Opening the envelope, I pull out the thick stack of papers and grit my teeth as I read. Most of the letter is an apology for getting her involved. The other part is him explaining that he made it so that she would break up with him because he knew he didn’t want her to be swept up in his mess, that he was attempting to protect her. But the last page has me seeing red. Him telling her that he’s in love with her and that he knows she felt the same is not something I want to think about. Crumpling the paper in my hands, I go to the back door, let Ninja inside, and head for the bathroom, taking the letter with me.
“I thought you were bringing me coffee,” she says, shutting off the blow dryer. Going to her side, I set the letter down on the vanity. Her eyes drop to it, scan the first page, narrow, and then lift to mine. “Did you open my mail?” She frowns, studying me.
“I did.” I lean back against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Why?”
“I wanted to see what he had to say. He shouldn’t be in contact with you at all, so I thought it might be important. It’s not.”
She scans my face, and she asks, “Are you pissed?”
“Fuck yeah.”
“Why?” she questions, sounding baffled.
“A man telling my woman that he’s in love with her is the kind of shit that pisses me off.”
“Maybe we should talk about the status of our relationship,” she murmurs, setting the blow dryer down on the counter next to the sink, then leans back, crossing her arms over her breasts.
“You’re mine, there is nothing to discuss when it comes to who you belong to.”
“I wasn’t yours, for a long time, Evan. You left me. I didn’t have a choice. I had to move on.”
“You were always mine,” I growl, leaning forward. “You know you were mine.”
“How many women were you with while I was ‘yours’?” she asks quietly, and I narrow my eyes and lean back.
“None.” I run my hands over my head and growl, “Jesus, you think if I couldn’t have you, I would have someone else? To what, pass time? Get off? Fuck no.”
Her enormous eyes stare up at me and her lips part before she whispers, “What?”
“Baby, I wouldn’t settle for someone else if I couldn’t have you,” I say, trying to gentle my voice.
“You…” She pauses, then points at my chest. “You haven’t been with anyone since me?” she asks, pointing at herself, and I close my eyes then open them back up.
Reaching out, I wrap my hand around her waist, and drag her into me. “I love you, only you,” I state firmly, dropping my forehead to hers.
“But—”
“No buts. Fuck, I may not have been married to you anymore, but that didn’t change my feelings for you.”
“Oh, my God,” she breathes, placing her hands against my chest leaning forward.
“Were you in love with him?” I ask through gritted teeth, not really wanting to know the answer but needing it all the same.
“What?” She blinks, leaning back.
“Were you in love with HIM?”
“No.” Her head shakes and she tilts farther back as her hands slide up my chest and wrap around the sides of my neck. “How could I love someone else, when you still had my heart?” she asks softly, running her fingers across my jaw.
“You were with him for a while,” I remind her, and her face softens.
“I was trying to move on, but he wasn’t you.”
“Fuck.” I squeeze her to me.
“Don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m pissed at myself that he ever had a shot at you, so fucking mad that my actions meant a man like him was able to breathe your air,” I growl, gritting my teeth.
“Ev,” she whispers, and my eyes focus on hers. “We can’t go back.” She shakes her head, pressing her tits harder against my chest. “If we spend all our time going back, we’ll miss the fact that for the first time in a long time, we’re both going forward and doing it together.”
“Yeah.” I drop my forehead to hers.
“I wish that things had been different.”
“Me too, beautiful,” I agree, leaning back to place a kiss to her forehead, nose, and then mouth. I remind her, “You need to get ready for work.”
“Are you okay?” she asks, ignoring her reminder.
“Yeah, baby.” She searches my face for a long time before whispering.
“Good.” Leaning up she kisses my jaw then pulls away and heads for the closet. Going to the room, I pull on my jeans and tee then head back to the kitchen to fix her a cup of coffee. I take it to her then grab my cell and call Jax, letting him know Lane’s been in contact before heading back to the kitchen to get my own cup of coffee, and wait for June to finish getting ready so I can take her to work.
“Do you think the person who broke into my house will come back?” June asks, and I glance over at her before turning when the light switches to green.
“I don’t think so baby,” I say softly, giving her hand a squeeze.
I spent the night of her break-in putting out feelers and talking to anyone I could get my hands on. No one knew anything. No one saw anything. No one heard anything. It was dead end after dead end. As it stands, we’re moving blind. None of us knows why someone would show up in a mask at her house, see her vulnerable, naked in a bath, and not make a move and if they were there just to rob her they could have taken so much more. It didn’t make sense…still doesn’t make sense.