Chapter 48 Elliot
ELLIOT
The ride back was bumpy, and my head constantly knocked against the window in Jacques’s truck as I tried to get some sleep. Understanding it wasn’t about to happen, I turned on the stereo. But when an annoying song came on, I immediately turned it off.
“I’ve got some CDs, if you want,” he said.
“I’m good.”
“Are you sure? They’re here—” He reached for the glove box when his cell phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket instead.
While he read the name on the screen, I did the same, and would you believe it?
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I huffed as he sent the call to voicemail.
“What?” He scowled at me, pocketing his phone.
“You’re still married to her?”
He looked away, and I scoffed.
“Unbelievable.”
“What?” He briefly let go of the steering wheel as he opened his palms in self-defense. “I never said I wasn’t.”
“Yeah, you only sent me a letter and tried to kiss me.”
His jaw tensed. “You said you didn’t read it.”
“You still wrote it, you idiot,” I snapped. “It is the thought that is matter,” I added in English when he groaned.
“What does that mean?”
“Learn English and you’ll know.”
He clenched the steering wheel, his knuckles going white. “Stop being an ass and tell me.”
“No.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Mon chaton, please—”
“Eyes on the road!” I cut him off, refusing to look at him.
He let out a deep grunt but at least focused back on the drive.
“And I’m not your mon chaton, so stop saying it.”
“Whatever,” he tutted.
What a man-child.
This day couldn’t have gotten any worse. I should never have agreed to go out with him, and now, all I wanted was to get back into my bed.
“Can’t you drive faster?” I hissed.
“The fields have just been harvested, so the roads are full of thorns. If I go any faster, I’ll get a flat tire,” he said before pointing at a car on the side of the road ahead of us. “Just like that moron.”
Annoyed that I had no other option but to bite my tongue and put up with him, I rested my head back against the window and lowered my cap as Jacques pulled up next to the stuck car. Its hazard lights were on, blinding my sight, so I pulled the cap even lower.
“Is everything okay?” Jacques asked after rolling down his window.
“Oh yes. It’s just a flat tire.”
“Need any help?”
Ugh, more time until I’m back in my bed.
“No, I’ve got a spare one in the trunk. Thanks, anyway.”
Jacques told the man goodbye, and we started moving.
Finally—
Wait.
What Frenchman says thanks? And didn’t he have an accent? He sure didn’t sound local. Perking up in my seat, I turned to look back. It was getting dark, but I still managed to see the man’s back. Who on earth wore a suit in the countryside?
My heart paused.
“Stop the car.”
“What?”
“I said, stop the car!” I shouted, not waiting for the truck to make a full stop before I opened the door—
“Elliot!” Jacques shouted as I jumped outside, nearly falling down in the process.
It was twilight, making it harder to see, so I got rid of my cap and squinted my eyes, my pulse thrumming in my ears the whole time.
“Elliot, what the hell are you doing?” Jacques asked, getting out of the car.
Ignoring him, I stepped closer when the man finally turned around, and our eyes met. In that moment, just like the first time I’d seen Daniel Williams, it felt as if the entire world stopped existing.
At first, I walked slowly, skeptical that this was indeed reality, but then he called my name, and his voice, which echoed deep within my soul, made me walk faster, and faster, until my legs switched to running, and I ran as fast as I could—
I leaped into his arms just as he caught me into the most amazing embrace I had ever received. His hands wrapped around me tightly, almost like they had never let go, and I clung to him with every bit of power I had left.
There, surrounded by fields of lavender in the glow of twilight, I was once again in my lover’s arms. A moment so surreal I couldn’t even begin to believe it was real.
“You are here,” I whispered in his language, my voice shuddering while tears rolled down my cheeks, making them flare with the heat.
“Of course I am.” He hugged me tighter, his hands clenching the many layers of clothes wrapping me. “I mean, you’re here, aren’t you?”
“B-but I left.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Pressing his lips to my neck, he planted a small kiss there, making me warm for the first time since I came here. Pulling back just a bit, I looked at his face, which I’d missed so much that every part of me hurt in his absence.
“Are you really here? Or is this another dream?”
He cupped my nape, a soft smile on his lips.
“It isn’t a dream.”
My heart clenched because—
“It doesn’t make any sense.”
Daniel took a deep breath, his hand on the back of my neck keeping me close.
“When will you understand that I’ll never let you go again?” he asked, the most tender expression in his silver eyes. “There’s not a place on this earth I wouldn’t follow you to, Elliot. For better or worse, you’re stuck with me. That is, unless you say otherwise.”
“I would never,” I whispered, shaking my head, before hugging him again, taking a deep breath of his scent and allowing myself to drown in his proximity.
“I love you, Elliot.”
Closing my eyes, and for the first time in my life, I allowed his words to sink in without a second doubt.
“I love you, too. So much.”
I pulled back to look at him, wishing to kiss him—
“Elliot, who’s that?” Jacques asked from behind, making us both look at him.
God, I forgot he was here.
“This is—”
“I’m his boyfriend,” Daniel said back in French, before I could introduce him.
Not caring for Jacques’s reaction, I glanced back at Daniel, stunned that those words came out of his mouth so willingly.
“Are you sure about that?” I asked, worried he’d come to regret it later when he’d thought it through.
But instead of taking back his words, Daniel leaned down and kissed me, with Jacques standing right there.
It wasn’t a short kiss, but a deep one. Pushing his tongue past my lips, he drank my moans, slowly taking his time as he explored my mouth with his. My body heated up, and I groaned, eager for more when he pulled back.
“You’ll never be a secret again, Elliot,” he said, voice so soft I could have died. “I’m ashamed I made you feel like one to begin with.”
Quickly shaking my head, I placed my hands on his chest. “No, no, if it’s you, I don’t mind—”
He cut me off with another kiss that felt like a breath of life.
Closing my eyes, I submitted to it, allowing him to control and lead it with his talented tongue.
“But I do,” he whispered the words over my lips. “And you should, too, Elliot.”
The tenderness with which he looked at me, along with his touch, filled my body with love, so much love I couldn’t believe it was true.
But it is.
This amazing man loved me, just as much as I loved him. And if crossing oceans to come and find me after I’d hurt him—hurt us—didn’t stop him, nothing else would.
There were so many more things I wanted to tell him, actions I wanted to apologize for, but currently, my head was too much of a mess, and I closed my eyes, trying to catch a small break.
“We should get you back home,” Daniel said, rubbing my arms to get me warmer.
I nodded, because despite the sudden boost in energy, I knew it was just the adrenaline running through my blood.
“What about the car?” I asked.
Looking over his shoulder, Daniel then glanced back at Jacques.
“I assume this moment is rather awkward for you, but perhaps you could help me so I can finish here faster?”
To Jacques’s credit, he agreed without asking any questions, quickly moving to assist Daniel with the flat tire while I waited in the car. And for the first time in a long while, I felt like things would be… good.