Page 75 of Split You Open

My grip on her neck tightens.

“You don’t get it, do you, Blair? We love you. I love you. If Ledger poses a threat to your life, I’ll put Ledger down myself. I swear it. I just need closure—as stupid as that is.”

Blair’s lips part as she lets out a surprised gasp.

Then her eyes soften. “You love me?”

“God, yes, Blair. Yes.” Without missing a beat, I bend down and our lips collide.

It’s a hard, demanding kiss from me.

Blair matches it, kissing me back desperately. She reaches up to hold onto my shoulders as she leans into it. My other arm wraps around her waist to hold her to me.

I won’t let this incredible woman go.

I’ll never let her feel alone.

When I break the kiss, we’re both breathlessly clinging to one another.

“I love you, too,” she whispers back.

A hard tremor rushes through me at her confession. I don’t know what I did to deserve all this love under this roof, but I won’t take it for granted.

“This situation isn’t easy, Blair,” I groan against her lips. “Please try to understand where we’re all coming from. Ledger has had a huge impact on all our lives, just as much as he’s had on yours. The difference is that you grew up in a black and white world, but this mess? It’s a fucking technicolored bomb that’s blown up. We’re just trying to figure things out.”

Blair nods. “Okay.”

I kiss her again, needing to taste her. Blair moans and I shiver at the sound. When the kiss is broken, it's Blair that pulls away first.

“I don’t know what I want to come from all of this,” she admits.

“Neither do I,” I confess. “But whatever happens, I’m right here, okay?”

I reach for her hand. Gently, I tug her away from the sink and back toward the living room.

“C’mon, I’ll hold you while you fall back to sleep.”

Eighteen

Santiago

“Your initial reaction is going to be to pull the trigger but don’t, alright? You need to factor in wind speed, the curvature of the earth, and it matters how you’re breathing so⁠—”

“Wait,” I cut Blair off as I pull my eye away from the scope of the rifle to look at her. She sits beside me, looking relaxed as she peers through her binoculars. “Did you just say I had to figure in the curvature of the earth?”

Blair pulls the binoculars away from her face to look down at me, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear as she does. The smile that stretches across her face is stunning in the morning light.

My heart flutters at the sight of it. Tonight, we’ll be interrogating Ledger, but if she’s thinking about that, it doesn’t show. Good. Maybe she’s feeling better about the impending conversation after relaxing last night?

I know after being sandwiched between her and Rhett I certainly feel better.

More than just better.

I feel like I’m floating on Cloud Nine.

If I could weld myself so that I was permanently wedged between the two of them, I would do it. Nothing has ever felt so right. All morning I’ve been wondering how to make it happen again.

“Much to the disbelief of some—” Blair says, bringing me back into the moment. “—the world isn’t flat, Santi. You need to take that into account when shooting at something that’s a great distance away then adjust for it.”