Page 112 of The Echo of Forever

CHAPTER 27

FOREVER

You don’t remember,but he’s hurt you before. Be careful, okay?

When I was eleven, my ma drugged me with Ativan for an entire weekend. A dose that left me completely at her will, but all I could remember from that time was her absolute need to “protect” me fromthem.

And nowthemhad turned intohimtwenty years later.

“Everything has tags,” I said, running my fingers over the clothes on my side of thehis and hercloset Demetrius had taken me into. “I’ve never been here before.”

I wasn’t asking, but he had a response for it anyway.

“We were planning for this to be our home base at some point,” he said, leaning in the doorway. “I did this after everything, though. Before I went to Florida.”

I faced him, feeling like this was important and needed my undivided attention.

Demetrius expressed himself in a way that I realized appealed to me. Whenever he opened his mouth, I couldn’t do anything but listen. My mind, body, and soul wouldn’t allow otherwise.

This was nothing like I’d ever felt before.

“To be honest, baby, I want to lock you away, kill every threat to our marriage, and put this behind us.”

He was dead serious, the frown on his face deepening the more he thought about it.

“But because I can’t bear the thought of you resenting me, I’ll try another way,” he went on, eyes lifting to meet mine again. “You and I have to move as a team, Forever…” I stepped directly in front of him, and he immediately dropped a hand to my waist. “From this moment forward, I want in on everything. Don’t take matters into your hands anymore. Don’t rob me of you.”

There went that nagging need to satisfy his every whim, no matter what was being asked of me. It made me sick, but I still nodded anyway, only relieved after his eyes softened.

“You make it really hard to say no,” I whispered, dropping my forehead to his chest. “Since we’re opening up, I have to admit that I don’t know how to process any of this. They want us to unite Everwood, which feels bigger than it’s being made out to be. I’m your wife, Echo. We made a baby and didn’t even know…” I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed, that headache I’d been ignoring reminding me it was still there. “I’m overwhelmed by the way you make me feel.”

He lifted my head with gentle fingers, and I had no clue why, but I suddenly ached for him.

For his direct touch.

“The way I make you feel,” he repeated slowly. “Tell me more about that.”

I shook my head, not wanting to go that deep into this topic. We had time for that, time for me to get to know him all over. To fall in love based on what I’m seeing now and not on what I didn’t remember.

“I know you’re overwhelmed and this is a lot to process in such a short time,” he added softly. “And I wish I could carry thatwhile you adjusted, but I’m here in other ways. You can talk to me like you did now. I’m always available to you.”

His eyes stayed fixed on mine, and I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to. There was something magnetic about him that made sense.

“You can talk to me, too.”

He nodded and pulled himself away from me.

“Don’t worry, baby. I plan to tell you all my deepest, darkest secrets just like before.”

I watched him take more steps away, then followed him out of the closet and into the bathroom, where he started the shower.

“Everything you need is on the counter behind you. Meet me downstairs when you’re finished.”

He left, but not before sliding his hand across my ass and meeting my eyes in the mirror. I watched him until the door separated us and then gripped the counter, squeezing my eyes shut.

My head hurt so bad I could cry.

But instead of allowing myself to be pulled under, I stripped and stepped into the shower, where I found everything I used at home. Just as I had in the apartment across from his.