Page 20 of Xane

This is too damn much.I throw a glare at Lynn, wondering just how much information the woman shared with Z, and she gives me a smirk in return.

I squat down to Zora’s eye level.“Look at me, Z.”

She bites her bottom lip and stares at the floor.The room is completely silent, and I just know all the fuckers in the room are staring at us.

Every fiber in my being wants to reach out, to touch her, to let my warmth comfort her...and yet I keep my hands to myself.The change she was forced to go through has stripped her of the person she was before Ramiro kidnapped her.Self-preservation forged walls to be able to deal with the abuse the fucker put her through.

The shit I’ve seen in my line of work gives me the knowledge of the boundaries she needs, and fucking deserves.It’s why I have all the patience for both of us.I’m all in, no questions asked.Yet, this has to be her decision.

Her voice is a mere whisper, and it takes a few heartbeats for me to process.When it does?Fucking hell, it feels like she just shoved her hand into my chest and squeezed my damn heart.

“No more leaving without a word.Together.Forever.”

Motherfucker.It’s a throwback to when I left to make sure she put her career first, instead of sacrificing her dream for our future.

“No more fucking leaving, sawbones,” I vow, and don’t give a shit we have an audience when I add, “Together forever, the way it should have been over a decade ago.Back then I thought the best thing I could do was leave.I loved you too fucking much to tie you down and seal our fate.I listened to my father and yours and believed them when they said we were too young.You were ready to throw away your education, put it on the backburner, all while you were a priority too.”

I swallow hard and now I’m the one staring at the floor.Releasing a deep breath, I glance up and find her staring at me with unshed tears.

“So, no, Z.I’m not leaving you ever again.I’m always going to keep you close because that’s where you belong.By my side to make every damn dream a reality together.And if that means we’ll always be friends who are married, then that’s fucking fine by me too.”

Zora has always made all women fade away because she’s always been it for me.So, the promise I just gave her isn’t a hardship.I’d rather keep fucking my own hand with the thoughts of her than shove my cock into a meaningless cunt.This woman has always had ownership of my heart, and that won’t ever change.

A silent sob shakes her and makes my chest tighten.Again, all I want to do is take her in my arms.It literally pains me not to touch her.Anger flows through me for her sake, for what that fucker downstairs took from her.

My breath freezes in my lungs when I see her arm reach forward.Her fingertips brush against the scruff on my cheek, and there’s a ghost of a smile on her face.

“Grayer Xane,” she whispers, followed by a twitch of her mouth.

I know what’s coming next and it makes me growl low in my throat.There’s a reason I call her Z and she calls me Grayer.We don’t use fucking last names, because I always had to fight for the shit I got about my last name.

The first true smile I get from her is worth everything when she says, “No Balls.”

“It’s a good thing we’re friends, sawbones,” I grumble, something I’d always tell her since she’s the only one I’d never get angry at.

“Friends,” she echoes, sealing her fate as my old lady.