Chapter 40 #2
I’d have stayed there forever, too, trapped in the most epic happily ever after I could have dared to dream if it hadn’t been for the shrieking applause from our friends that soon had me laughing against Henry’s soft mouth and pulling away until our foreheads came together again.
“How about you get on this side of the barrier so there’s nothing standing in our way?” he said.
“Does that mean I have to let you go?”
“Only for a second. Only ever for a second.” Henry lifted the fabric barrier with a slight groan of pain he tried to swallow.
I slid under it as quickly as possible so I could press myself to him again, only carefully this time so as not to hurt his already-bruised body—a body I intended to inspect every inch of once we were finally alone again.
The cheering only grew, and we turned to see our friends in front of us, as well as an older man I didn’t recognise. He had his hand on Andy’s shoulder, his fatherly smile aimed in Henry’s direction while Bailey and Rhea cheered and wolf whistled, and Jace and Andy clapped.
I glanced up at my man, taking him in one more time. “Henry?”
“Hmm?”
“You know I do, too, right?”
“Oh, I know,” he said, his cocky arrogance on display, and where once I thought I hated it, all I could do now was hope he never changed so I could drown in it and him forever. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Don’t worry, Phoebe. I’ll never hurt you.”
“Promise?”
“On my life.”
“You’ll do anything to make me happy?”
“Anything and everything I can.”
“Good. Because I’m heading to the nearest hospital, and guess what? It would make me really, really, really happy if you were to come along with me and get checked out.”
Henry pulled back and looked down at me, his brows rising. “Woah, woah, woah. Hold up?—”
“ You said anything and everything, Henry. That couldn’t possibly have been a lie so soon into this new relationship of ours, right?”
He stared at me, mouth agape. “Did… you just… manipulate me?”
I fluttered my lashes like a damsel in distress. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“Damn.” He shook his head. “So, this is how it’s going to be now, huh?
Well, shit.” He growled, pulling me into his strong chest again, the sound of his beating heart reverberating through me, waking me up in ways that made me feel like I never wanted to sleep again, no matter how tired I should have been.
With him, I didn’t want to waste another second of my life ever again.
The older man with our friends, it turned out, had been James—Andy’s and Henry’s father—and he insisted Bailey, Rhea, and I stay with the Hydes for the night before making the journey back to Matlock the next day.
Considering our lack of sleep since leaving Mykonos, we accepted his offer, with them all going ahead to the Hydes’ home while Henry and I made our way to a local hospital not far from where they lived.
I’d expected Henry to grumble the whole way through his triage and when talking to the doctors and nurses, but surprisingly, he’d been exceptionally compliant.
Whenever the blue curtains were closed around our cubicle and we were alone, he reached out for me, desperate to have me closer, claiming he didn’t need any X-rays, bandages or medicines to make his pain disappear. All he needed was my touch.
I’d spent a lot of time with him over the last two weeks—probably the equivalent to months of dating in the real world—and it killed me to play it cool, but I made it clear that until I knew for certain that there wasn’t a broken bone in his bust-up body, he didn’t get to play around when the doctors weren’t looking.
I didn’t want it on my conscience if I were to touch him the wrong way in the wrong place and cause him further injury.
However, once the doctors finally gave him the all clear, we’d barely slid into the back of the taxi and told the driver where to go when I fisted Henry’s T-shirt and brought his mouth to mine.
His moan of satisfaction came immediately, climbing up his throat without any reservations as he pressed his hand to the back of my head and held me to him, not letting me escape this time.
Without his family and our friends watching on, I struggled to hold on to any control I’d tried to cling to over the last few hours.
I hitched a leg up over Henry’s waist, despite the not-so-subtle cough from the driver, who pulled out into the street without saying a word.
Before long, Henry and I were both breathless and ready to take things much further than we had any right to…
until I tightened my grip on his shirt to pull him even closer, and a squeak of pain escaped him.
“Sorry,” I whispered against his mouth, pulling back and panting.
“Ignore it,” he said with a strained voice. “You didn’t hear anything. Nothing hurts.”
“You’re a bad liar.”
“Yeah. I know. So, how about you just give me what I want so I don’t have to do it again.”
