Page 74 of Savage Heart

“Shit!” he rasped, breaking the kiss and pulling back. “I got to tell you this before I lose the ability to think.”

Pouting and hating the interruption—and hating that she hated it, Liz stared up at Trouble, waiting for his explanation. Her hands dropping to his rock-hard pecs once more, she licked her kiss-swollen lips, tasting him. He tasted like hers.

He saw her action and groaned, his eyes growing even more heated than before. As if he couldn’tnottouch her, he grabbed her wrists, his long fingers easily encircling them, locking her hands in place against him. She could feel him breathing, his heart racing—he was a living, breathing temptation beneath her palms.

God—wanting him was so wrong. But he was standing right there, right in front of her, his eyes dark with lust, his face flushed with desire, his lips puffy from devouring her mouth.

Fuck, she wanted Trouble. So fucking much.

And he must have seen that on her face because he groaned, “Goddamn, woman, you unmake me—just…just….” Moaning, he closed his eyes, he ground his cock against her, then pulled back, took a deep breath, then opened his eyes again. The heat was still there, but it was banked by determination. “When I was done talkin’ to Odin, I headed to my room to piss. Amelia was waitin’ in my room. Somehow, she got the door unlocked, got herself undressed, and was waitin’ in my bed. I swear to you, baby, I didn’t touch her, didn’t let my eyes drop below her neck, and I made sure to text Saint as soon as I saw what was goin’ on.”

“Holy shit, that fucking bitch!” Liz snarled, trying to pull her hands from Trouble’s grip so she could grab the nearest sharp object. That woman made her all sorts of unhinged violent. It wasn’t until she’d reunited with Trouble that her baser instincts to maim and mutilate had risen; before that, she’d been happyto be scrappy and snarky. Apparently, facing heartache and betrayal head on was a trigger.

Trouble chuckled. “Hold on there, tigress, lemme finish before you go makin’ her your dinner.”

Sniffing at the humor in his voice, she narrowed her eyes at him. “I hope you told her to fuck off, then tossed her out on her ass.”And then threw ice cold water on her like she was a bitch in heat.

Leaning in, Trouble forced her to meet his gaze, and she swallowed at the intensity and raw honesty she saw.

“First, I said what needed to be said, then I had Saint escort her to a guest room. She’ll be gone in the morning, banned from all club properties for thirty days.”

That was all? She opened her mouth to demand she be banned forever, when she remembered what he’d said.

“What did you say that needed to be said? What could you possibly have to say to her after the shit she’s pulled? You realize she sent me a naked selfie from your bed, right? She all but said she’d be fucking you tonight.”

Trouble’s eyes flashed rage, before a cold vibrancy replace it.

“I’ll deal with that shit later,” he intoned, making her want to ask how he planned to deal with it. “To answer your question…I apologized to her.”

Stunned, unable to believe what he’d just said, she rasped, “What?”

Rolling his lips, he dropped her wrists to cup her face.

“I had it under good authority—from the ol’ ladies and even Odin—that I was in the wrong for using Amelia to hurt you. I strung her along, makin’ her think we were more than just fuckin’. They explained that’s why she’s so pissed and actin’ out—she thought she’d be my ol’ lady, because I showed her preferential treatment—Fae’s words, not mine. So, yeah, I told her I was sorry—then she said some shit….” His words droppedoff as he finally took in her expression. His gaze dropped from her eyes, drifting over each of her features, as if trying to read what she wasn’t saying.

I told her I was sorry….

HetoldAmeliahe wassorry. Remorse. Apology. Regret. He’d told Amelia he regretted what he’d done. He’d told Amelia he was remorseful. He gave to Amelia something Liz had been silently, patiently waiting for forten years.

Her voice barely a whisper, she breathed, “You…apologized.” She blinked, her heart rate spiking, then stalling, making her brain fuzzy. “To Amelia.” Her voice cracked on the name.

Trouble leaned back, his forehead furrowing in confusion.

“Was I not supposed to? The girls said—”

Enough. She’d heard enough.

“You fucking asshole!” she hissed, just barely remembering that their daughter was asleep down the hallway. Trouble flinched at her venom, anger hardening his features. “You apologized to Amelia. The woman you used to hurtme.Me!Youhurt meon purpose, using someone you knew enjoyed flaunting your relationship in my face, someone who made it her mission to remind me at every opportunity that she was sharing your bed, and I was not. You apologized to her—”

Clearly exasperated, he interjected, “Yes—”

“But not to me!” she screamed, now uncaring about any potential audience. She couldn’t hold it in, that vitriol, that bitter resentment, that painful, striking humiliation that another woman heard those precious words before she did. Her, Liz, the woman he’d wounded far worse, cut much deeper than some fucking clubwhore. “I’ve heard about how bad you feel for what you did, that you were a coward, a piece of shit, that you want to make up for all the years you missed with Erika. You talk about how you’re going to make things right, that you want to be a family, that you want me back….” She closed her eyes,the burning tears collecting in the corners slipping free. She heard him gasp. Opening her eyes, she looked at him, every ounce of pain, of devastating hurt and disappointment, of anger and bitterness, and indignation and outrage poured out of her soul and into her gaze. Trouble went white. “But not once—not fucking once—have you said the words ‘I’m sorry’.”

For too long, she’d carried herself, using her own strength, her own determination, her own will—and she couldn’t do it anymore. Her strength depleted, her heart screaming, she crumbled.

Trouble leapt forward, wrapping his arms around her as she fell, the sound of a wounded animal burst from his chest.

He held her up, his large body supporting her in her moment of weakness. Against her head, he rasped, “No, no, no…baby. Shit. You’re right, you’re right….” He pressed a kiss to her bowed head. “I’m sorry, so fucking sorry, Liz. Not just for not saying the words before but for all that I’ve done to hurt you. For all the mistakes I made with you, for pushing you away, for making you think the worst, for making you raise our daughter on your own for ten fucking years.” He took a deep, unsteady breath as his arms around her tightened. “I have loved you for so long, and I have been a fool for just as long.”

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