Page 26 of Under His Embrace

“But you could stay away for ten years?”

“I couldn’t see a way forward,” she replied. Her tone was firmer, bolstered with more surety and confidence, but I couldn’t tell if she was sticking to that line because she believed it or because she’d rehearsed it so many times that it sank in.

“I couldn’t see a way forward to be with you and to avoid the wrath of my parents.”

“Fuck them, Chloe.” I grunted, confused how they’d have so much control over her. “Fuck them.”

She rubbed below her eyes, still getting over the tears. “It’s not that simple.”

“Then simplify it for me,” I said. “What am I not understanding? You said you loved me?—”

“I did. I wasn’t making that up.”

“And you know how much I loved you.” I was careful not to say it in the present tense, that I loved her currently as well. That was too big of a power for her to know she held over me. That I was still as crazy for her as I was back then.

“It would have been so damn simple.” I tucked her long, golden locks back and ducked to her eye level. “You could’ve lived with me. Dante had already approved it. You could have moved in with me while I trained and started my career. You would’ve been protected.”

She sucked on her lip, showing me her tell for when she was debating what she thought and wondered.

“I know that we’re different people, that I’m supposed to be this big, bad wolf your parents never approved of. But you know me, Chloe. You know exactly who I am. I can’t change who I am, where I come from, and who I work for. But you would’ve been safe with me. You would’ve been protected and cared for. Safer with me than under the influence of this ex who’s stalking you.”

She furrowed her brow, staring at me so solemnly. “I wish I could’ve been protected. Wes is a horrible asshole. He was terrible to me.”

I gritted my teeth, keeping as tight of a leash as I could to rein in my anger. Fury coursed through my veins, heating me up with a rage I couldn’t wait to vent. I would, but not on her. I couldn’t right now. Not until I knew why our love wasn’t good enough to fight for.

“He was manipulative. Abusive. And every time I tried to leave him, he’d find me.”

“How?” I intended to find out every fucking detail about this guy so we could take care of him for her. I’d be asking her for information about him. Right now, I wanted to focus on getting an explanation for why she left me. That was the priority in my mind. It was the main mystery I needed an answer for. Still, I couldn’t help but ask about this fucker she could’ve been spared ever meeting if she’d stayed with me.

“Every time I left, my parents would tell him where I was. It took me a while to wizen up and get some street smarts about how to lie low.”

“And it never once occurred to you to seek me out?”

“Years had passed, Franco.” She frowned at me. “You can’t blame me for thinking you would be so mad and hurt that I left in the first place.”

I was angry and so wounded. “But you still could have relied on me, Chloe. Always. When I gave you my heart, I did so knowing you’d have it forever.”

She wasn’t convinced. I saw the doubt in her eyes. She’d been on the run and trying to hide from this guy for so long, fear and anxiety ruled her well.

“It’s not that simple,” she argued softly. “He would’ve only tracked me here. I suspect he has, and he shot up my workplace to prove that I’ll never be safe from him no matter where I go.”

“I dare him to come find you here.” I reveled in the confidence shining in her eyes. Just sitting here and talking gave her strength she hadn’t realized she could find in me. “He won’t get past me.”

“How can you care?” she asked, curious in an almost sad, dejected tone. “After all I did to dismiss our love, how can you be so quick to come to my defense?”

“I always will, Chloe. You can count on that.”

She looked at my lips. When she met my gaze again, I saw the lust building in the bright blue brilliance mesmerizing me to never glance away.

“You can count on me for anything you need.”

She twisted toward me, lifting her other hand to slide up my chest until she draped her arm over my shoulder. “Even another chance to forget it all? For just another moment.” As she pressed her lips to my cheek, I closed my eyes at the delicate, sensual offering she presented me.

“How?” I asked, knowing damn well what she meant.

“Make me forget. Make me forget all the years we’ve spent apart,” she said, leaving soft, barely-there kisses along my jaw.

“That’s what I need, Franco. I need you. I want you to show me that all that matters between us is what we share right now.”

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