I raised a brow before I slowly began to peel myself away, doing the exact opposite of what my body wanted me to do. “I’ll give you everything you want… once you’re better.”
“I’m fine. Better than fine. I’m actually great.”
I laid a look of disbelief on him, and Henry fell back against his seat with a frustrated groan.
“Don’t sulk. You’re a grown man. You can wait.”
He turned to me with sad eyes and pushed his bottom lip out.
“Now, who’s trying to manipulate who?” I smirked.
His smile rose slowly before he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “Jesus, Phoebe. The things you do to me. Who am I? Who is this guy?”
I half-turned his way and pulled his hand down until he looked at me again. “The only thing wrong with you right now is that you’re not listening to this body?—”
“Actually, I think the problem is that I am listening to my body, and you’re not letting me do what it needs to do.” He dropped his gaze to the bulge in his trousers before he raised both brows at me. “Know what I’m saying?”
I was about to hit him with more sarcasm when my phone rang, pulling my attention away. With a scowl, I plucked it out of my jacket pocket and looked at the flashing screen to see Mum calling me, which was unusual, given that I’d already text her when we’d landed.
“Hey, Mum,” I answered, holding my finger up to Henry. “You okay?”
“Hello, darling. Everything’s fine. Please don’t worry.”
“Did you get my texts about our flight delays?”
“Yes, yes. Got those. Thanks for letting us know. Where are you now, though?”
I glanced at Henry again. “Erm. Long story, but I’m a few hours away from Matlock still. The girls and I are staying down south for the night with some… friends.”
“ Friend? ” Henry mouthed, and I shook my head at him.
“Oh.” Mum cleared her throat. “I see. Well, it’s just?—”
“Give me the phone, Belinda,” an unwanted voice echoed down the line, making my skin prickle instantly. “Let me talk to her.”
Rob? What the hell was he doing there?
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Mum told him.
“Please, Belinda,” Rob protested, followed by a quiet scuffle that created a lot of static noise before his voice became clearer on the line. “Phoebe? You there?”
“Excuse me!” Mum called out in the background. “What on earth do you think you’re doing?”
Anger took over every fibre of my being, a rage so strong burning up inside me, I had no doubt Henry saw all of it as he sat forward in his seat and studied me with concern.
“Rob,” I ground out through gritted teeth.
“Hey, baby,” Rob said with a sigh.
Henry’s jaw tightened and his nostrils flared, clearly having heard Rob’s term of endearment.
“Hell, it’s good to hear you say my name again,” Rob went on. “I’ve missed you lately.”
“What the hell do you think you’re playing at? Why are you harassing my mum and taking her phone?”
“Harassing’s a bit strong, isn’t it?”
“You have no right to be there.”
“She doesn’t mind, do you, Belinda?” A brief pause held the line before he said, “See! All’s good.
Anyway…” Rob sighed again, and I imagined him puffing out his chest and running a hand through his greasy hair as he peacocked his way around my parents’ home.
“Where are you? Your flight details said you were supposed to be back by now, but you’re nowhere to be found.
You know I don’t like to be kept waiting, Phoebe. ”
“You’ve been looking for me?”
“Course I have. Got you some flowers and everything.” I heard the crinkling of cellophane and tissue paper in his hand. “Figured you’d had your fun on your little trip now. Score’s even, right? I hurt you. You hurt me. We can get back to how things are supposed to be.”
“And that is…?”
“Us. Together. You and me. Me and you. You know, the good girl taming the rogue and all that.”
I had no words for the audacity of this vile excuse of a man, and the fact I’d once been close to him, now I’d experienced a real man like Henry, made my skin crawl.
“What do you say?” Rob asked, his smarmy grin obvious even without being able to see him. The imprint of his untameable ego would forever be a scar upon my brain.
Rob thought he had this in the bag.
I just didn’t have the adequate words to tell him what I really, truly thought of him now, and even though I wanted to encourage Rob to take a one-way trip to Hell on my behalf, I couldn’t find my voice.
But then Henry carefully took the phone from me without warning, pressed it to his ear, and in a deep yet calm voice, said, “Rob, I believe?”
Three words spoken in a tone I’d never heard him use told me everything I needed to know about the side of Henry I’d been most curious about. The side of him that liked to fight for fun. The side that volunteered to handle the kind of people the rest of us would do our best to avoid.
