Sweet Little Lies

Chapter Forty-Five

After Ivy eventually fell asleep, Harry had stayed up. His mind was racing with everything that had happened. His wife rested peacefully, curled up to his side. He couldn't stop looking at her.

Her lips were red and swollen, parted as she breathed. She looked sinfully angelic, exhausted from their nonstop cravings. Never had he experienced the sensations that he did tonight. Emotions flooded out in a wave of longing and desire, giving him the opportunity to take her over and over. Every orgasm he drew out of her was seared into his brain, making him crave more.

He would never not crave this woman. It was clear how he felt, no matter how terrifying it was to him, how impossible he once thought it was. Harry Styles was never supposed to fall in love. Love was weakness. Love was everything he had been against. So fucking sure he wasn't even capable of it.

Yet, she existed. Ivy Malone, who had been at the edge of his existence his whole life, had proven him wrong.

It was why this hurt so much. Why he was so off his game, so unfocused on the tasks at hand. Every decision he made, she was at the forefront of his mind. Harry now wondered what she would think of his actions. He wanted to know her opinions and ask her advice and what to do next.

He should have told her that morning, the moment she woke up in his arms, but of course, he chickened out. He kept hearing his father's voice in the back of his head, calling him a fool for caring at all, for giving his enemies a target.

Then he started to doubt himself, so he left. He left her at home while he went to work, and now he was staring mindlessly at his computer.

Closing his eyes, he felt her. The soft touch of her hand on his chest or her fingers playing in his hair. How easily she gave herself to him, gifted herself to him.

But it was the look in her eyes that broke him. There was no pity, no judgement as he spoke about his father, about his worst fears. There was only understanding. She grasped the severity and significance of his words, what it meant to say out loud, and then she went and destroyed every last bit of his shield.

You're the only person I have ever found to be my equal.

I know who you are, Harry.

I won't run. I'm not scared.

Because you're not just him.

"Fuck," he muttered, "fuck, fuck, fuck."

He took his phone out and texted her, Can we talk tonight?

The decision was made.

His phone rang, and he answered, "Griff?"

"Just spoke with Ren Hayashi." He said, "She's having a hard time locating the map."

"I'm starting to think I should just pay a visit to him myself." Harry sighed, "We'll probably get our answers a lot faster."

"And a bullet to the head."

"He hasn't made contact with the Hayashi's, has he?"

"No, Ren said it's been radio silence." He paused, "I think he's banking on you turning on each other. Ren originally thought you had something to do with his disappearance."

"Maybe we should play that up." Harry thought out loud.

"What do you have in mind?"

He rubbed his face, "Nothing strong enough, yet."

"Okay, we'll talk later. I'll be there at five?"

Harry hesitated a moment before saying, "Yeah, I wanted to run something else by you."