“Her absence created this deep black hole inside me.” Hand on his chest, he told Levi, “But his presence makes that hole not so big. Or deep. Or dark.” A small smile touched Levi’s face. “You love him.” Did he? “He is—” His voice broke and he glanced away, failing at an attempt to compose himself. “He is my want, and my need, and my danger.” “Yet you want to walk away.” He met Levi’s gaze again. Whispered, “Yes.” “Why?” “Because it’s easier.” The cold coil of dread in his gut put doubt to those words, but he knew better. He’d experienced it before. “Because I cannot lose again.”
