“It’s not true,” he said, his voice rushed as if he’d ran the whole way home from the rink.
The tears I’d held back since my father burst into my office filled my eyes. I was useless in Rory’s presence—I heard his voice, and it instantly stripped me of my strongest defenses.
“Promise me?” I demanded, but it came out sounding more like a question.
Rory timidly wrapped his arms around my waist, sliding his hands slowly across my back. “I promise, Red. I haven’t touched another woman since that night at the Four Seasons. How could I even think about another woman if I have you? Hell, even the possibility of having you was enough to keep away from anyone else.”
My heart flipped in my chest, the sincerity in his eyes shining through the swirling blues. “And Linda?”
He hissed, his hold on me tightening a fraction. “She’s a bunny.”
“Yours?”
“No,” he snapped before tilting his head. “Once.” He squinted in apology. “Okay, twice. But it was a year ago.”
I pressed my lips together, knowing about his past and having it slap me in the face were two very different things. “The picture?”
“A week before the Four Seasons.” I tried to tug out of his grasp, needing the room to breathe, but he held me close. “I was pushing her away. Telling her off. I’ve had to do it more than once. She won’t take the hint.”
I stopped pulling against him, the business side of my brain clicking on. “She’s the one who gave the reporter the picture and the details.”
“You think?”
“Who else would gain from this mess?” I shook my head, the anger stealing the tears away. Damn, I’m an emotional, hot mess. Is this what love does to a person?
“Fuck,” he snapped and released me. His fists clenched at his sides as he paced back and forth. “You believe me, don’t you?” The anger in his voice was mounting in a way I hadn’t heard before.
I cupped his cheek with my hand, stopping his movements. He was shaking again. “I do.” I forced him to look at me. “Rory. Breathe.”
He closed his eyes and sighed as he pressed his forehead against mine. “I love you.” I froze in his embrace, my heart soaring at his words and choking my airways. He kept his eyes firmly shut as he hurried on. “And I know I’m a selfish asshole for saying it. You’re so much better off without me.” He huffed. “Can you feel me, now? This rage? It’s in my blood, Red. It’ll always be there no matter what, just waiting for the perfect moment to seep out and ruin everything you hold dear.”
I swallowed hard. “Why are you so hard on yourself?”
He slowly he peeled his eyes open, locking them with mine. “It’s in my blood. Anger. Rage. My father, he…” Rory’s eyes shot to the floor as he gripped my hands in his. “His idea of welcoming me home from school was a beat down. For reasons I never understood. I only ever knew I was helpless against him. Weak. My mother blamed me. Said there was something in me that brought it out in him. That he’d been perfect before she’d brought me into the world. I left home the minute I could. I never knew what having a real family looked like, felt like until I met Gage.” He sucked in a deep breath as tears rolled down my cheeks. He glanced back up at me. “And now you. I didn’t think it was possible to want or love anyone as much as I love you, Red. But with who I am…what I can’t help but be…I know I shouldn’t be allowed to have someone as amazing as—”
I cut his words off with a crushing kiss as if I could force all the doubts he had about himself away with the pressure of my lips. After a few moments, I pulled back, shaking my head slightly as I pushed away some blond hair that had fallen in his eyes. “You’re not him, Rory. You’re a great man. If you weren’t…I wouldn’t love you as much as I do.” I said the last words as boldly and clearly as I could, not wanting him to doubt for one more second.
“Fuck, you do?” He chuckled. “Really?”
“Truly.”
He lifted me off the ground, bringing me to his eye level as he claimed my mouth. Heat unfurled in my core as his tongue stroked the edges of my teeth, successfully stealing my already erratic breath. Without moving to put me back on my feet, he pulled away just enough to look at me.
“I’m sorry it all came out this way.”
I tilted my head.
“I wanted to tell you…I don’t know, over a romantic dinner or something. Not in response to an external threat.”
I had completely forgotten Linda and the picture and what had brought this all on. “I don’t care how you came to say it,” I said, planting a soft kiss on his lips. “I’m just glad you did.”
“You’re the perfect woman.”
“No. Neither of us is perfect. We’re both jagged in different places. We just fit.” And now that I knew he felt the same way, everything else in comparison seemed small and so far away. Linda, the reporters, his dark past, my impending takeover of the company—I could handle it all with Rory at my side.
A smirk shaped his lips, the blue of his eyes turning molten. The look was enough to melt my panties. “What are you thinking?”
“You’re here. We’re in love. Let’s do something dirty.”
I laughed, loving that he was capable of making me feel light as air on a day that had been more than heavy. “Pick a number between one and twelve.”
“Two,” he instantly said.
I clenched my eyes shut. “You would.” I shook my head. “Two is the one thing on the list I absolutely can’t do. Not now.”
“Not now what?”
“That I love you.”
“And before?”
“The idea was entertained with the help of Jeannine, Bailey, and a great deal of margaritas.”
He chuckled, the hard planes of his chest vibrating underneath me. “What is it?”
Heat flushed my cheeks. “Have a threesome.” His eyes popped wide, and I arched an eyebrow at him. “Not going to happen.”
He licked his lips, playfully teasing my lower lip. “You think I’d ever share you, Red?” After a moment he set me gently on my feet. “Come with me.”
“Where?” I asked as he pulled me toward his front door.