Chapter 28

Twenty-Eight

Harlowe

By the time I reached the top step of the glossy white jet, the steel staircase rattling under the onslaught of my stomping, I was both seething with rage and sucking in breath. Did he really think he could ghost me? Did he think he could substitute another orc bodyguard in his place, and I wouldn’t care? Did he think he could walk away without a word of explanation?

I’d had the entire drive to the private airstrip to think of what I was going to say to Roc if I was able to catch his plane, but I’d been vibrating with too much betrayal and anger to come up with much more than screechy accusations. Luckily, the PA who’d agreed to drive me in her battered Toyota hadn’t asked any questions when I’d told her I needed to stop Roc from leaving. Only Zander had been thoroughly confused when I’d raced past him on the way to the car, ignoring his pathetic pleas for me to let him explain.

I’d ignored him. His explanations were nothing more than more empty lies and meaningless promises. I was done with liars and cheats. I was done with Zander. And apparently, I was also done with my agent since I’d told Grant that he could shove his studio deal and our contract up his ass.

If I hadn’t been so furious with Roc, I would have savored the shocked look on Zander’s face and the way Grant’s jaw had hit the floor. But I couldn’t think about either of them or the fallout from my knee-jerk decisions. The only thing filling my mind was the fact that Roc had been the only one I could trust, and he’d left me.

I burst into the small plane’s cabin, heaving in air as I glared at Roc sitting peacefully in a window seat with his eyes closed. Instead of the sight of him calming me, it made me even more livid that he appeared so unaffected by ditching me.

“What in the actual fuck are you doing?”

He opened his eyes, staring at me for a few beats as if he didn’t recognize me. “Harlowe?”

“What?” I rapped my foot on the plush carpet, which muffled any sound. “You already forgot who I am? You really did move on fast.”

He stood slowly, the olive-green skin of his brow furrowing. “Move on? You are accusing me of moving on?”

I flinched at the accusation implied in his words. “You’re the one running.”

“I’m not running. I’m leaving after completing an assignment.”

My pulse tripped as rage pulse through me. “An assignment? Is that all I am to you? A job?”

“I never said that.” He took a step closer. “You are the one who sent me away. You are the one who pretended I was nothing more than your employee as soon as your ex-boyfriend appeared.”

The backs of my eyes burned at the sting of truth. I had reacted badly when Zander had surprised me, and I hadn’t been brave enough to admit that Roc was more to me than a bodyguard. How would I have felt if he’d done the same thing to me? Would I have stuck around to see if I was pushed even further to the side?

Suddenly, my fury at him morphed into anger at myself. I wasn’t mad at Roc. I was mad at myself for not being brave, for not saying what I wanted, for not standing up for myself and for him. My body sagged as if the only thing that had been keeping me upright had been my misplaced rage.

I stumbled to the nearest seat and slumped into it. “You’re right. I was a coward.”

Roc didn’t say anything for a moment then he knelt in front of me. “I understand being scared.”

A laugh of disbelief bubbled up and spilled from my lips as I looked up and met his gaze. “Scared? When have you ever been scared? You’re big and brave and tougher than anyone I know.”

His lips curled into a sad smile. “You scare me.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, not sure if I’d heard him right. “How can I scare you? I’m not that demanding of a client, am I?”

“No.” He reached for my hands. “But you make me feel things I’ve pushed deep inside for a long time. I’d convinced myself that being alone and protecting my heart was playing it safe, but when I’m with you I can’t play it safe. You scare me, Harlowe, because you make it impossible for me to protect my heart. You make it impossible for me not to feel.”

I watched his mouth moving, but I couldn’t quite comprehend what he was saying. “You feel…what?”

He drew in a long breath. “I love you, Harlowe. I know I shouldn’t. I know we shouldn’t, but I think I’ve loved you since you opened your door that first day.”

A part of me had thought that what had happened between us had just been heat that needed to be burned off, but a deeper part of me also knew that I’d been drawn to him since I’d seen him standing on my doorstep. He might have started out as a childish crush, but what I felt for him now was something much deeper. It was fast and crazy, but I knew in my gut it was real. “I love you too, Roc, and I’m so sorry if I ever made you feel like I didn’t.”

I launched myself into his arms, almost knocking him off his feet. He managed to stand up as I clung to him and wrapped my legs around his waist, holding on as if he might run away again if I released my grip.

“What now?” he whispered into my ear.

“Well, I told Zander to fuck off, and I fired my agent, so I guess I’m leaving with you.”

He squeezed me. “And when we get back to LA?”

I pulled back so that I could meet his uncertain gaze. “I guess we become the hot gossip for fifteen minutes before people get bored. Then we see what normal life looks like for us.”

“Sounds perfect,” he husked before threading a hand through my hair and pulling my mouth to his for a kiss that made me forget every bad thing that happened before it. As he deepened the kiss and unleashed a deep growl, I forgot everything else entirely.