Page 14 of Burning Your Lies

Huxley undresses himself faster than he did me. We’re both naked in the middle of his bedroom within a few seconds.

“Ready?”

I swallow hard. “He made everyone think I was crazy. He got me institutionalised. He’s the reason my mum died alone. He’s why I couldn’t be there when they laid her to rest. He snatched my chance of saying goodbye to her.” Tears threaten to fall as I remember sitting alone in the home after being deniedone day’sreleaseto bury my mum. Xavier did everything to keep me his prisoner.

“We’re going to do this, Savannah. We’re going to get Elise back. We’re going to take himdown.”

I realise how much he’s already sacrificed by marrying me. With Huxley as my husband and next of kin, Xavier can no longer make medical decisions for me.

I shake my head. “You don’t have to do this. If you want to back out—”

Before I can finish my offer, Huxley cuts in. “I’m not in the business of saying things I don’t mean. It’s me and you.”

I take his hand in mine and stare at the closet door. “Usversus him. Are you ready?”

His nod is one of confidence. “I’m in the snake’s den.” Huxley grins at me. “Haven’t you read a fairytale before? A true gentleman slays the dragon.”

I twist open the door and flick the lights on. Huxley pushes the clothes apart to reveal the murder board we’ve created. Every person linked to Xavier has their face on it with his face in the centre.

“He might be the dragon, but I’m the one that will do the burning.” I step up to his picture and stare at it. A genuine smile breaks out on my face. “Are you ready, Xavier? Because the queen is back on the board, and she’s burning your lies.” I close my eyes and relish in the power that he stole from me.

“Not the board, sweetheart. A new game, remember?”

My fingers run over his image. “He won’t ever see it coming. I’m going to take it all from under him. Everything he has ever built is going to come tumbling down. And one by one, I’m going to strip his lies and set fire to them.”

Huxley’s arms wrap around my waist and his chin chests on my shoulder. “It’s good to have you home.”

I turn so I am facing him. “It’s good to finally have a home.”

He kisses my temple, and then, like a switch, he exhales and steps back. “We need to set some ground rules.” He walks out of the closet and takes a seat on the bed. His eyes rake up and down my body, but his focus is elsewhere. “I didn’t marry you as a move in this game. I married you because I love you, Savannah. I love you in ways I never could have wanted for myself. I am in this marriage for real. I need to know if you are, too.”

Climbing onto his lip, my hands run through his hair before resting on either side of his neck. “Of course I am. I never said it to you before, but I love you, Hux. Long before I even understood that I did. This marriage is not a card in this game. I plan to be your wife until my last breath.”

His forehead rests against mine. When he speaks, there’s a desperation that makes my heart ache. “You are mine, Savannah. I cannot live without you again.” He takes a deep breath. “That is why I need to put these two rules in place.”

The vulnerability we showed fades away. “I’m listening.”

“Number one: you cannot use sex to win with him.” When I scoff, he shakes his head. “I mean it, Savannah. I will not tolerate adultery.”

When I told Huxley the whole truth, we skimmed over my affair with Xavier. I saw the betrayal in his eyes when he realised I was sleeping with them both. It was the only part of the story he didn’t ask questions. Instead, he asked me to spare him the details, and we never mentioned it again.

I force Huxley to look at me. “I promise to honour our vows. I won’t let Xavier come between us.”

He’s searching for something on my face and once he’s found it, he nods his head. “Number two: stay alive.” Without asking, he pulls me into a kiss. His lips are feverish against mine.

My naked body is pressed against his. My fingers thread through his hair as I meet his passion. Goosebumps follow the trail of his touch across my body, but his hands don’t touch my most sensitive parts.

He breaks the kiss and tries to catch his breath. “It’s been a long few days. We should get some sleep.”

Neither of us wants to sleep. An ache I haven’t felt in a long time throbs in my core. But there’s a deeper ache to just be with Huxley. We don’t have to worry about someone catching us or the rush to escape after sex. I want to lie in comfortable silence on our bed. I want to experience all the firsts we denied ourselves.

“Which side of the bed do you want?”

His smile feels like home. “As long as you’re in my arms, I do not care, Mrs Ray-Hayes.”

I kiss his cheek. “What do we do now?”

“Weare going on our honeymoon tomorrow. And then we come back and fall back into normalcy, starting with work.”

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