Page 93 of Harder Betrayal
“Not true.”
I turned around to look at him through watery eyes.
“If you don’t give me another chance…I’ll understand exactly.”
28
ELISE
Can we talk?
I’d been waiting on pins and needles for Grave to reach out.You’re okay?
I’m fine, sweetheart.
I was worried.
I’m always fine, so never worry.
I can come to you.
See you then.
I’d kept my nanny around because I knew I would need her at the drop of a hat. I changed my clothes and drove to Grave’s apartment. After a long ride in the elevator, I finally entered the warmth of his apartment. It was almost ten in the evening, so I wasn’t greeted with a spread and champagne from Raymond.
Grave came down the hallway, looking sexy as hell in just his sweatpants. Muscular and strong, with a sharp jawline that cast a shadow down his neck, he looked like he belonged on a calendar instead of in the streets. He walked over to me, slid his big hands around my waist then down to my ass as he pulled me in for a kiss.
Like a piece of chocolate in your mouth, I melted. I always melted for this man.
When he tried to pull away, I latched on to him, not wanting the embrace to end.
His arms returned to their former tightness, and he rested his chin on my forehead. His scent was a mixture of masculinity and pine, like he’d just chopped wood in the snow.
“Is Camille alright?”
Once her name was mentioned, there was a long beat, like he didn’t want to talk about her. “We got her back. She’s fine.”
“Good.”
He pulled away, moving far enough back that he could see my face. “She’s staying with Cauldron. I imagine this will bring them back together.”
“Yeah…hopefully.”
A long stretch of silence ensued, the two of us looking at each other, thinking the same thing but not acknowledging it.
Grave spoke first. “When Cauldron left Camille’s apartment, they thought it was me.”
Here we go. “But they were watching her apartment because they knew what she meant to you.”
“Yes.Meant.” He was soft with me a moment before, but now he hardened, turning to impenetrable stone. “We’ve had this conversation before. I’m in no mood to have it again. I’m grateful for their idiocy because I’d much rather them take her than you. Or worse—your children.”
It was such a horrible thought that I couldn’t even bring myself to think it.
“Let this go, Elise.”
“You know me so well…”
“You can’t be this intimate with someone without knowing all their tells. You’re the woman in my life, and I want to keep it that way. I’m happy. Happier than I’ve been in a long time.”