Page 131 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. Two

“Haven’t responded yet. Obviously I can’t go back to work next week. We have too much going on. But I’m not sure how long she’ll let me take off before she replaces me permanently.”

“How do you feel about that?” His gaze is fixed on the button. “About being replaced permanently, that is.”

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think I have much of a choice.”

“Oh?”

“I can’t go back. Not now. And I can’t keep my boss hanging like this. It’s not fair to her or my coworkers to keep the shop understaffed until I make a decision.”

With a short breath of relief, he presses start. “So you’re gonna quit?”

“I, um… I think so.”

“You know we’re good with that, right?” he asks as we move back to the kitchen. “I’ll be honest, I don’t know what life will look like once we’re done with Ludo. But I do know that we don’t have to worry about money. I mean, I’m sure we’ll dosomething.Maybe we’ll keep taking jobs, or maybe we’ll go back to the dreams we had before. I don’t know.”

Dreams we had before.

“Like your bookshop idea?”

He narrows his eyes. “Ol tell you about that?”

“Yeah. We had a similar conversation, and I told him I used to want to open a book and coffee shop.”

“Is that so?” His tone is oddly thoughtful, and he’s looking at me curiously.

“Mmhmm. Used to dream about it all the time.”

“It’d be nice, wouldn’t it?” Elliot smiles, and even though it fades quickly, a modicum of hope is left in his eyes.

“It would be.”

The oven beeps, startling us both. Elliot pulls the lid off the pan before throwing the lasagna in. Once he’s closed the oven door, he leans against the counter and opens his arms to me. I enter them and press my face into his neck.

“Thank you,” he says quietly after a minute.

“Thank you?”

“You’ve changed our lives, Wren. And our future. You’ve added so much light, so much happiness. These past few weeks… I can’t imagine them without you, and I can’t imagine our future without you, either. It’s hard to believe the ball was only a month ago. Sometimes it feels like it’s been a whole year.”

“I’ve caught myself thinking the same thing a couple times,” I reply. “I guess it makes sense. We may still be at the beginning of our relationship, but we’ve already been through so much together. The Williams job, Adam trashing my apartment, Jordan kidnapping me… it’s alot.We’ve had no choice but to fast-track things. We’ve seen parts of each other we potentially wouldn’t’ve seen for years in different circumstances.”

“True.” His hand strokes up and down my spine, which makes me relax into his touch. “And without you, I don’t think we’d be where we are right now. I wish we never let Jordan get his hands on you, but we wouldn’t know about Andrew and Benny if it wasn’t for you.”

Oh.“I hadn’t thought of that.”

“I’m not saying I’m happy you were kidnapped,” he adds quickly. “If I could go back and take your place, I would. But… well, Iamhappy that you fought me that very first weekend. I was too scared to follow the pull we all felt, but you were brave enough to face your fears.”

“Elliot,” I whisper.

His hand pauses on my lower back, and he presses me closer so our bodies are touching in as many places as possible. “I’m happy you fought for us, love. Not just because of the progress we’ve made in regard to Ludo, but because… because of you. God, Wren, I love you so much it terrifies me, but it drives me, too. I want a world where you’re safe. Ineeda world where you’re safe, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you get it.”

It may not be the first time he’s said he loves me, but butterflies still come to life in my stomach. With a shaky sigh, Elliot dips his head down and brushes his lips against mine. They’re soft and inviting, and his kiss is a welcome escape in the midst of so much pain.

As the kiss deepens, Elliot practically clings to me. I do the same, unsure of how else to demonstrate how much he means to me.

“I need you to be safe,” he whispers after we pull away.

“I will be.” I squeeze his shoulder gently. “I can do this.”