Page 41 of Black Hearts
“He finds her amusing, from what I hear, but the toilet one definitely pissed him off. Stella’s grounded her in her room for the time being. She’s only allowed to go to school and come back, then straight to her room.” Theo turned those warm amber eyes back to me. “How are you feeling, Juliet? Are you healing well? Do I need to bring you anything else from the house?”
The guys had gone out and done a little shopping for me, got me women’s clothes to wear instead of the baggy clothes they’d given me at the hospital, and I still had the pills the doctor had prescribed for me before I’d been released. I was good, for now. Even better now that I had my birth control back. That meant…
Well, we all knew what that meant.
I shook my head. “No, thank you. I’m good. I’m…” There were so many things I could’ve said right then, so many things I could’ve told Theo. How everything I’d thought was true had changed, how a spiteful part of me wanted my father to pay for his crimes in a way only the Scotts could help with, how badly I wanted everything to go back to normal.
But I didn’t. I held all that in as I gazed steadily at the man I’d missed. I held out a hand to him, and he took it without question. The others exchanged glances, but none of them said a thing. I started to drag Theo away, but Will snatched the birth control packet and threw it at Theo.
Theo caught it with his other hand, shot Will a certain look I couldn’t read, and tucked the pills back in his pocket. He walked with me to my bedroom, and when we arrived, I closed the door. He went to place the pills on my nightstand, turning to give me a warm smile. That easy smile made my insides do a flip, and I couldn’t stop myself from going to him and hugging him again.
Only this time, it was different, because there wasn’t an audience. This time it was just us, and gosh, was it nice. Breathing him in, feeling his arms wrap protectively around me, was a certain kind of comfort I couldn’t quite get from the others. The others would die to protect me, to keep me safe, but Theo was always gentle with me.
“I was so worried about you,” Theo whispered, running a hand down along the back of my head, along my hair. “I wanted so badly to go with them to get you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help save you.”
I shook my head against his chest, and then I leaned my cheek on him. “Don’t apologize. You did what you had to.”
“No, I didn’t. Juliet, I don’t care what happens to the house or with Johnathan. I only care about what happens to you.”
“I know.”
Theo breathed out a long, even sigh, and I pulled him toward my bed, where we sat down together. Those kind eyes of his not once broke away from me. I had his full focus, and nothing in this world could pull his attention off me. I liked it.
I held his hand in my lap, tracing his knuckles absentmindedly as I said, “I’m not mad at you, Theo. I’m not. I’m just glad you’re here now.” I couldn’t fight the grin from forming on my face. “I really did miss you.”
His voice was quiet, “I imagine these days have been some of the hardest of your life. Minus, perhaps, when you were first brought to the house. You were so frightened of everything back then. Do you remember?”
I nodded. Those days felt as if they’d happened years ago, but in reality, it hadn’t been that long. Not even a year had passed, and yet things had changed so much. It didn’t feel possible, and yet it was.
“How are you feeling about your father and what he did?” Theo asked the question gently, but that didn’t change the way it made me flinch.
“I…” I stopped. In my head, I could articulate the thoughts, but out loud? For whatever reason, out loud was so different. “I know it’s wrong. I know everything he did to me was wrong, and that I was stupid for ever believing in him—”
Theo squeezed my hand. “No. You weren’t stupid. You’re his daughter, and he’s family. He was all you had. Believing in him, loving him, was perfectly natural to you. No one blames you for that. We always want to believe the best of family, no matter what the evidence is.”
Biting my bottom lip, I knew he was right. “It hurts me inside, Theo. Like my heart, every part of me. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this way before.” I paused, thinking back. “Maybe when Markus almost had Lincoln… but it’s not the same.”
“It never is.”
He sounded like he believed me, like he wasn’t judging me for anything. “How can you be so sure? What if—what if everything around me is wrong?” Honestly, everything was a jumbled mess in my head, so I didn’t know what I was saying. I bet I didn’t make sense.
But Theo must’ve understood my meaning, for he turned his body toward mine and pulled me into him. He hugged me from the side, letting go of my hand so he could tilt my face up to him. “You have quite a few people who care about you more than they care about their own well-being. It might’ve taken them a while to realize it, but now that they have, I’m sure there’s no going back for them. I know I feel the same. I would give up everything for you, Juliet, if it meant you were safe and happy. That’s all I want.”
“Theo, I—”
Whatever else I was going to say, he shushed me. One of his hands found my chin, thumb rubbing against it softly, and he brought his mouth down to mine, kissing away whatever other words I might’ve said. I closed my eyes, surrendering to the kiss.
Theo tasted sweet. His lips were warm, and they ignited something deep within me, the same fire that my men brought alive when I was with them. An unyielding passion, a deep yearning, and I could do nothing but be a slave to it.
I never wanted those lips to leave mine. I never wanted to be apart from him again. I definitely wasn’t ready to die, either. If recent events had proven anything to me, it was that much, at least.
We fell back to the bed, though my legs still dangled off the side. Theo’s body rolled on top of mine, the kiss never ceasing in its eager wanting. A low thrumming, a tightness came from my stomach, but I ignored it, needing more.
I didn’t know how long we spent like that, tangled up in each other, our mouths reacquainting, nor did I care. We could stay like this forever and it wouldn’t be enough. We grew out of breath, my lips a little sore from the fervent embrace, but again, I couldn’t care less.
Eventually, we had to part, and when his mouth left mine, I uttered a pleading, “Don’t leave yet. Stay for a while.”
I could tell he wanted to. The way those light brown eyes gazed down at me, I could tell there was a certain type of longing in him, the same thing I felt, something that would only be quenched by one thing.
