well. “Have you?”
His hand moved into the back of my hair, where he got his usual grip. “No.” His thumb softly brushed across my cheek as he held me naked in front of him. “But I know exactly how I would be if I loved a woman. I would be loyal, devoted, and honest. And I would never, ever, allow her to put herself in harm’s way to save me. Because she’d be the queen—and a king will always die to protect his queen.”
9
Balto
Her eyes were closed as she lay next to me, a beautiful woman with beautiful curves. She had the sexiest hips, the kind that gave birth to gladiators. She had a lone freckle on her right hip, and I found my tongue migrating there whenever I kissed her. She had