“Hey.” His lips break into a smile, and I find myself looking at them. His lips are sinfully sexy, and the power they have over me is unrivaled. To think, just this morning he’d reduced me to a puddle with just his lips and fingers, kissing me goodbye once I was stable enough to walk out.
Only for him to follow behind.
“How was your day?” I ask when he dumps the half-eaten apple into the fruit bowl. Before I can protest, his sweeps me into his arms, his hand grabbing my waist and pulling me flush against him.
“It was hell without you,” he says.
“How long?” I ask, pushing back against him a little, but not leaving his embrace.
“How long, what?” He replies, narrowing his eyes on mine.
I take a breath and force my voice to be firm. “How long have you been stalking me?”
Lucas’s arms tighten around me and his body tenses. For a moment, he doesn’t say anything, and I’m worried he won’t answer at all.
“Since the moment I realized I was in love with you,” he says, finally.
“And when was that?” I ask.
“I’ve loved you from the moment I first saw you, but I didn’t realize I wasin lovewith you until a judge told me I couldn’t have you, and it felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest.”
My heart spasms painfully. Could he really have loved me for so long? As long as I’ve loved him? It seems too good to be true, but looking in his eyes, I know he means it.
“I love you, too” I say.
It’s all there is to say. This man has loved me, kept me safe for over half my life. As I think about it, I remember all the times I felt like someone was watching me, only to look around and see no one.
“You were there, even then, weren’t you? You never really left me.” It isn’t a question, but he answers me anyway.
“I’ve always been with you, even when I couldn’t speak to you or touch you. I’ll never leave you, Annie.”
I’m drowning in the intensity of my feelings, so I do the only thing I can, I kiss him. Lucas sweeps his tongue against mine and grabs the back of my thighs, lifting me up on the counter as his lips lazily explore mine in a slow tease.
“Annie,” he breathes against my lips. “I want to spend every night with you, eating dinner, watching movies, and fucking you until you come undone in my arms.” His hands tighten around my waist as I meet his eyes, so deep and intensely dark, but every bit the man I love.
“I want that, too,” I whisper.
He flashes me a sweet, warm smile, and all thoughts of my stalker-best-friend-boyfriend are gone with the wind.
It doesn’t matter what he is, as long as he’smine.
EPILOGUE
Lucas
Five years later
I take out a cigarette from my pocket and light it, my eyes on my wife. She is seated in a restaurant with a bunch of suits, possibly discussing her next million-dollar deal, and I can’t take my eyes off her.
Half a decade as a couple, a child on the way, and I am still obsessed with her, just like I was the first day I saw her and every other day that followed after that.
Can she feel my eyes on her?
Across the street, leaning against my bike, I have a clear view of the restaurant. I watch Annie tuck a loose curl behind her ear, her eyes scanning through some documents. My eyes shift from her face to her chest. She’s unbuttoned the first two buttons of her blouse, and my fists clench with the need to storm into the restaurant and button them for her. Doesn’t she know…
I freeze when her face shifts in my direction for a second before moving on. There is no way she didn’t just see me. Before I can decide on my next move, she pushes her chair back and gets up. With a last glance in my direction, she’s gone.
It’s clear that she wants me to follow, and I don’t hesitate. I drop the cigarette to the ground and step on it before making my way to the restaurant. I sneak past the staff and head for the washrooms.