Page 87 of Devil's Iris

But that’s exactly the weakness I can’t afford.

It was never going to work out anyway. The second she finds out I’m the one who killed her father, she’ll hate me. So yeah, definitely better to stop this—whatever the hell this is—before it gets any deeper.

Her footsteps break through my thoughts, and I glance up. She appears in the living room doorway, her face carefully blank as she approaches me. “I’m ready.”

I nod mutely and spin towards the front door, stepping out just as the seaplane roars up to the small dock. Without sparing her a backward glance, I march towards the dock.

The pilot greets me with a grin. “Hope you enjoyed your honeymoon, Mr. Lombardi?” he yells over the engine’s loud noise.

“Shut the fuck up,” I snarl, then turn to help Leni into the plane.

The thirty-minute flight back to the mainland is torture. Ican feel her heavy stare boring into me, but I pointedly ignore her, keeping my face glued to the window at the endless blue ocean below. Why is this so goddamn hard? I’ve cut ties with dozens of women over the years. Hell, usually, I’m bored after the first night.

But then again, I’ve never remained interested after fucking a woman once or twice, let alone spent a week buried inside someone and still felt like I was dying of thirst.

As soon as the seaplane touches down at the private airfield where my jet is waiting, I’m unbuckling my harness and moving towards the exit. I extend a hand to help Leni out—basic courtesy, nothing more—and try to ignore the electric shock that runs through me when she hesitantly takes it.

She murmurs a quiet thank you to the pilot, polite even in her pain, while I can’t even spare the man a glance. The brief contact with her skin is already messing with my head, so I drop her hand the second she’s on solid ground.

The jet stairs descend as we approach, and I slow my stride, waving for her to go in first.

The atmosphere inside is completely different from our wedding night flight. Suffocating. Thick with unspoken hurt and confusion.

Once we’re airborne and leveled out, I escape to the cabin I use as an office during long flights, claiming I need to work.

What I actually do is pace the small space like a madman for five straight hours, accomplishing absolutely nothing except wearing a path in the carpet. Only when the pilot texts that we’re about to land do I force myself to return to the main cabin, where I find Leni staring morosely at her phone.

The urge to ask what’s wrong is strong as hell, but I already know what’s wrong.Me.

“Seatbelt,” I bark, my voice coming out harsher than intended as I roughly secure my own across my lap. “We’re landing.”

“So soon?” she asks softly.

I don’t respond, focusing instead on the familiar skyline of New York as it rises to meet us. Almost home.

Logan is waiting at the airfield with my SUV, and the sight of my driver and car anchors me. Yes, coming back home was the right call. Staying at that remote island any longer would have really messed me up.

I open the door for Leni and she slips in without so much as a glance. Ihateit. My hand tightens, and without conscious thought, I let the door slam behind her.

What the fuck did you expect, you idiot? You just told her your honeymoon was a waste of time. Now you’re pissed that she’s not looking at you?

“Get it together, asshole,” I mutter to myself as I round the car to get in from the other side.

The drive home is silent, oppressive, the air in the car hot with tension. My shoulders knot more with every mile, but when the gates of my house come into view, I nearly sag with relief.

I’m out of the car before it fully stops, taking the steps two at a time like I’m being chased. But as I throw open the front door, a weird sound fills the air—a tiny, plaintive meowing—just as a scrawny orange kitten rushes in between my legs.

Behind me, Leni lets out a pleased gasp. “A tabby cat!” she breathes, genuine delight lighting up her face for the first time since this morning.

Fuck. In all my self-destruction, I’d completely forgotten about the cat I’d ordered Sandro to get.

I wanted to surprise her when we got back from the honeymoon.

31

LENI

I don’t understand men.