Page 25 of Still Burning

She let out a small laugh, but there was no humor in it. Instead, it was filled with sadness, and my heart twisted in pain.

“I don’t think I get a choice in that. I’ve loved you most of my life. Even when I didn’t want to.”

That sent a trickle of relief through me, but not enough. She’d also loved me living twenty thousand–plus miles away, married to another man.

“You’ll stay with me?” I pressed. I needed to hear those words.

She nodded. “Yes.”

Bending my head, I took her full lips and licked her lower one, like she had earlier. Her mouth opened for me, and I took the sweetness that was Salem and savored it. The touch of her tongue was a balm that my soul needed. Reminding me that she wanted me too.

I slid my hands down her arms, then around to cup her ass and jerk her closer against me. She grabbed my biceps to steady herself, but broke the kiss and dropped her forehead to my chest.

“I…I need to…I can’t do this right now. I just need to process.”

She had said she loved me. It was going to be okay. This didn’t mean anything was changing. She wasn’t pulling away from me. I’d tie her to me if she tried.

“Okay. Well, process while I hold you,” I said, scooping her up and walking over to the sofa.

“What are you doing?” she asked, frowning.

When I reached it, I sat down and tucked her close to me. “Letting you process,” I told her, then pressed a kiss to her temple. “Process all you need.”

She sighed. “I didn’t mean like this. I need to think. Be alone.”

Not a chance in hell was I letting her be alone to think.

“Pretend I’m not here.”

“Rome,” she said, as if exasperated with me.

I smiled. “Angel Face.”

She rested her head on my shoulder. “How long are you going to hold me?”

I shrugged. “As long as it takes you to process and let me get you naked and back in bed.”

She said nothing, and I breathed her in, pressing my nose close to her head, then kissed her temple again before resting my head on the wall behind me. Minutes went by in silence, and I started to wonder if she’d fallen asleep. I wasn’t sure how long the processing was going to take, but while she needed to think, I needed to sink inside her and reassure myself she was mine.

“She’s having your baby. That’s going to form a bond between you two. You’ll be connected in a way we won’t be.”

My arms tightened around her. “Two people can have a kid and not have a connection or bond with each other. Take my parents, for example. There was no bond there. Besides, my soul has formed the only connection it was made for. That happened when I was nineteen years old,” I said.

She didn’t argue with me, and a few moments passed before she spoke again.

“Have you…did you ever see your dad…after your mom passed?” she asked.

I had, but only because he’d reached out to me.

“He walked into one of our clubs, looking for me, about five years ago. Wanted to talk. We shared a beer. He asked me about my life. Said he was sorry to hear about my mom’s death. Then proceeded to tell me that he had terminal cancer and would most likely be dead in six months’ time.”

Her head shot up off my chest, and she stared up at me, wide-eyed. “Oh, Rome,” she said, sorrow thick in her tone. “I am so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Angel Face,” I said, grinning at her clear concern over this. I kissed her forehead and then the tip of her nose. “He was a stranger to me. I’d not seen him since I was a little kid. He’d come to make himself feel better about it by apologizing and attempting to get to know me since his time was limited. I had a beer with him. Walked him to the door and said goodbye.”

She wet her lips and still looked upset. “But did you see him again?”

I shook my head. “No. He asked if I’d come to his house for dinner. I said no, that this was his closure, and I hoped it made him feel better, but that was all he’d get from me.”

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