“No, listen.” His voice roughens. “My father loved my mother. I know he did at the beginning. She told me stories about how he always brought her flowers, called her beautiful, promised her forever. And then one day, that wasn’t enough anymore. One woman wasn’t enough. What if that’s genetic? What if I end up hurting you the way my dad hurt my mother?”
I sit up and put my hands on Reed’s cheeks, looking deeply into his dark eyes. “Reed. I trust you. You are not your father. His infidelity isn’t genetic—those were choices he made and kept on making. If you don’t want that path, don’t choose it. Your life is what you choose it to be.”
“How do you know, Maya?” Reed’s voice is choked, but he doesn’t break eye contact with me or try to hide.
“Because you’re already choosing differently. You’re aware you don't want to make the same mistakes he did. You recognize that as hurtful, and you adamantly don’t want to be like that.” I stroke my thumbs across his cheekbones. “You are not your father, Reed. I know this in my heart.”
“But what if—” His hands come up to cover mine.
I put a finger on his lips to silence him. The aching vulnerability in his voice makes me want to cry. “Reed, partnership isn’t about never being tempted. It’s about what you do with that temptation. Your father chose to act on it. You can choose differently.”
He closes his eyes, and I feel a shudder run through him. “I want this to work so badly it terrifies me.”
“I know.” I kiss him softly. “Now it’s my turn to be terrified.”
His eyes open, focusing on me with that intensity that makes me feel seen all the way through. “What are you afraid of?”
“Of disappointing my parents and my family.” The words tumble out. “My whole life, everyone’s had expectations. My father doubts I can run the family business. My mother wants me settled and pregnant. Society says I should want certain things—marriage, children, the whole package.” I take a shaky breath. “I’m scared to tell my family I don’t want children. I want a husband and partner, but I don’t want a white picket fence and 2.5 children.”
Reed stays quiet, just listening, his hands steady on mine.
“Everyone assumes I’ll change my mind. ‘You’ll feel different when you meet the right person.’ ‘Your biological clock will kick in.’ But what if it doesn’t? What if I don’t want it to?”
“Then that’s enough,” Reed says simply.
“Is it?” My voice cracks. “Because every man I’ve dated has assumed kids were part of the package. That eventually I’d want to settle down and prioritize family over career. And when I couldn’t commit to that, they left. They said they loved me, but they never showed me they did.”
“Maya.” He pulls me into his lap, arms secure around me. “I don’t need you to be something that you’re not already. I need you to be happy.”
“You really mean that?” I’ve waited so long for a man who didn’t expect me to have traditional goals that it takes me a while to really understand Reed is fully honest and not saying something just because he thinks it’s what I want to hear.
“Damn straight I mean that.” He tilts my chin up. “I want you, Maya. Ambitious, career-focused, independent, I-don’t-know-if-I-want-kids you. I want you exactly as you are.”
He kisses my forehead, my cheeks, my mouth. “I’m committing to you, not to an idea of who I wish you were. I’m falling in love with you because you’re brilliant and fierce and you don’t back down to anyone, not even your father. My life will be complete with you, Maya, and kids have nothing to do with that. If we never have kids, there will be no loss in my life. I swear this to you.”
Reed pulls me down for a kiss that steals my breath, deep and hungry. My heart and soul open as his lips meet mine, and I know in the core of my being that I’ve finally found the man for me. No man could ever compare to Reed, and I’ll never let anything or anyone tear us apart.
When he pulls back, my heart is racing, my body already responding to the heat in his gaze.
“What did you want to do?” I whisper, though my heart already understands.
He stands. “Show you what choosing you looks like. And Maya? I’ll always choose you.”
CHAPTER 9
REED
The door slams shut behind us, and the rest of the world falls away.
I press my body against hers, my hands seeking her silky, warm skin. I kiss her deeply, my tongue teasing at hers, and she responds just as fiercely, wrapping her arms around me and holding me tightly.
“Maya,” I breathe against her mouth, and the way she shivers makes my cock ache with the need to bury myself in her pussy.
Her hips roll against mine, and the friction unleashes a groan from deep within my chest. I pin her against the wall, one hand sliding up to cradle the back of her head while the other grips her hip, holding her exactly where I want her.
My mouth drops to her neck, and I kiss and suck at her neck. She gasps, head falling back, giving me access to the hollow of her throat, the curve where neck meets shoulder. I nip at her soft skin, not hard enough to mark, but the way she whimpers and squirms against me lets me know she loves it.
“Reed—”
