Page 42 of Vows From Hell

“I do.’’

Storm glared at me. She hated being interrupted, but I could only grin in response. Seeing her start to get riled up brought me more satisfaction than I thought.

“If you want me to stay with you,’’ she repeated, “then I’ll have to go back. The last thing I need is my family filing a missing person’s report. And what about my work? I actually enjoyed teaching.’’

“You’re acting like I’m the one to blame here.’’

She blinked.

“But you are. I went to the extreme only because you couldn’t be bothered to meet me for three damned years.’’

“You’ve got to stop bringing that up.’’

Storm was annoyed.

I was starting to get pissed.

Her attitude was irritating. There was a reason I didn’t come, and she knew it. It didn’t mean I wasn’t hurting, too. Yet she was acting like it only affected her. Why couldn’t she see that I was trying my best to make up for it?

I was going to spend the rest of my life proving that she made the right choice and that choosing me was the only option for her.

“I can’t.’’ She kissed her teeth, staring right at me. “Your story just doesn’t make any sense. In three years, there had to have been at least an opportunity or two to approach me. Especially given your stalking. I have trouble seeing a man of your caliber being able to sit still and do nothing. Where did all that obsession go? Did you get tired of me? Did you get over those feelings? Was it all a damn game for you?”

Storm was hyperventilating. Her palms started to sweat, and she was furiously wiped them on her clothes. Her body trembled and her teeth clattered together. Anxiety and dread were written all over her face.

Her eyes were filled with tears, and she bit her bottom lip, trying to suppress them from slipping out.

Standing up, I walked over to her and got down on my knees, grabbing her hands in mine. She refused to look at me and all I could do was kiss the back of her palms, silently trying to soothe the ache I caused.

“Bambi, there’s no way I could ever get tired of you.’’ My voice was soft, as if not to scare her. “The moment I saw you for the first time, all of me belonged to you. And while we were apart, I thought about you day and night. For the first year, you were constantly under watch.’’

Storm froze, sniffling, and finally decided to look at me.

“What?”

As she blinked, a trail of tears coated her cheek. I wiped them with my thumb, enjoying how she leaned into my touch.

“That FBI agent you met in the hospital, Adira King, always had her people watch over you. They were watching your every move, and if I had shown up to meet with you, both of us would’ve been arrested.’’

“Then how was it possible for you to come into my apartment?”

I grinned. “I’m a man of many talents. Going in and out of your building undetected was rather easy. Almost laughable.’’

“So much for high security,’’ she grumbled under her breath, and I almost didn’t catch it.

“For the next couple of days, you will relax here. You’ll call your family and give them some sort of an excuse while I deal with everything else.’’

“Everything else?”

“Yes. I’ll wipe all evidence of you ever coming to New York. No one will be able to tie you to this place.’’

“That seems impossible. Sierra knows I’m here and all the other detectives.’’

I chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make it seem as if you were somewhere far. There will never be any physical evidence that could harm you.’’

Storm was skeptical, but nodded, nonetheless.

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