Chapter 28
Diablo
The door closes behind Slim and we’re left alone, the sound of his bike reverberates through the house, then trails off the further away he gets, leaving us in quiet.
Elizabeth has turned away from me, but I haven’t been able to take my eyes off her since I got here.
She’s wearing the t-shirt, the one I ripped when we fucked up against the wall.
I should have told her then that I loved her, I shouldn’t have wasted so much time.
I can tell she hasn’t been sleeping well; she looks beautiful, but she looks tired.
All I want to do is take her in my arms and carry her upstairs; tell her that I’m sorry and snuggle into her, promising her I’ll never leave her again.
I regret leaving that night after Donovan came out, she was right to give me the ultimatum, and I should have chosen her.
“Elizabeth—”
“Don’t.”
She stands and makes her way towards the kitchen; I want to follow but I’m guessing she wants to put distance between us.
The clatter of dishes drifts through to the living room; she can ignore me all she wants; I’m not going anywhere.
In fact, fuck it, I’m going to her, we’ve had enough space.
I follow her into the kitchen; her back is to me as she dries dishes with a towel before placing them into a cupboard.
“Elizabeth—”
“I said don’t.”
I try a different tack, “Donovan says hi.”
Her movements slow, taking a bit longer to dry the plate she’s holding.
“You spoke to him?” she asks.
“Yeah, we’re good, we’re okay.”
“Is that why you got the vote sorted with the club?”
“Well, yeah, for him… for you.”
She scoffs, still facing away from me. “If you did this for me, you did it for the wrong reasons. You should have done it for your brother, and because it’s the right thing to do.”
“Of course I did it for Donovan, and because it’s the right thing. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t do it for you too.”
She doesn’t reply, focusing on the dishes, and when they’re all dry, she messes with stuff on the counter, anything to not have to face me.
“Can you just go?” she asks, the tremble in her voice breaks my heart.
“No,” I say softly, “I’m staying, I shouldn’t have left you before and I’m not leaving again.”
“But I don’t even want to look at you.”
“You don’t have to look at me. I’ll apologize to the back of your head until you do, and then I’ll apologize all over again.”
“An apology? You think that will fix this?”
“No, I know it will take more than that, but it’s a start. Elizabeth, I’m so s—”
“Stop!” She slams her hand down on the counter, dishes and cutlery rattle with the impact. “I don’t want to hear it, I said I want you to leave. ”
“And I just said I’m not going anywhere.
Donovan said the reason we’re not together is because of how I reacted to him coming out.
But I don’t give a fuck who he loves, or sleeps with, or whatever.
I just want him to be happy, and safe. All that stuff was corrupted shit in my head from Frank.
Donovan and I are good, so you and I can be together—”
“You broke my fucking heart,” she screams, finally turning around to look at me.
Tears stream down her face and I feel it in my chest, a sharp pain where my own heart is supposed to be.
“Elizabeth—”
“Stop! I said stop. Stop fucking talking, stop trying to apologize, stop being so fucking calm.”
“Okay, you wanna shout at me, shout at me. Because I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.
So give it to me, tell me how badly I fucked this up, scream at me about how much you hated what I did, shit, tell me you fucking hate me!
Just don’t tell me to leave again, because I’m not fucking going anywhere, Elizabeth. ”
“You looked at me like I was nothing.”
“What?” I ask.
“That day at the clubhouse, after I came back. I thought we’d see each other and talk it through, that we’d be okay… but you looked at me like I was nothing. Like the last couple of months didn’t even happen. I was barely holding it together, and when you looked at me like that, it broke me.”
“Elizabeth—”
“It felt like three years ago all over again. I was alone, and I had nowhere to go, and you put me in that place, you chose to leave me. How am I supposed to trust you again after you did that. You’re the first person I let get that close to me.
I’ve never told a guy that I love them before, I’ve never trusted anyone enough for that.
But I trusted you, and you… you left me. ”
Her body racks with sobs as she sinks against the cabinet, sliding down until she’s on the floor, knees drawn to her chest as she hugs them close.
She probably doesn’t want me anywhere near her, but I can’t see her like this and do nothing.
I fall to my knees in front of her and reach out my hand, but she jerks away, crying into her arms instead.
“You left me,” she murmurs against her arms, “just like everyone else. I know I gave you an ultimatum, but I didn’t expect you to leave…”
“It was a mistake,” I say, “I know I shouldn’t have done that. And I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I left. Elizabeth, I promise I’m not going to leave you again.”
