Page 289 of His To Erase
I roll my eyes. “Relax. You’re doing great. Ten out of ten. Slightly traumatizing, but emotionally available, but you’re my toxic little dreamboat.”
The corner of his mouth lifts. “Keep talking like that, and I’ll put you over my knee before we get to the talking part.”
Don’t tempt me with a good time.
Okay, I know he’s right. We probably do need to talk. I sigh. “Okay. Fine. We’ll talk.”
I’m not ready to unravel just yet, so I tilt my head, keeping my tone light even though my pulse kicks up. “But I have one question first.”
His eyes narrow, but he nods once.
“If you weren’t the one sending me messages, who was?” I ask, crossing my arms.
He exhales through his nose. “I had it looked into. But we’ll talk about it later.”
My arms tighten around my chest. “That’s not ominous or anything.”
“Not now, Ani.”
The words should piss me off more than they do, but he chuckles under his breath, as he sits down, pulling me once again into his lap. “You want to talk now, or are you tired?”
I don’t answer right away. I just go still against him, because I can feel it—that weight we’ve both been carrying since the second we stepped off the tarmac.Do I want to talk, no. Should we, probably.
I shift back slightly so I can see him. His arm tightens instinctively around my waist, like letting me move too far is a risk he’s not willing to take.
His eyes flick down to mine, jaw flexing because he knows that I’m not going to let it go. “I had Travis run it.”
“Who’s Travis?”
He ignores my question and keeps talking. “I didn’t want to drop it on you until I was sure.”
“Well?” I blink. “Are you sure now?”
He looks at me with that look—that unreadable, too-calm stillness that usually comes right before someone bleeds.
“We’ll get into it tomorrow,” he mutters. “After you sleep and after I figure out how the fuck to say it all without making you hate me.”
My chest tightens. “Is it really that bad?”
“Not everything,” he says. “Some of it you deserve to know. Some of it you need to know. But yeah, parts of it are not going to be pleasant.” His hand comes up, thumb dragging across the inside of my wrist. “You asked me once if I was the kind of man who lies.”
“I remember.”
“I don’t lie. But I also didn’t tell you everything.”
“That’s not exactly comforting…or a secret.”
“I know.”
Silence stretches out between us, thick and full of everything that’s happened. I mean, could this man break my heart into a thousand pieces? Absolutely. But he makes me feel safe. A little frightened at times, sure, but I’ve never felt safer.
I know I should let it sit and give myself a second to process whatever the hell he means by“some of it is bad.”But I can’t. I’d rather just get it all out now.
“No,” I say. “We’re not doing this tomorrow.”
His eyes darken and his arm tightens around my waist again. “Ani?—”
“I’m fine.” It comes out tighter than I expected. “I’m not dead.”
