“I never knew you wore glasses,” I observe, more to myself than her. The words came out without giving my brain a chance to think.
Her cheeks slightly turn red, and she nervously touches the corner of them. “I didn’t always.” She gives me a shy smile. “After everything that happened, my vision was affected. I usually just wear contacts.” She gives a small shrug and the nervousness fades. Instead, it’s replaced with confidence. After everything she’s been through, she’s comfortable in her own skin. I add that to the list of things I love about her.
“I like them,” I admit. She brings her hand back down to her lap, smiling at me. I scoot closer to her, pulling her into my arms. “I can’t stand being this close to you and not touching you.” She relaxes in my arms, wrapping her own around me. “We have years to make up for,” I tell her, resting my head against hers.
Lydia jumps at the sound of someone clearing their throat. We both look up and see Griffin standing in the doorway. “Uh,” he starts, “sorry to interrupt. Thought I’d let you know I’m going to head to bed.” He directs his attention at me. “I’ll call you tomorrow.” I nod back at him. “Goodnight, Lydia,” he says to her. She returns the gesture as he leaves the room. She relaxes back into my arms, sighing deeply. I rest my head back on hers, breathing her in.
I slowly trail my hand up her arm and to her face. I pull my head away from hers, and she tilts hers to look at me. I lean down, softly kissing her lips. “I never thought I would see you again,” I whisper against her lips and lean my forehead against hers. “Please, tell me this is real.”
She leans back, her hazel eyes searching mine. “I promise you, this is real. You never have to worry about not seeing me again.” She brings her hands to my face, her palms lightly cupping my jaw. “I’m not going anywhere,” she assures me, pulling my face down towards hers. Her warm lips capture mine. They move against mine slowly, drawing out every movement. She tastes sweet on my tongue, leaving an everlasting mark.
She gently pushes me backwards, until I’m lying on the couch. She straddles me, with her lips never leaving mine. My cock strains against my pants as I feel the warmth between her legs on top of me. Instinctively, she moves her hips, grinding on me. I moan into her mouth, kissing her harder. She starts to move against me with soft moans escaping her lips. I catch each one with my own, breathing her in.
I hear a door close upstairs, and it brings me back to where we are. I grab her hips, holding her still against me. She protests, slightly fighting me. “Lydia,” I say softly, pulling my lips from hers. “You’re fucking killing me.”
She presses her lips back against mine and then sits back up.
“So stop fighting me,” she purrs in a velvety voice. She stares down at me with a blazing fire in her eyes.
God, I want her so fucking badly.
I sigh and shake my head. “I can’t fuck you here on Griffin’s couch.” Her lips form into a small frown. I reach up, cupping her face with my hand. “I want you.” I lift my hips up, making sure she feels how hard I am. “You can’t tell me I don’t.” She softly moans and closes her eyes. “I plan on fucking you. A lot. Remember, we have two years to make up for.” She opens her eyes and watches me. I pull her down beside me, holding her against me. “I want you, Lydia. Only you. For the rest of my life,” I murmur into her hair. She wraps one of her arms around my torso, resting her head against my chest.
“Lay here with me,” she tells me. I nod against her and softly kiss the top of her head. Her breathing slowly grows even and she breathes deeply. I feel mine matching hers as my eyelids begin to feel heavy. “I love you,” she says in a soft voice.
“I love you too,” I tell her as I feel sleep slowly taking over. Falling asleep has never felt so good.
For the first time in two years, my dreams aren’t haunted by a ghost.
She’s no longer a ghost, for she’s become my reality.
The veil has been lifted, and a new light shines through.
I WAKE UP TO THE BRIGHT morning rays of sun shining in through the window. It casts its light across the room and warms my skin. Another warmth that is pressed up against my body fills my arms. I open my eyes and they find Lydia’s face close to my own. The features of her face are soft and relaxed. Her deep rhythmic breathing doesn’t falter. Waking up with her in my arms feels like I’m living in a dream world. One that I never want to wake up from. I resist the urge to kiss her lips. Instead, I hold her gently and watch her peacefully sleep.
