He turns back toward me and nods, meeting my eyes. “Very well. I’ll get Conor to run you back to the hotel,” he rasps.
“Thank you,” I say as my heart breaks for the both of us.
“Before you go, I just want you to know everything I said was true. It will only ever be you,” he says over his shoulder, walking out of the room.
I watchas she walks out of my room. It kills me to hear those words spew from her mouth, but I know she doesn’t mean them. She’s confused. She still wants to live the dreams she’s been having most of her life.
She says I don’t know her, but I think I know her better than she knows herself. She’s fighting not only me, but herself. I’ll let her think I concede, but I won’t. She’s mine and always will be. Even if that means letting her run off and hide, I’ll let her because I know in the end, she will be with me.
“I wish you didn’t have to leave.” Greer lies on my chest, her hair fanning across her back.
“If I could, I would stay in this bed with you forever.” I lean down, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
“Why don’t you?” She moves her head, resting her chin on her hands on my chest while looking up at me.
“What do you mean? We can’t live in this bed. How would we eat?” I joke.
She rolls those beautiful brown eyes at me. I love her eyes. The way the gold flecks sparkle in the light, giving her a mischievous look.
“We could run off together. Live off the grid.”
I smile at her spontaneous idea. This is Greer, though. She lives for the adventure. That’s how I ended up meeting her in the first place. She only walked into my bar for the adrenaline high. An act of rebellion.
Thank God she did.
“They would never stop hunting us. Both your and my family wouldn’t rest until we were found. My family would kill us both on sight while yours would kill me, then cage you in. I don’t want that for you.”
“We would be together, though. Don’t you want that?”
“I do, but I have responsibilities. I’ve taken some much-needed time off here, but eventually I have to go back. You could come back with me. I’ll make it right with your brother.”
She huffs, sitting up. “I’ll never go back there. I’m tired of being a pawn in Bash’s game. He only calls on me when he needs something. He never calls just to check on me. Hell, he met and fell in love with a woman, and I had no idea he was even capable. I can’t go back there. I refuse to be a part of that life.”
Letting out a sigh, I pull her back to me. “Then we are at a crossroads. I have to go, and you want to stay.”
She hums. “At least we have memories.”
I absentmindedly agree as a plan forms in my head. She’s mine. I can’t lose her forever.
“How about we make some new memories?” I hear her voice as the plan solidifies in my head.
When I feel her lips seal around my cock, my mind goes blank, overwhelmed by the feeling she evokes.
It isn’t until we each orgasm several times that the plan comes into view.
I glance down at her sleeping form on my chest.
“I’ll get you over to the States to be with me. You will see how much you love it with me.”
I pull myself out of the memory. I have seen how much Greer loves the city. She acts like she’s put out with being here, but she’s not.
She loves that she can walk just about anywhere. She is intoxicated by the noise and lights. The hustle and bustle of the city calls to her adventurous heart. She doesn’t have to travel several hours to experience something new. She can do that by going down to Times Square and people watching.
As much as she pretends to hate it here, she doesn’t. She hates feeling trapped. Feeling like her decisions are not her own. I need to change that. I need to make her believe she will have freedom with me. That I will protect her no matter what, but I will also do my best to protect her free will.
I pick up my phone, dialing Bastiano.
“What is it?” His clipped voice comes across the line.