“Since a year ago. One of my old college buddies is a publisher in New York. He approached me, saying he wanted to do a line of memoirs from successful businesspeople. He was interested in you writing one too, or us writing one together, but I suggested I write one about you, in a way. He agreed. Now here I am, the biggest fool in the universe.”
“You’re not…”
“I must be, for not foreseeing this. If I hadn’t been wearing my blinders that said this should be a surprise… I should have told you about it the moment I finished the first draft.”
“And Chloe?”
“Chloe?” Kennedy laughed. “She was one of my first readers. All the others, including the editor, were men. I wanted another woman’s view. Who else would I have asked if not you?”
“The package…”
“…That I got by the pool that day? That was the proof! I didn’t want you to see it yet.”
“And those letters from you were really your handwritten drafts…” Holy shit. She was terrible. “And you gave her a key to your desk so she could…”
“…Put back what she finished commenting on and take out the next parts. Yes. I wanted to change the lock, anyway, and was going to after this project was finished. It won’t matter if she makes a copy of the key, because it won’t work in a few months.” Kennedy snorted. “Apparently, I need to find a new hiding spot for my keys.”
“I’m sorry!” Lara was on the verge of tears again. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
She couldn’t hold back the drops falling from her eyes. She tasted salt. Bitter. Sour. Everything was sent up from her heart for the sole purpose of making her throw up.
“Kennedy…”
She put a hand on her shoulder. Tender. Firm. “I don’t know what to say, Lara. I never in a million years expected this from you.”
And never in a million years did Lara expect to snort at a statement like that. “Are you kidding? You know better than anyone what a vindictive bitch I am. I was ready to rip out that girl’s entrails and parade them in front of you!”
“You should probably go apologize to her. At least now I know why she’s being so skittish around us. Besides…” She nicked her finger against Lara’s chin. “I know how vindictive you can be. Don’t think of it as being vindictive, though. It’s hot that you’re possessive…”
“No, it’s not. It’s messed up. Kenny, I…” Finally, she forced herself to look at the person she married. The person she didn’t trust.I can see the pain in her eyes.How could she do that to her? How could she become someone who didn’t trust her partner? Who was suspicious of everyone and everything around her? Didn’t she know how hard Kennedy worked for them to live like this? How compromising she was?She does it because she loves me.Who else would ever love her like that? “I’m not used to things being so good for so long. You’ve seen my family. They’re all some level of miserable. I don’t know anything else. My brain was looking for a thousand reasons to break up with you.”
Her grip on Lara tightened. “You don’t want that, right? You don’t want to break up?”
Lara looked away. “No, baby.”
“And I would never do anything to compromise those feelings.” Kennedy cupped her hands around Lara’s cheeks, forcing her to look at her again.How can she look so cool and collected?Lara had confessed to thinking she was cheating on her! “You must believe me, Bunny.” Thumbs pushed into herflesh, soaking up her tears. “From the moment I met you, all other women paled in comparison. The day you married me was the day I first felt complete.”
Most women would cry to hear those words. Most. Lara was not like most women. She often shoved aside those fluttering feelings to be practical. To make rational decisions. When Kennedy asked her to marry her years ago, Lara didn’t say yes right away. She took the time to think it over – for a whole week. For Kennedy, it was surely torture.
So when she heard her say that, her first reaction wasn’t to sob – again – but to fold into her arms and hold her tightly, determined to make her feel complete once more.
“We’re good, right? You’re not worried I’m going to cheat on you, right?”
Lara shook her head. “I ruined your surprise. I was so rude to that girl. I’m fucked up.”
“Don’t do that to yourself. Although…” Kennedy gathered Lara’s shirt into her fist, pulling against some skin, some hair, and every fiber of her being. “I can’t let you get away with this without suffering some consequences, Lara.”
Kennedy stood, hand lingering around her arm as she gently tugged on it and convinced her to stand up with her. Lara’s robe fell from her body, pooling at her feet. She shouldn’t be so transparent. Except then what would her partner love on all the time?
“You’ve been way out of line, Mrs. Anderssen.” Kennedy took her by the hips, pushing her against her desk like she had weeks ago.My wife. My Mistress.Lara eased into it, feeling her legs open and her nipples harden beneath her T-shirt.I need help, all right. Just five minutes after nearly having her heart broken, she was ready to fuck the one who caught and married her ten years ago. “You’re going to have to be dealt with. Between terrorizingthe help and daring to doubt my integrity, I’m not even sure where to begin with your punishment.”
Lara could hardly look her in the eye.
“Look at this woman I’ve married.” Kennedy plucked the hem of Lara’s shirt and lifted it, revealing her bare breasts as they responded to the chilly air. “She’s already aroused.” She pinched one of her nipples; Lara barely responded. “I wish I could say my reasons for marrying you were purely emotional, but I have to admit that your ability to go at any random moment played a huge part. Who wouldn’t want a woman ready to go whenever?”
Lara glanced up at her, Kennedy’s demeanor so demure that her wife looked as if she didn’t recognize her – but that look was one only Lara could recognize. To anyone else, Kennedy looked completely in control of the situation.
“Would you… be pleased to do it right now, Ms. Anderssen?”
