His Jaguar Tattoo

BONUS

>>Okay, well, no one voted on what scene they wanted in Drew's POV for this bonus chapter, so I had to choose one on my own! Let's see who can guess when in the story this likely would have taken place.<<

He didn't understand. Their night had been perfect after that kiss, their first. Zuri had finally let him in—or so he'd thought. Morning poured in through the bedroom curtains, but she wasn't here. She wasn't anywhere in the house. He'd already checked.

Sighing, Drew bent forward to rest his elbows on his knees. The memory replayed in his mind, unable to find any reason for her to leave him like this. His hands still remembered the soft silk of her dress as it pressed against his body. Her own fingers had twisted in his hair, her desire matching and intertwining with his.

They'd made out for what felt like hours. He couldn't remember ever being so content with that. Kissing had always just been part of a greater scheme to Drew. Zuri made it different, though. She could make one kiss the main show. At one point, he wondered if she would indulge him, let him carry her up to the bedroom.

She didn't, though. Zuri required more time, which had been okay with him when he thought they would have the rest of their lives together. But now she was gone. Like the night, not even her shadow remained to keep him company.

The memory played again. It slowed when their kisses came to an end. Zuri had buried her face into his chest, just wanting to be held. So he did. His arms had embraced her at the waist while he'd dreamt of never letting the moment end. The world had been perfect then. They had been the only people in the universe. To him, at least.

After that, Zuri had talked him into going for a walk. They strolled through the tall grass under the stars, fingers locked. Every minute or so, he would stop walking and she would lift her mouth to his. It felt like they were in a dream.

"What do you want, Drew?" she'd asked, staring up at him through hazy eyes.

"You." The response had been automatic; it came as easily as taking his next breath.

A smile stretched across her lips, and the moonlight glinted off her teeth. "From the future. What do you want from the future?"

The shift in question didn't change his answer. He wanted Zuri. Never before had he met someone so forgiving, so reliable, and so kind. She still loved him after everything he'd put her through. To him, it didn't make sense to want anything else in the world.

But that wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. Or that's what Drew had thought at the time. Now he wondered if she would still be in his bed, tangled up in his arms, if he had said just that.

Instead, he'd told her that he wanted to expand his business, sell his real estate firm, build a new house, and have children. Those things mattered to him—they weren't lies by any stretch—yet they couldn't amount to her.

Drew heard a tormented moan before realizing he had been its source. His body hurt. He just wished he could understand why she left him. Did her schooling and her grandmother mean that much to her? More than a future with him?

Well, considering he hadn't always been the most loving of mates, maybe that was why. Maybe she thought he didn't really love her. There could have been a million reasons she left. Or there could have been just one. Just one reason that he could've prevented.

The jingle of his cell phone broke through his broken-hearted dismay. He briefly glanced at the screen before pressing it against his cheek. Ajax was likely calling to apologize. Drew already assumed he had been the one to aid Zuri's escape.

"Is there something you feel the need to share?" he snarled through the phone.

"Mr. Benson," Ajax reasoned, "I'm sorry. She called me and told me it was an emergency. I didn't know what she had in mind until it was too late."

"You didn't think this could potentially be a bad idea?"

"Sir, you did give her a choice."

Drew ground his teeth together. "Choice. It's all about choice."

"Well...do you want me to go back and get her?"

Although the offer was tempting, his mother's words flooded his mind. Love is about free-will. Without free-will, love isn't real. It isn't true. You have to give Zuri the choice, Drew, to know if she really loves you. That's what you want, isn't it? You want her to love you back.

"No." The word was clipped with frustration as it departed from his lips. "Maybe someday she'll realize what she lost."