Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
He says I belong to him forever. That’s a one-sided deal, ever in his favor. Yet, I will take it because I have lost this battle with fear. I have lost my mind in love with Victor.
“Victor.” I sigh. “Last night, I threatened to leave. No more. I will not leave you. You’ve put in too much effort to keep me. Just friggen be real with me, at the very least? And I will never leave.”
He squeezes me tightly, touching his reverent lips to my forehead. Victor’s actions say it all.
That morning, we left Arlington for a week in the Mediterranean.
Over time, I see a different side of the man I love.
The kind, tender side, which digested the pain I felt when we first met, who consumed the nightmares, and roused all the good memories.
He started from the beginning.
The hunting trips with his father.
The day he set eyes on Emeli, an older courageous woman.
While his thumb brushes over the side of my breast, Victor mutters, “She was the sexy, new professor, teaching literature. I ended up in her class due to a clerical error. I was supposed to be in a business class, but I laid eyes on her.”
“Ahhh, I see. Then the royal fell to his knees.” My voice ribbons with emotion as I reminisce on how Victor kneeled before me when declaring that I just had to be his.
“Yeah, I was the first between the two of us on their knees.”
I pop him softly and listen intently to how he fell in love.
Though, for every morsel of his life, I’ve flooded his ears with my younger years. Victor makes it easy to chat about the good old days. And as we sunbathed on the main deck of his yacht, Victor and Emeli’s marriage became flesh and bone.
“Graham told you about the crash, yeah?” I nod, encouraging him to continue. “Heh, my older woman wasn’t much of a driver, but here’s something I never told a soul, although Burt, and anyone who was on staff that day, were no doubt aware. Em left.” Victor’s tone goes taut.
Instantly, it hits me like a thunderbolt.
His wife left him.
All this time, Victor’s only weakness has been me leaving like his wife had.
“She left with my son, Lux. She was angry, and I’m sure, too bloody livid to drive. I’ve held onto that for a while now. I prayed that I could go back and make it right between us.” Victor gathers my hands together. “Now, I’m pretty sure God took the day off when we crossed paths.”
I laugh softly.
“You’ve vowed not to leave.”
I nod in agreement.
“I’ve rewritten history, doled out every mistake, proffered you the same hurt. But you promised me to stay.” Reverent lips brush over my knuckles. My heart stalls in my chest, waiting for him to grant my greatest desire.
Say you love me.
“I beg your patience, Lux, and your kind heart. I will change. I literally am, albeit slowly.”
Warmth floods through my soul. At this moment, I’m not deluded by a weakness that tethers me to him. I’m confident that, with time, Victor will love me the way I need. Like me, Victor had buried the hurt, the pain, and the ones he loved. But he’s capable of change.
Of love.
Each morning, we make love, passion ignited and burning brighter with every caress and kiss. Then one day, Victor introduces the sparring.
I still don’t know what he’s preparing me for, and when I ask, there’s urgency in his eyes.
Maybe he expects doom.
His childhood was stolen.
He lost his wife.
His only son.
And my threats to bolt in the past may have added to all the scars.
Now, I sit on a wicker chair on the lower deck, the sun beaming down softly as salt-misted air slicks the hairs at the nape of my neck.
“Three days in a row. I have a feeling that this is going to be the norm, like the shooting range.” I smile at Victor, lacing up my tennies.
He doesn’t reply, which increases the urgency. I want to blame Victor’s antics on the situation with Overton, but his actions stem from control.
Maybe his father gave him a doomsday complex?
I move into a wide-legged stance, ready. “Vic, I hope your twisted mind isn’t overthinking my agreement. This is merely a workout since, each time we debark, I fall madly in love with my newest favorite dish.”
“Take this seriously, Lux.”
Lips pinched musingly, I swivel my hips, powering into an uppercut.
Victor thwarts the swift punch.
With stern eye contact, Victor orders, “Give me your all.”
“I am.” Focus heightened; I plant my feet. I hear the faint sound of air zipping past with a power punch.
He swiftly blocks.
I set up a cross.
He swats my fist.
This is friggen frustrating. “Well, this was a major calorie burn, even if you don’t let me hit you.” My mouth tenses, and I wave him off. “Thanks for the workout.”