Page 69 of Vicious Deception
He brushes his lips against mine once more before turning to Elliot. As they embrace, I wrap Wren tightly in my arms.
“I don’t want to let you go,” she whispers.
“It’s just for a few hours,” I tell her, even though I feel the same way. “And nothing will ever tear us apart again. I promise.”
She sniffles and kisses me lightly.
“You have my meds?”
“Oh!” She spins around and opens the drawer to her nightstand. “Here. I completely forgot.”
“It’s okay, princess.” I brush my fingers over her cheek. “Sleep well.”
Elliot gives Wren a lingering kiss, and then we head into the other spare room. The bed is much more comfortable than the mattress I’ve been sleeping on, and I revel at the softness of the sheets and the feeling of having blankets over me again.
As Elliot pulls my body into his so he’s spooning me, I breathe a sigh of relief. His body is warm against mine, and I feel safer than I should, considering how close Ludo is.
But he’s in chains, separated by multiple floors and a door with three locks. Finn and Sparrow are looking out for us, and now that we have the upper hand, there’s no way we’ll lose it again.
We’ll be okay.
I roll over so I’m facing Elliot. He’s watching me silently, and while he looks tired and ready to fall asleep, guilt still lingers in his eyes.
Gently, I trace his face with my fingertips. His skin is soft. Warm. Perfect.
“What’re you doing?” Elliot whispers.
“Making sure this is real,” I say softly.
When we were captured, it happened so quickly that it felt like a dream. Getting rescued was the same. I went from thinking I was about to get tortured again to realizing I was getting out inseconds.We’re safe now—I know that. But there’s still a part of me that doesn’tfeelit.
“It is,” Elliot murmurs before fitting his mouth to mine. He kisses me slowly, almost lazily, because there’s no rush now.
He doesn’t have to sneak in through the window.
I don’t have to live in fear of the footsteps outside my door.
We can talk to each other instead of tapping on walls.
“I love you,” I breathe out, gripping his hair so he doesn’t pull away. My lips move against his, and his hand travels up my back, keeping me close.
There are so many things we still need to catch up on, but for the moment, they all fall away. Our kiss eventually slows, and we lie there with our foreheads touching and our arms around each other.
This time, I don’t worry about Elliot falling asleep. When his breathing slows, I find comfort in the sound. And when I find myself drifting off, anxiety doesn’t wake me back up again.
Finally—finally—we’re at peace.
Chapter twenty-two
Rhett
Perusual,Iwakebefore everyone else. Wren is still sound asleep with her head on my shoulder and her hand on my chest. There’s no way I can get up.
Not that I want to.
As I kiss the top of her head, I breathe deeply. She smells like a part of home that I haven’t realized how much I’ve missed until right now.
I thought about her, Ell, and O every waking moment, and I never got used to the constant ache in my heart. But I didn’t think about the little things—her smell, how her body fits against mine, or the way her face is completely relaxed while she sleeps.