Page 51 of The Vows We Keep

I hate that he sees straight through me. “I don’t want to feel crowded.”

He removes his arms from around me and steps back, just enough that we are no longer touching. The fact he listens to what I say shows the kind of man he is. The fact I feel the loss says much about my current state of mind. Every thought is contradictory.

“What do you have to do today?”

“I need to go back to my place. I want to talk with Neva. Then I want to start talking to your brothers. And you need to speak to your president so you can tell him what happened yesterday.”

“Did you message her?”

“Who? Neva? I did. But I still want to talk to her in person. I belong with her. Not here.”

Niro’s brow furrows. “You’re leaving?” There’s a whisper of something between frustration and surprise in his tone.

“Of course I’m leaving. I didn’t suddenly forget about my papá. I have things to do.”

“After last night? What I said to you.”

I turn to face him. “Especially after last night. I have a feeling you could railroad me if you tried. You’re a lot, Niro.”

At this, he turns and steps out of the bathroom. Intellectually it was the right thing to say, but a feeling deep in my gut tells me it wasn’t. Sighing, I follow him.

When I reach him, he’s tugging jeans over black boxer briefs that cup his ass so perfectly, it should be illegal. His back is to me, and he doesn’t acknowledge my presence.

“Niro, I—”

“We should get going,” he says, tugging a black T-shirt over his head before he turns to face me. “You’ve got a lot to do today. Wouldn’t want to hold you up.”

He strides from the bedroom and takes all his energy with him. I’ve heard the thing guys sometimes say about girls, that dating them is like cozying up to a lightning strike. Well, I feel like I just spent the night with a tornado.

When I look down, I see a pair of spare sweatpants, boxer briefs, and a T-shirt thrown onto the side of bed I slept on.

My heart drops and bounces.

My own clothes are spread around the room where they got tossed last night. I step into his boxer briefs, but my leathers are fine to wear again. His T-shirt looks like a dress on me and smells of the man whose arms I spent the night in.

With a deep breath, I sit on the edge of the bed and rest my elbows on my knees. I came here for a reason—to find my father. I can’t allow myself to get distracted, no matter how strongly the man doing the distracting affects me.

I walk into the kitchen, where Niro has got the coffee started. “You need to let us breathe, Colton.”

He turns to face me and leans back against the counter. The only sound between us is the hiss and splatter of the coffee percolating. “What do you mean?”

This time I step intohisspace. “You have us on four-times speed. If you go any faster, you’re going to have decided this isn’t going anywhere before I’ve learned your last name. Slow down, please.”

Niro’s head drops, and I place my hands on his biceps. He says, “You’re leaving. What’s the point of this conversation?” When he looks up, he looks despondent.

“That’s the other thing. Stop seeing the world in black-and-white. I haven’t said I’m leaving.”

“You haven’t said you’re staying either.”

“That’s because I haven’t decided, Niro. Jesus. I came here with a plan. Kidnap King. Get the intel I needed. I knew what I was going to do. And yet nothing has turned out how I planned. So, no. I don’t know what I’m doing. But I know I can’t rest until I find out what happened to my papá and have vengeance. As for you and me? We could do long distance. Or I could stay for a week or two and see how we feel then. Or I could leave this afternoon because you’re pissing me off. I could move in tomorrow and never leave. Who the hell knows. I. Am. Undecided. That’s it.”

“Okay.” Niro grins before he turns and grabs two cup out of the cupboard. “You want coffee?” When I don’t answer, he glances over his shoulder and raises a cup. “Coffee?”

I huff out a laugh. “That’s it? Conversation over?”

He places the cups on the counter. “You might move in tomorrow and never leave.” He says it like it’s my decision.

“I mentioned a lot of other options, Niro.”