Page 28 of Hunted Vengeance

“I do,” she says, and I watch as unshed tears fill her eyes. She blinks them away, inhaling deeply through her nose before she lets it out of her mouth slowly, then dips her chin in a single nod.

“You’re the only man I’ve ever wanted, Merrick.”

“But you left,” I point out.

She shakes her head. “My father made it very clear that there would be problems for you if I did not go with him. I thought you would be happier without me anyway. It’s not like we were close… except…”

“In bed,” I finish.

“In bed,” she confirms with a small smile as her cheeks tint pink.

There is a moment of silence where we just stare into each other’s eyes, and for the first time in my life, my mind is quiet. Even when I’m inside of her, I feel at peace, but I don’t feel still. There is a constant edginess to me.

Part of me is always on the defense, always ready to fight—except in this moment, right here and now—with Colette.

I can’t even try to tell her that she’s wrong, but she’s not. That’s exactly what the fuck we did. Fuck. We didn’t talk. I can’t even order her a goddamn coffee the way she likes if I tried.

“I want to change that, Colette,” I state. “You’re still my wife.”

She blinks for a moment. Then, her brows knit together as she stares at me. I watch as she processes the information I just gave her. It’s almost as if she didn’t know that she was still my wife.

“Colette,” I murmur.

“I’m what?” she asks.

“The annulment hasn’t been finalized yet.”

She sits up, her bare breasts distracting me instantly. Biting the corner of my lip, I ball my hands into fists as I fight the urge to touch them, to touch her, to fuck her again. But I know I’m going to need to start getting dressed and make my exit soon. I have, without a doubt, teetered on the edge of overstaying my welcome and getting caught.

“It hasn’t?” she breathes.

“It will be finalized soon, but it hasn’t yet. You’re still very much my wife, Colette.”

She opens her mouth to say something, but a noise outside of the bedroom door causes both of us to freeze. Sliding off the bed, I gather my discarded clothes as quickly and quietly as humanly possible. Wishing I had brought a gun with me and making a mental note to get one somewhere… soon.

I watch as Colette grabs a robe from the back of her closet door and slips it on over her naked body. I frown at the sight, knowing that she’s completely naked beneath. I can see her nipples through the thin fabric.

The noise happens again.

We both freeze.

I should probably get the fuck out of here, but I can’t walk away until I know she’s safe. Even though that is an oxymoron because she could never be fucking safe in this house. Never was, never could be, never will be.

The door handle jiggles, and instead of climbing out of the window the way I probably should, I move to the darkest corner of the bedroom and watch. Colette turns her head, looking at me from over her shoulder, then gives me a small smile before the handle jiggles again.

Chapter Twelve

MERRICK

A knockon the door causes my spine to straighten. Colette moves toward the door, but she doesn’t open it. She stays still and then asks who it is on the other side. Plastering myself to the wall, I hope to fuck that Adriano doesn’t look around the room.

“It’s your father. I’m being kind by knocking,” he snaps.

Colette’s shoulders slump as she unlocks and opens the door. I watch as she takes a step backward, her entire body changing the moment she hears his voice. I fucking hate that shit.

Adriano walks through the door but luckily turns his back to me to focus on Colette. “Pack your bags. You leave in the afternoon.”

“Leave?” she asks.

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