“I can feel you watching me.” Her voice startles me. Her eyes remain closed, but a smile slowly creeps onto her face.
“I thought you were still asleep,” I say, brushing a piece of hair from her face. “You looked too peaceful to wake up.”
Her eyelids flutter open. The brightness of the sunlight reveals specks of gold and green hues throughout her hazel eyes. She reaches up, wiping the sleep from them. “I’ve been up for a little,” she smirks, throwing her leg over me, pulling herself closer. “Looks like I’m not the only thing that’s up.”
I can’t deny the bulge straining against my pants. My dick twitches when she moves closer to me. My eyes pinch shut as I fight to hold in the moan forming in my throat. When I open them, she’s watching me with a look of amusement on her face. She leans close to my ear. “I can feel what I’m doing to you.” Her warm breath sends goosebumps across my skin. My cock throbs with each of her words.
“You’re killing me, is what you’re doing,” I groan, my voice low. She quietly laughs and kisses my neck, just below my ear. She trails her lips across my jawbone until she reaches my mouth. She lightly presses her lips on each corner of mine and then hovers over my lips, just barely touching them. She lingers for a moment before pushing away and sitting up. I rub my hands over my face out of sheer frustration. I pull myself up to sit next to her. “You’re such a tease.”
I grab my phone from the coffee table and turn on the screen to look at the time. “Fuck,” I say, louder than I should, jumping to my feet. “I’m gonna be late. It’s almost seven o’clock.” I’m already on my bosses shit list after showing up hungover one too many times. Lydia watches me while I hastily pull on my shoes. I lean down and softly kiss her lips. “I’m so sorry to leave like this, baby.”
She shakes her head and smiles. “Don’t apologize. As much as I don’t want you to go, keeping your job is important too.” She rises to her feet, staring up at me. “Trent will be up any minute.” She takes ahold of my hand and gestures towards the door. “I’ll walk you out.”
I let her lead me through the house to the front door. I follow her outside and quietly pull the door shut behind me. She stops at the top of the steps and turns to face me. Pushing up onto her tiptoes, I feel the softness of her lips as she presses them against mine. “Have a good day at work,” she smiles sweetly, pulling away from me.
I pull her back and kiss her again. “It’s so hard to leave you right now,” I groan.
She sighs. “I know.” She pauses, her eyes searching mine. “I’ll see you soon?” She asks.
“Of course,” I promise her and kiss her one last time. “You’re going to see me so much, you’re going to get tired of it.”
“That’s something I’d never get tired of,” she smiles and lets go of my hand. I walk down the steps, dragging my feet to my car. I open the door and turn back towards her. “I’ll text you as soon as I can.” She nods, her smile never leaving her face. Reluctantly, I back out of the driveway and onto the road. Checking in my rearview mirror, she remains on the front porch watching me. I keep my eyes on her until the house fades from my vision.
chapter nineteen
RYDER
THE DAY PASSED BY FASTER than I expected. I spent a good part of the day exchanging texts with Lydia. A glimmer of light had been restored deep inside. Now that I have her back, there is no way I am letting her get away again. But first, her safety needs to be ensured.
The drive to Griffin’s office is short. I pull into the
parking lot not long after five o’clock. I head inside the elegant building and take the elevator to the tenth floor. I step into the lobby of his office and walk to the front desk. A petite woman with dark brown hair looks up as she’s gathering her belongings.
“I’m sorry, Sir,” she smiles, “Dr. Cross is done for the day. We’re closing up the office now.”
I give her a small smile. “Griffin is expecting me. Can you tell him that Ryder is here?”
She looks me up and down, narrowing her eyes and assessing me. Hesitantly, she grabs the phone on the desk, hitting a button, and lifts it to her ear. “Dr. Cross. A man named Ryder is here to see you,” her voice is nervous. “Yes, of course. I’ll send him right back.” She sets the phone back down. “Go through that door,” she motions to the left of the desk. “His office is the one at the end of the hall.”