Neither of us speaks, the quiet only broken by the occasional sob that breaks from her, each one feeling like a knife to my heart, knowing that I’m the cause of her pain.
“Please talk to me,” I say, “or let me hold you.”
She shakes her head. “I’m happy that you and Donovan have sorted stuff out, and I’m glad you’ve changed the club rule. But it doesn’t change how you made me feel, you really hurt me.”
“I know I did.”
Her head drops back against the counter. “Will you stop fucking agreeing with me and being so nice.”
“But you’re right.”
“I know I’m right! But I’m not ready to forgive you yet, and you agreeing with everything I’m saying is making it really hard to stay angry at you.”
“I don’t expect you to forgive me.”
“Stop doing that!”
“You can be angry with me, I deserve it.”
“I am angry at you!” she shouts, “And you’re damn right you deserve it. ”
“Good, be angry at me, just be something at me. I can take you yelling, but I can’t handle you shutting me out.”
We sit in silence for what feels like an age, her head resting back on the cabinet as tears pour down her face. I kneel in front of her, helpless but determined; I’m not leaving her again.
Eventually, without even looking in my direction, she reaches her hand towards me.
I take it and let her guide me to sit next to her, so my back is also leaning against the cabinet.
I exhale with relief when she lays her head on my shoulder, she doesn’t say a word, but this still feels like a step forward.
Elizabeth
I blink my eyes open, and I’m met with darkness, although I know I’m not in bed.
My ass is numb, and the floor is cold beneath me.
Where the fuck did I fall asleep? Remnants of my dream linger; I can still smell the leather of Angel’s cut…
wait… I turn my head and feel leather against my cheek. He’s here.
I remember yelling at him, and crying… Shit, we really fell asleep on the kitchen floor after all that? It was hard to stay angry at him when he was being so agreeable. Exhaustion took over and I just gave in, pulling him to sit next to me, just wanting to be close to him again.
I’d meant what I said, I’m not ready to forgive him yet, not for how he treated Donovan, and definitely not for leaving me…
but he came back. His breath is soft and even, he’s still asleep.
I tilt my face, and my eyes have adjusted to the darkness enough to make out his profile.
Fuck, he’s beautiful, even with his face covered in bruises, and I’ve missed him so mu ch.
I caress his face, causing him to stir a bit.
Moving to my knees, I lean in and brush my lips over his.
“Elizabeth,” he murmurs.
“Shh,” I soothe, kissing him again.
He must wake fully because the next thing I know he’s fisting my hair, holding me to him as he claims my mouth.
I let go, give in, too tired to fight it anymore.
I might not forgive him, but I love him, and I need him.
Lying back, I pull him with me to the floor until he’s settled between my thighs.
“Fuck,” he moans, “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too,” I whisper, “I need you, please.”
“I’m here, Elizabeth, I’m here.”
I wrap my legs around his hips and my arms around his neck, so tightly I worry he won’t be able to breathe, but it’s also not tight enough.
We’re kissing with an intensity I’ve never known before, as though if we don’t, the world will end.
My hips grind up against him, his cock already hard and sending sensations through my body.
“Elizabeth, I’m so sorry—”
“No talking,” I interrupt, “I need you inside me.”
I release him from my grip, and he kneels up, tugging my pants off faster than I’ve ever seen him move before undoing his own.
The floor is cold underneath me but I don’t care, instead focusing on gripping his shirt and pulling him back to me.
He claims my mouth in a kiss, grinding against me, moving his hand between us to touch me.
“Always so wet for me,” he groans, before lining himself up with my entrance, and slowly inching his cock into me.
“No,” I say, “I need you to fuck me.”
“Elizabeth—”
“Don’t be gentle, please, I need to feel you.”
He thrusts into me, gripping my hair with one hand and my hip with the other, using my body as leverage to fuck even deeper inside me.
He feels so good when he fills me like this, but I need more.
I lift one of my legs onto his shoulder, so as he thrusts he rubs against my clit; all the while he’s trying to remain in constant contact with me everywhere, like even though he’s inside me, it’s not enough for him.
Our bodies move together, in that way that comes from familiarity, and knowing the other person, we seem to fit together so perfectly. My pussy starts to pulse; it won’t take me long to reach my peak.