be. With my husband. My family. And thank god I was here, just before you did something you couldn’t take back.”
“What would you have me do?!” My voice erupted from my center, pouring out of my mouth in flames. “They took you, did God knows what, they hurt you...” I stormed to the door. It was still open, the chill of the air drenching me to the bone. The property we were staying had an incredible hot tub with a view that was damn near priceless. But instead of being in that hot tub with my wife, we were here. I’d made her an accessory to my crime. “I didn’t want you to see this, to be part of any of it!”
I expected her body to tense, the argumentative stance that I found equally frustrating and sexy. But her shoulders sagged like she was defeated.
“Of course I’m part of it. I was kidnapped. I came back to you in bits and pieces. You wanted to put me back together. When the glue didn’t work, you reached for the knife.”
She was blaming herself? “No, Leila...this isn’t on you. I made the choice to find Cole and to come here and do this-”
“Give me some tape.”
I unclenched my fists and licked my lips, anger slipping out and confusion spilling into the cracks. “What?”
“The tape, Jacob!”
The snap in her tone was like nails on a chalkboard but I forced my inner Dom into submission. We weren’t in the playroom and considering the circumstances, she had every right to be pissed.
I gripped the roll of duct tape, pretending it was some stress relieving device because the closer I got to Cole, the more I longed to tell Leila to step aside so I could finish the job. When he cast his eyes in my direction and his grimace bled into a snarl, I’d had it.
“If you keep looking at me like that-”
“Jacob.” Leila’s voice was low and secret, just for the two of us. It pulled me in and told me that at the end of it all, it was me and her. And I was better than this.
The urge to wipe that look off Cole’s face was manageable but when she gestured in his direction, I still hoped she’d ask me to tape his mouth and pass her the tool box.
“Tape the shirt to his neck.”
I hesitated. She wanted me to help him feel more comfortable? The idea of helping Cole Sommers, even symbolically, made me go cold. “He’ll be fine.”
“Please?” she pleaded.
One heart wrenching syllable and I’d unraveled a strip and secured the shirt around Cole’s neck. Leila reluctantly moved her hands from their position, then turned and walked out of the cottage without another word.
Cole let out a grunt that was either ‘Go after her’ or ‘Ow’.
I’m going with the first, but not because you said so . I tossed him a scowl and followed Leila. She’d stopped at the gate. The closer I got to her, the more I wished I could take it all away.
She was gripping the rotted post for dear life, like all the times when she thought I wasn’t watching. It wasn’t the kidnapping that brought her this pain.
It was me.
“Leila,” My hands hovered above her shoulders, expecting her to tell me not to touch her. To get in the nearest car and put her and our marriage behind me because we were over. But she remained silent and when I rested my hands on her shoulders, she didn’t flinch. “I’m so sorry.”
She let out a half-hearted sound of acknowledgement. “You hear that?”
I looked out in the darkness, frowning. I heard nothing. “No?”
“Exactly. Nothing. No city. No work. No anything but you and me. That’s what I hoped you’d choose, even though I did my own digging and found out that Cole was in Ireland.”
My heart skidded to a stop. “What?”
She nodded, wringing her hands on the wood. I heard the low, melancholy moan of it. “You had murder in your eyes practically 24/7. I knew it was only a matter of time. And my heart broke when you asked me to come to Dublin. But there was still hope. When we were in the city, there were moments when you almost looked happy and I
“What would you have me do?!” My voice erupted from my center, pouring out of my mouth in flames. “They took you, did God knows what, they hurt you...” I stormed to the door. It was still open, the chill of the air drenching me to the bone. The property we were staying had an incredible hot tub with a view that was damn near priceless. But instead of being in that hot tub with my wife, we were here. I’d made her an accessory to my crime. “I didn’t want you to see this, to be part of any of it!”
I expected her body to tense, the argumentative stance that I found equally frustrating and sexy. But her shoulders sagged like she was defeated.
“Of course I’m part of it. I was kidnapped. I came back to you in bits and pieces. You wanted to put me back together. When the glue didn’t work, you reached for the knife.”
She was blaming herself? “No, Leila...this isn’t on you. I made the choice to find Cole and to come here and do this-”
“Give me some tape.”
I unclenched my fists and licked my lips, anger slipping out and confusion spilling into the cracks. “What?”
“The tape, Jacob!”
The snap in her tone was like nails on a chalkboard but I forced my inner Dom into submission. We weren’t in the playroom and considering the circumstances, she had every right to be pissed.
I gripped the roll of duct tape, pretending it was some stress relieving device because the closer I got to Cole, the more I longed to tell Leila to step aside so I could finish the job. When he cast his eyes in my direction and his grimace bled into a snarl, I’d had it.
“If you keep looking at me like that-”
“Jacob.” Leila’s voice was low and secret, just for the two of us. It pulled me in and told me that at the end of it all, it was me and her. And I was better than this.
The urge to wipe that look off Cole’s face was manageable but when she gestured in his direction, I still hoped she’d ask me to tape his mouth and pass her the tool box.
“Tape the shirt to his neck.”
I hesitated. She wanted me to help him feel more comfortable? The idea of helping Cole Sommers, even symbolically, made me go cold. “He’ll be fine.”
“Please?” she pleaded.
One heart wrenching syllable and I’d unraveled a strip and secured the shirt around Cole’s neck. Leila reluctantly moved her hands from their position, then turned and walked out of the cottage without another word.
Cole let out a grunt that was either ‘Go after her’ or ‘Ow’.
I’m going with the first, but not because you said so . I tossed him a scowl and followed Leila. She’d stopped at the gate. The closer I got to her, the more I wished I could take it all away.
She was gripping the rotted post for dear life, like all the times when she thought I wasn’t watching. It wasn’t the kidnapping that brought her this pain.
It was me.
“Leila,” My hands hovered above her shoulders, expecting her to tell me not to touch her. To get in the nearest car and put her and our marriage behind me because we were over. But she remained silent and when I rested my hands on her shoulders, she didn’t flinch. “I’m so sorry.”
She let out a half-hearted sound of acknowledgement. “You hear that?”
I looked out in the darkness, frowning. I heard nothing. “No?”
“Exactly. Nothing. No city. No work. No anything but you and me. That’s what I hoped you’d choose, even though I did my own digging and found out that Cole was in Ireland.”
My heart skidded to a stop. “What?”
She nodded, wringing her hands on the wood. I heard the low, melancholy moan of it. “You had murder in your eyes practically 24/7. I knew it was only a matter of time. And my heart broke when you asked me to come to Dublin. But there was still hope. When we were in the city, there were moments when you almost looked happy and I
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