“Thank you so much,” I smile at her and walk to the door. The lock clicks and I push it open into the hallway. I do as she says and walk to the last room, finding the door ajar. I contemplate knocking before slowly opening the door.
Griffin lifts his head up from the scattered papers on his desk when I enter. His office is vast and spacious. One wall is a massive bookcase filled with books, and another is a glass wall that looks out over the city. A large couch and armchair adorn the other wall and his desk sits in front of the other with two leather chairs on the opposing side.
“Sit down,” he commands. “We got shit to do.” He rearranges a few of the papers on his desk and sets them to the side. I take a seat in one of the leather chairs while he leans back in his. He crosses his arms and glares at me. With a five o’clock shadow and tired eyes, the exhaustion is evident on his face. He runs his hands over his face. “We have a problem. A big one.”
I sit silently, waiting for him to continue. When he doesn’t, I press for more information. “What’s the problem?”
He takes a deep breath and chews the inside of his cheek. Abruptly rising to his feet, he shoves the chair backwards with the momentum and slams his hands on the desk. “We fucking lost him. Jared fucking vanished.”
My stomach sinks as the anger starts to build inside. “I thought they found him What the fuck do you mean?”
“The motherfucker played us. He had to have known we were on to him. My guys went to scout out the cabin again. It was empty. Not a damn thing inside. He either moved or was never there,” Griffin stands up and runs his hands through his hair.
Just like that, he’s gone. We’re back to square one. We had plenty of time to kill him, and we didn’t. Coming up with a plan was our focus. That and Lydia’s safety, of course. How the hell did we let this happen? I stand up and start to pace the room, the rage builds inside. My blood starts to boil. He’s still fucking out there. Turning towards an empty wall, I drive my fist through the drywall. I pull my hand out of the wall, not caring about my bloodied knuckles. I glance over at Griffin who’s standing there, staring at me. “Sorry,” I mutter.
“A hole in my wall is the least of my concern.”
We stand across the room from one another, staring. His eyes mirror mine—filled with worry, doubt, and anger. There’s only one thing that can be done: we start all over again. But where do we start?
“I have my guys searching for any tracks near there,” Griffin says, breaking into my thoughts. “So far they haven’t found anything.”
I sit down on the nearby couch and drop my head into my hands. “He could be long gone by now.” I look back up at Griffin. He turns one of the leather chairs around and sits down facing me.
He shakes his head. “He’s still here.” He pauses. “I don’t think he’s done with Lydia.”
“He got what he wanted. He had her and got Robert’s attention. What more could he want with her?” He carried out his plan like he intended to.
“You don’t get it, do you?” He asks me.
Obviously, I don’t.
“He got Robert’s attention, yeah. But they both survived. I don’t think he’ll stop until she’s dead. And now that she has Trent, that makes it even more enticing to him. There’s so much more to lose now, and he still wants his revenge.”
“All because you guys were abandoned by Robert? This is fucking ridiculous.” My voice is laced with anger.
Griffin shrugs. “I completely agree. But Jared’s fucked up in the head. He’s psychotic. What drives him might not make sense to us, but it does to him. And he’ll do whatever it takes to get what he wants. I spent most of my life with him and even with that, I still don’t completely understand him. All I have to go off of is his past actions and my psychology degree to try and decode him.” He looks me straight in the eye. “We will get him, I promise you that. I want Lydia safe and him taken care of.”
“And Rowena,” I add.
He takes a deep breath and readjusts himself in the chair. “I know she’s still alive. I can feel it. And I will get her from him.”
I can see it in his eyes. Whoever this mystery girl is, he loves her. “Who is she to you?” I ask him, out of sheer curiosity. I know next to nothing about her. Griffin keeps her somewhere locked deep inside himself.
He closes his eyes and sits there silently. A moment passes before he opens his eyes. They’re filled with a mix of emotions. “She’s everything,” he whispers.
