Addie toppled him, pinning his biceps to the floor with her knees. “Hmmm. I could get used to this view.” William remarked, clearly enjoying letting her win.
She sensed the desperation in his gaze as she trailed her fingers down his chest. “Tell me what’s going on, William. I need you to give it to me straight.”
“Oh, I plan on it.” He whispered, as he writhed beneath her, feigning a struggle.
Addie rose up and lowered herself down on him slowly, before pulling up again. “You mean like this?” she said, sinking lower.
William flipped her on her stomach before she realized what was happening. He pulled her into the position he wanted her in, ass in the air, head down, and gripped one arm behind her back. “No, like this. He groaned, pushing inside her.
He held her there like that until they both found their release. Stated and sweaty, William gently urged her all the way down as he hovered just above her. “You make me crazy,” he said, his voice rough and hot against her ear.
Addie smiled to herself but remained silent, trying to slow time and enjoy in the buzz that he’d given her. William startled her when he tapped her bare ass with the back of his hand. “Get up, they’re waiting on us,” he said, extending his hand to help her up. Taking her hand, he led her to the shower where he washed her with such care she wondered how the man standing before her could be the same one who’d just dominated her and left her in a speechless heap on the floor.
As he toweled her off, Addie swallowed the lump in her throat and met his gaze with certainty. “I can’t keep doing this. The coming and going . . . I can’t do it, William.”
William smiled but just slightly. “You seem to be doing okay with the coming part.”
“I’m not joking.” Addie threw up her hands and backed away. “I shouldn’t have come here. It’s not healthy. If we’re going to end this, then we need to really end it.”
“What is it you want, Addison?” he demanded.
“Isn’t that what you want? To end this? Wasn’t that the point of your letter?”
“I want you safe and happy. That’s what I want.”
Addie scoffed. “Yeah, well the fucked-up part of all of this is that I only feel that way when I’m with you. Then I leave, and it’s like I’m constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
William walked from the oversized bathroom into his massive dressing room. He tossed Addie her clean clothes. “I lied, Addison. It’s just that we have reason to believe that someone is feeding Hammons information about us. He sent pictures of you that prove he’s been close. Too close. And he knows more than he should for someone who’s on house arrest, so clearly, he’s either working with someone or he’s found a way to beat the system. While we’re trying to figure out which one it is, I need to keep you away. Safe. If he or whomever he works with knows that we’re seeing each other, it just makes you that much more of a target. I knew I had to end it so you’d stay away.”
Addie swallowed hard. “Yeah, well, you can see how well that worked out.”
“I need to know if you slept with him, Addison.”
“Slept with who?” Addie replied, flinching as though she’d just been backhanded.
William’s jaw tightened. “You mean there’s a possibility that there’s more than one person I could be referring to?”
“Where are we going, anyway?” Addie asked, changing the subject. He’d broken her heart; she wasn’t giving him anymore.
William stared at her for what felt like an eternity before he finally spoke. “I know I don’t have the right to ask, Addison. The truth is I’m not even sure I want to know the answer. But I’m going to say this, and this is the last time I’ll ever say it. I’m warning you. If you’re going to show up here like this, don’t fuck with me. I’m not a toy that you can just take out when you feel like playing with it and toss aside the rest of the time.”
Addie was pretty sure that’s exactly why she’d come here so that she could see for herself that he’d been lying all along. He loved her. She’d known that deep down. And she had prayed that he would say something to that effect, even if it was in the only way he knew how. So why then did her victory feel so bittersweet? She offered up a slight smile, swallowed the words she so wanted to say, and instead offered up the only words someone who didn’t want to get hurt again could muster. “Fair enough.”
William handed Addie a ball cap and wig. He instructed her to put them on, that he had a surprise for her as he’d led her to a silver sports car she didn’t recognize. A Mercedes McLaren, he’d later explain. It wasn’t his yet because he didn’t want it to be traceable to him while they were out, in case they were being watched. But when he’d asked her if she liked it and she told him she did, he’d said that was it—he practically had to buy it now. She laughed and suggested to him that perhaps this wasn’t the car to take if he planned on being inconspicuous. Maybe they should’ve taken a Pinto, she’d teased, as he drove her to an indoor gun range on the outskirts of town. The place was seedy and empty. William had rented it out for the afternoon, he said once inside, after he’d handed her a small handgun. It was a gift for her, a 9mm handgun, and they were there to get her concealed carry license, he explained before introducing her to a balding man, who would be her instructor.
For the next two hours, Addie practiced shooting, earning her right to conceal and carry. “I want you to be able to protect yourself,” William had whispered as he positioned himself behind her, showing her the proper stance. She was apparently a natural, he told her once they were back in the car. It was times like these Addie thought she could almost picture them together for real. Times like this when things were so abnormal they almost seemed normal. She never imagined that she’d ever need a gun, but something about being with William just made everything seem different.
William had decided to drive Addie back to the lake house and have Carl follow in her car. After being warned that it wasn’t the best idea, William had finally agreed that he’d drive her most of the way and Carl could take her from there. After picking up a late lunch, they found a scenic overlook and pulled over. William grabbed a blanket that they ended up spreading out on under an old oak tree. It had turned out to be the perfect winter day, mostly sunny, not too cold and not too hot. They sat there like that for a long while, talking, laughing, and watching the clouds roll by.
Finally, Addie laid her head in William’s lap and touched his face. “I almost don’t want to go back.”
“I know, but you have to, for now.” William gently pushed Addison up to a sitting position and looked her directly in the eyes. “About that, though . . .” He hesitated before finally going on. “I need to tell you something, Addison, and I need you to promise me—swear to me—that you won’t repeat what I’m about to tell you. Not to anyone. Do you unders
tand?”
Addie swallowed. “William.”
“Promise me.” He repeated, stroking her cheek.