Page 29 of Yours to Conquer

“Why are you going to Dallas, anyway? You seem stressed, and you aren’t sharing any information with me.”

“I didn’t want you to get stressed. I have to check out the two stores in Dallas because there have been some discrepancies in the books. A lot of money is unaccounted for. Then the incident at Ahz happened, and now, this. It’s been a shitty week.”

“We used to live together. I was supposed to be your partner,” Itell him. I can’t look into his eyes because if I do my heart will break. Maybe I judged him too harshly.

“We still live together, baby. Come home. I need you with me. I screwed up, but I promise it won’t happen again.”

“Let’s talk more when you get back. I don’t want to add to your burdens.”

“Why do I feel like you’re not coming home?”

“I need some time to think. This morning, I was never going to talk to you again. See how far I’ve come.” I smile up at him.

“Please come home, baby. I have to go, but it’s going to be so hard to leave you. I haven’t spent more than a day without you in my arms or my bed. Can I kiss you goodbye?”

I lean into him; he draws me like a magnet to metal. His lips brush gently against mine. His kiss is tentative like he’s testing the waters. I melt into him, burying my nose in his chest. His fingers gently lift my chin as his lips fuse with mine. My heart is pounding out of my chest, and I don’t know if it’s from love, hope, or something else. I open my mouth to inhale and feel his tongue enter. His kiss is slow and passionate. There are a million words said in this kiss. My hands slide up his chest to wrap around his neck. He deepens the kiss, our tongues dancing. It’s a sexy dance, like the Samba or the Tango. The world around me disappears, and only he and I exist. We linger in the abyss for several more minutes before he pulls away.

“I want to take you into your room and make love to you. I can’t right now because I have a plane to catch, but I want to. You don’t know how much I want you.” He looks down at his pants. My eyes follow to his crotch.

“Hold that thought until Wednesday,” I say. We both stand. He grabs my head and pulls me in for another mind-bending kiss.

“Are you coming home, baby?”

“I’ll think about it. We have a lot of unresolved issues. Keepkissing me like that, and I can’t think of anything but how nice that feels.”

“Go back to bed. I’ll text you from the airport. I have to run. I love you.”

“I have to meet Kat for coffee soon, and then Roxy is coming to see my house.”

“She’s coming to your Malibu house? Wow, I didn’t know we were subletting rooms. I said that we were having problems with money in Texas, but we are far from destitute,” he teases.

I give him a playful punch before I reply. “That’s your house. I’m talking about this house.”

“We’ll talk about what’s mine and what’s yours when I get back. I have to go. I’ll miss you. Emma, and I’m so sorry.” He holds my hand until the distance he travels pulls us apart. I watch from the porch as he enters the cab and pulls away.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

I rush into Java Joes and see Kat sitting in the corner with two coffees in front of her.

“You’re late,” she says as she watches me with a guarded expression. “Don’t tell me you were up early this morning having makeup sex.”

“No, I wasn’t. We didn’t have time. He had to catch a plane to Dallas.”

“What am I going to do with you? What in the hell happened? Damon spent over an hour on the phone with Anthony last night. It didn’t sound good.”

“It was awful. I ran from him like a twelve-year-old girl. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever be able to put that scared little girl to bed. Anthony isn’t much better than me; he’s a thirty-four-year-old boy who is used to getting what he wants. His mom spoiled him, and he thinks the world is his oyster.”

“Sounds like he’s perfect for you, then. He doesn’t want the world, Em; he wants you. You’re his oyster, and it’s shucking season, girlfriend.” Her shoulders shake as she laughs.

I laugh at her joke, but sober as I remember what sent merunning yesterday. “He threw a glass last night, and I lost my mind. I hid in the corner of the closet and cried. I only left the closet to throw up.”

“Maybe you should go see Dr. Lydell again. She’s helped you through a few rough patches. If the stress is making you physically ill, then you need to see her.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right. I’ll call her tomorrow.”

I rush around,trying to get a power cord for my phone and make it back in time to meet Roxy. I see her in my mind as a bleached blonde who looks somewhat like a white Grace Jones—a badass chick in leather and silver studs.

I pull up in front of my house with about fifteen minutes to spare and take a few of them to plug in my phone and check my messages. There are several from Anthony.

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