I'd never have to wonder why he didn't ask me to stay and then berate myself for the foolish thought. I could just slip out and remain the mysterious woman who’d left him in the night. I scoffed as soon as I thought it, knowing that the only secretive thing about me wasn't a sexy secret, but one that had shattered everything I'd ever loved and destroyed my family.
Even if I'd been able to without fear of what he might do, I couldn't bear to say goodbye to him. I couldn't stand to face him when I walked out of the suite I'd called home for the best days of my life. I'd never expected to meet anyone when I came to Ibiza. I'd never thought that I would find a person who made me want to feel the things I'd been missing in my life.
Rafe had shown me passion. He'd taught me what it was to embrace who I was and be comfortable in my own skin. No matter what he'd done to drive me away, I didn't think I would change him for anything.
I didn't think I could erase him from my memory, even suspecting what he might have done.
Even if the idea of not waking up to him in the morning made my heart hurt.
I considered leaving my suitcase, worried about the noise it would make when I pulled it through the bedroom.
"Are you going somewhere, Princesa?" The deep rumble of his voice sent my pulse racing, echoing through the silence between us as I spun to stare at his flawless face in shock. The words were a direct reflection of what he'd said the night before, and I remembered my response as I swallowed. The fear I'd felt rose to the surface again, threatening to make me abandon my escape attempt altogether. Only the seriousness of Chloe's accusation kept me from coming up with some inane excuse.
I couldn't back away from the truth a second time.
His mismatched eyes bore down into mine, the deep forest green of his right eye seeming so dark as his narrowed gaze dropped to the zipped suitcase at my feet. The light blue of his left eye turned positively glacial as he drew his stare back up to my face.
He invaded my space as he stepped closer, pressing his nude front against me without care. He'd never shown restraint or discomfort in his nudity, but the obviousness of me sneaking out in the middle of the night should have been reason enough for him to put on some pants.
Evidently not.
I swallowed, ignoring the firm press of his length against my belly in favor of returning his stare. One of his hands reached out to stroke my cheek with the back of his knuckle as his thumb stroked the skin under my eye. He raised a brow at me, waiting for my answer as I fumbled to find an excuse. I couldn't bring myself to lie outright, to create a fabricated story about my family.
If Chloe was somehow wrong, I would feel terrible for the deception. For giving voice to any of the fears I had about leaving my family behind with a lie.
"Chloe needs me." My voice left me in a ragged whisper as the almost-lie caught in my throat. All the intensity he leveled me with did nothing to soothe my frayed nerves or the terror pulsing through my veins. His singular fixation had always been jarring, but in the aftermath of the night before, all that I saw when I looked up at him was darkness.
The darkness in his soul. The darkness in mine.
"And you weren't going to say goodbye?" he asked, something odd in his tone as he tilted his head at me. His lips tightened as they pressed into a firm line, his nostrils flaring briefly before he wiped all traces of anger from his face and smiled at me. It wasn't unkind, exactly.
It stung like disappointment.
"I didn't," I paused, fighting back the tears that threatened, spurred on by the onslaught of emotions wreaking havoc on my body. The fear. The loss.
The grief over losing my first love.
"I didn't want to cry," I admitted, tilting my face down. "But I guess that's unavoidable now." I huffed out a brittle laugh, eyeing the empty smile on his face in suspicion.
God, what if Chloe was wrong?
He bit his bottom lip, turning to stare in the direction of the door on the other side of the suite briefly before he glanced back at me with tormented eyes. "I'll give you a ride. Come back when Chloe is in a better place," he suggested.
My breath caught in my lungs as he offered me the chance to get the answers I needed from Chloe without saying goodbye to him. But the splitting of my soul in two that I felt as I prepared to leave him told me everything I needed to know.
I'd never be able to say goodbye twice.
"Thank you for being so good to me, but I think," I paused, sucking back a fortifying breath. "I think it's time for me to go. There's only a few days before I go home."
"Or you could stay," he said.
I smiled, shaking my head. Even if he wasn't suspected to be a murderer, a man as wealthy as Rafe had no cares in the world. I couldn't put college on hold for a man I hardly, knew who would undoubtedly tire of me soon enough.
"I have to go home," I whispered, listening to the words as they echoed in the silence between us. It felt like a moment where my future was decided, like something snapped into place. As if we were always meant to find our way to this moment.
Leaning down, I snagged the handle of my suitcase. He stepped out of the closet, going to the balcony and grabbing my purse off the floor to hand it to me. Tugging on
