I hated it when she cried, but that wasn’t enough for me anymore.
“I’ve spent the last month dreaming about you. Missing you. Every time Raven asked about you, I didn’t say anything…because she would hate me if I told her the truth. She would never look at me the same if I told her that it broke my heart to leave you.” Liquid diamonds streaked down her cheeks and reflected the sconces outside my palace.
My expression hadn’t changed. “I’m not going to release your sister—”
“I’m not asking you to!” Her voice rose in a scream. “I’m asking you…to let me come home. I can’t live in that apartment by myself. I can’t go to work every day and focus. I can’t go on dates with men I’m not even interested in—”
“Melanie.” I shut her up with just the slight raise of my voice. “If all of that were true, you would have come back sooner, not when you want something from me. You were here a week ago, and you didn’t want me.”
The tears continued to drip down her cheeks, to her chin, and then drop to the cobblestones underneath her.
“You only want me because of what I provide for you. That was fine before, but not anymore. Not after you left me. Not after you burned down my camp. Not after you betrayed me.” Every day without her was more painful than the last. Every night with another woman was unsatisfying. Every breath I took without her taking the same breath beside me was wasted. While I still wanted her, even after all this time, it wasn’t enough. I gave her a final look before I turned around and walked up the steps.
This time, she didn’t follow me.
I made it to the front door, which was still open as I’d left it.
Her voice rang out behind me as an emotional outburst. “Je t’aime.”
I’d almost crossed the threshold before her words hit me like a bullet to the bone. I stilled, replayed it in my head, and slowly turned around to regard her.
She remained where she stood, tears pouring down her cheeks. Her hands were clasped tightly together against her waist, a slight tremor to her body, the aftershock of her catharsis still making her shake.
I walked back to her, my bare feet hitting the cold stone as I approached, my eyes absorbing her appearance in a way I never had before. My hands ached for those hips. My lips yearned for her kiss. All it took was to hear the words I’d whispered to her so many times in the hope that she would say them back…and I was lost.
My hand snaked into her hair, and the instant I touched her, her face melted like that was exactly what she needed to find peace. My fingers fisted her hair tightly, and I tilted her head back to force her to look up at me. The moment I’d laid eyes on her, she was all I ever wanted, not just for the night, but my entire life. But like a shadow passing overhead, clouds promising rain, my anger approached over the horizon.
I was so angry.
Her eyes closed, as if expecting a kiss.
I never gave it.
My hand tightened in her hair and locked her in place. She’d risked her safety to march through the snow and destroy me. She’d left me without a backward glance. She’d lured me to bed and got my eyes to close, and then she stabbed me in the darkness. I gave this woman everything—and she gave me nothing.
Her eyes opened, revealing trepidation. They trembled slightly as she looked into my eyes, the fear setting in when she realized there would be no kiss, no embrace. Her words had fallen on deaf ears.
I squeezed her hair tighter, wanting to push her into the road and leave her there. My eyes burned with a hatred I couldn’t sheathe. I wanted to abandon her the way she’d abandoned me, leave her out there on her own without anyone to protect her. She’d hit me where it hurt the most—and I wanted to do the same to her.
Her hand moved to my forearm, and she gripped it like a lifeline, her cold skin melting like snow at my heat. Despite my rage, she continued to cling to me, prepared to latch on when I threw her on her ass.
That was all it took to bring me back, to change my mind in a split second. “Tu m’aimes?” You love me?
She seemed to understand me because she gave a nod.
That wasn’t enough for me. I tugged on her hair tighter. “Oui?” Yes?
Her answer left her lips with emotion. “Oui.” Yes.
My eyes seared into her face, branding her as mine once again. “Then prove it.”
Seven
Cold Shoulder
Melanie
I slept in the apartment alone.
I packed the few things that I had and prepared to be picked up in the morning.
Life as I knew it would be forever changed tomorrow. Once I left this place, I wouldn’t be Melanie ever again.
As with every night since Raven had left, I could hardly sleep. It wasn’t just the fact that she was gone. It was the fact that I was alone, footsteps from strangers audible on the other side of my doorstep, the sounds of the cars and ambulances loud from the street outside my window.
The only sound I heard at the palace was the fireplace.
The next morning, I sat on the couch with my packed bag beside me. My hands were in my lap and my shoulders slumped, waiting for whoever Fender sent to retrieve me. Footsteps came a moment later, belonging to a single man.
I inhaled a deep breath and waited for them to step inside. I’d left the door unlocked.
A knock sounded. “Melanie?”
I recognized that voice immediately, like I still listened to it every single day. “Gilbert? It’s open.” I rose to my feet and grabbed my bag.
He let himself inside, dressed in jeans and a shirt.
I stilled at his appearance because all I’d ever seen him in was a tuxedo or his pajamas. Sunglasses hung down the front of his shirt, and his snug jeans fit his hard body like a glove.
He took a step inside, and with his typical snootiness, he examined the apartment with obvious disapproval. He moved to the kitchen island, dragged his finger across the surface, and then turned it over to see the dark smudge of dirt there. He rubbed his fingers together to remove it. “Charming…”
I approached with my arms raised, eager to hug him even though I’d never hugged him before. I moved into his chest and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I missed you.”
He didn’t return the embrace. After a few seconds, he grabbed my bag off my shoulder and stepped back. “Is that everything?” He scanned the apartment with disdain, like he hoped all I would take was this single bag of items, and if he had it his way, probably not even that.
“Yeah.”
He turned to the door then stopped when he spotted a small drop of blood on the wall near the baseboards. He turned to me and gave me a headshake of disapproval.
“That wasn’t me—”
“Let’s go.” He led me out of the apartment and to the blacked-out SUV parked at the curb. There was a driver in the front who didn’t say a word as we got inside. He silently pulled into traffic and drove toward the palace.
We sat in silence the whole way, Gilbert sitting against the opposite window with his elbow on the armrest. His fingers rested against his jawline as he surveyed the buildings and then the countryside.
“So, you hate me again.”
He ignored me.
I realized I had to start all over—with both men.