I slowly nod in understanding. I’ve felt his feelings before. And I feel them everyday.
She’s his Lydia.
chapter twenty
LYDIA
“TRENT!” I YELL, LOUDER than I intend as he runs into the other room. “Get back over here!” It’s been a battle for the past twenty minutes trying to get the kid ready and out the door. I glance at the clock. If I leave now, I have just enough time to drop him off at my mom’s and get to the restaurant where I’m meeting Cara.
I sneak into the kitchen and crouch down behind the island. As Trent goes to run past, I reach my arms out and grab him. “Got ya!” I exclaim while he tries to break free. I throw his shoes into his bag, grab my purse, and carry him out to the car. He fights me the entire time as I struggle to get him in his carseat. He giggles and thrashes his body around, pushing his back into the seat and then arching it outwards. I finally pull his arms through the straps, and he shoves my hands away. I strap him in and close the door.
“We’re going to be late,” I mutter, walking to the driver’s side. I raise my hand to wave at Logan, one of Griffin’s men, sitting in his car. I turn on my car and pull out of the driveway with the man following behind.
The drive to my mom’s house is short. I drive a little faster than I should. We pull up out front and I put the car in park and leave it on. My mom walks down from the porch as I get out and rush around to open Trent’s door. I quickly unstrap him and pull him out of the car.
“I’m so sorry that we’re a little late,” I tell her, setting him on the ground. “We had a little bit of an issue trying to get out the door.” She reaches forward and grabs Trent’s hand. I open the front door and grab his bag.
“It’s no problem at all,” she reassures me. “I did have kids once,” she smiles. “I know what it’s like.”
“Thank you so much,” I tell her, giving her a hug. “I will let you know when I am on my way back. I shouldn’t be too long.” I crouch down to Trent’s level and hug him tightly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “You be good for Grandma, okay?” I tell him. He gives me a little nod with a huge grin on his face.
“Love you, Mama,” he beams.
“You go now,” my mom tells me. “I got it from here.” She looks down at Trent and smiles. “Right, buddy? Let’s go play.” Trent tugs on her hand, trying to pull her into the front yard.
“I’ll text you then,” I call after her as they head towards the house. “Love you guys!” My mom and Trent wave.
“Go enjoy yourself!” She calls out as I climb into the car. I watch them for a moment before putting the car in drive. As much as I hate leaving him, I’m looking forward to having some ti
me to myself.
I GET TO THE CAFE before Cara does. Logan sits down on a bench in front of the restaurant. Cara texted me, letting me know she’d be a few minutes late. I walk inside and get one of the tables outside. The sun is warm against my skin with a light breeze carrying the warm air. It’s not busy in town today. A few cars drive up and down the street. The table is in front of the store, right off the sidewalk and not far from Logan. I watch the movement throughout the town as I wait for Cara.
A black SUV catches my attention, giving me an unsettling feeling. The warm air suddenly feels thicker, making it harder for me to breathe. The windows on the car are heavily tinted, making it impossible to see the driver. I watch as it drives down the street until it’s out of my sight. A wave of relief passes through me. I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. It was clearly nothing. I was freaking myself out over nothing.
I glance down at my phone, checking the time. Cara should be here any minute. I take a moment and check for any texts from her, but there’s none. I look back up and my stomach drops. The palms of my hands instantly start to sweat and my heart pounds loudly in my chest. The black SUV drives back down the street towards me. It crawls past, almost coming to a complete stop as it passes me. I’m frozen, watching the car as fear consumes my body.
Suddenly, the tires screech as the SUV speeds away. A moment passes before I’m able to move my body. I glance around, looking at the people at the other tables. No one seems to have noticed the car or paid it any mind. My eyes travel back to the road and find no evidence of the suspicious car.
Had I just imagined it? Have I become so paranoid that I feel Jared is lurking around every corner? Maybe it was just a coincidence, or maybe it was him. My body shakes from the aftermath of what has just happened, and I struggle to get my breathing under control. Cara still isn’t here, and I can’t be here any longer.
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