“Yeah, and who the fuck is this?” Rob snapped. “Where’s Phoebe gone?”
“Your concern for Phoebe’s whereabouts or who she keeps in her company is no longer any of your business.”
“Says who?”
“Me,” Henry replied as his eyes met mine. “The boyfriend.”
Boyfriend. I liked—no, loved —the sound of that falling from his lips, and I couldn’t stop the smile that erupted from me as I took him in, a little beat up now, but still so goddamn perfect. Almost too perfect.
“Boyfriend?” Rob scoffed. “Is this a joke?”
“I never play around when it comes to my girl, I assure you.”
Rob’s lingering silence spoke volumes, and I imagined his face, no doubt like thunder now. I only wished I could have been there to see it for myself.
“I’m going to take your lack of response as you understanding several things at once here, Rob,” Henry went on.
“Which, if you did, congratulations. You’re not as stupid as I imagined you to be.
But… just in case your IQ can’t comprehend the meaning of my intervention, let me spell those things out for you.
One, Phoebe is no longer your concern in any way, shape, or form.
The use of us, we, or anything that intimates you are hers or she is yours ends here.
Two, she blocked your number for many reasons, the main one being that you’re a snivelling excuse for a man, and the very thought of you repulses her to her core now.
Probably because she’s seen how a real man treats his woman.
That’s me, by the way. You know. The boyfriend. Three?—”
“Just you hold on a minute?—”
“ Three ,” Henry repeated firmly, cutting him off. “You ever call my girl ‘baby’ or buy a single fucking tulip in her name again, and I won’t just be the anonymous boyfriend to you. I’ll be a name and face you won’t be able to forget in a hurry.”
His defence of me turned my legs to jelly, and I couldn’t look away as heat grew within me for a whole new reason entirely, washing out the rage to replace it with a love that had me burning for him and only him.
Henry had once been a man of very few words, but now?
Now, he couldn’t seem to stop making me fall harder and faster for him every time he opened his mouth.
“Four,” Henry said calmly. “And this is the most important one, Rob, so make sure you’re really hearing me this time, okay?
” He placed his free hand on my cheek and leaned in closer.
“Not only do you need to delete Phoebe’s number from any of the multiple phones you have, but you need to delete all your memories of her, too.
She’s mine now, and I don’t share what’s precious to me, especially not with spineless little pricks like you who didn’t know what you had until you threw it away for a cheap thrill. ”
“Who the hell do you think you are?”
“I’m the guy in the photograph who’s been bugging you so much all week. The one she loves now.”
I did love him. More than he knew.
Rob scoffed again, but it was all bravado, the quiver to his breath too obvious to miss. “She’s been gone two weeks. You expect me to believe?—"
“That someone better came along and gave her everything you couldn’t? That’s exactly what I expect you to believe. I also expect you to take my warnings extremely seriously. I’m not the kind of guy who likes having to explain things twice.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Yes,” Henry said flatly.
A last ditched burst of audacity left Rob in a half-hearted puff of air. “And if I don’t listen?”
“I’m ready when you are.”
Rob’s silence became deafening again, the only thing either of us could hear being his ragged breathing down the line.
A raging bull had nothing on my ex right now, only he didn’t have the muscle or the nerve to back it all up.
He’d always been spineless, and nothing would ever change on that front.
“Whatever.” Without another word, Rob ended the call, and Henry’s amusement shone back at me as he lowered the phone down between us.
“That was…” I began, shaking my head.
“Too much?”
“Perfect. Just… perfect, Cohen.” I threw myself at him as carefully as I could, and I kissed him as his growl of annoyance at the use of his last name got swallowed up by everything I poured into him and all the love I felt.
Even as the taxi driver chuckled from his seat, no doubt taking us in in the rear-view mirror, I didn’t stop.
Couldn’t at that point.
No one had ever made me feel as adored and protected as he did.
The thought of finding more new things about him, day after day, filled me with such giddiness, I couldn’t help the tears that fell as my smile grew against his mouth, and all my dreams of a life filled with an epic kind of love came true far sooner than I ever could have imagined possible.
Henry was right.
It only had to make sense to us.
I had no doubt it always would.