I grab her ass, giving it a firm squeeze. “Sex with you is incredible, and I can’t get enough.” I’m having more sex than I’ve ever had in my life, and we can’t keep our hands off one another. I’ve never had this level of intimacy before, and I’m addicted to this woman.
She pecks my lips. “Ditto, babe. I could happily spend every waking hour in bed with you.” Pulling back, she eyeballs me seriously. “But no deflecting. What’s on your mind?”
I begin plating our dinner, and she leans back against the counter, eyeing me with concern. “I’m trying to decide what to do about Ren.” I don’t hesitate to tell her the truth because being completely honest with one another is one of our new rules.
“It’s been on my mind a lot too.” She opens the refrigerator, removing a bottle of sparkling water and grabbing two glasses from the overhead cupboard. “Let’s discuss our options after dinner.”
We walk out to the patio area to eat. “Dinner’s up,” I tell Mike as I pass, knowing full well he will reheat his pasta later, rather than leaving Zeta and I unprotected out here. He’s a good leader, always taking care of his team before attending to his own needs.
“You can eat with us,” Zeta says, like she does every day, knowing he’ll turn her down.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll eat after you’re finished.”
Zeta leans in to kiss his cheek, and I swear the big guy blushes. I send him an amused smirk, and once Zeta’s back is turned, he flips me the bird. I’m still laughing as I sit down. “What’s so funny?” she asks.
“You made the big guy blush, and he hates that I noticed.”
She swats my arm. “Play nice.”
“I’m always nice.” I nip her earlobe. “Especially with you.”
“You were especially nice to me this morning,” she agrees with a twinkle in her eye. She purposely drags her lower lip between her teeth, knowing it turns me on.
And now I’m thinking about a repeat of this morning’s performance.
“I was.” I shove my tongue in her ear, and she squeals. “And I’ll be nice to you again. After we eat.” I swirl a forkful of pasta and lift it to her lips, and she dutifully opens for me, making my cock throb in my pants. “Fuck, you even make eating sexy.”
She snakes her arms around my neck. “That’s just cause we’re hot for one another all the time.”
“Damn straight, baby.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “But I didn’t spend an hour slaving over a hot stove for us to ditch the food in favor of bed, no matter how tempting you are, so eat.”
We make quick work of our pasta and then wander down to the beach for a walk like we always do after dinner. Mike hangs back at a discreet distance allowing us privacy to talk. “I’ve been thinking about the situation,” she says, “and I think you’re right. Ren’s not going to go away. He’s going to constantly hold the threat of disclosure over your head unless you take back control.”
“I agree, and that’s why I’ve decided I’m going to make a public statement. I’m going to tell the world who I really am.”
She stops walking, examining my face to see if I’m serious. Taking my hand, she pulls me down onto the sand. She’s quiet as she considers it. “If you reveal your true identity, you’re breaking the terms of your release agreement. They could send you back to jail.”
I swallow over the lump of emotion clogging the base of my throat. “I know, but it’s a risk I think I should take. If I do this, I remove the threat he’s been holding over my head for years, and he can’t blackmail me anymore. It also means I can report him to the cops, and that’s the best way to keep him away from you, to keep you safe. I have evidence of the blackmail, and I can tell them he’s the one who’s really responsible for the death of that cashier and Cory’s death.”
She doesn’t take her eyes from mine as she offers another suggestion. “Or you could hire a hitman and put a bullet between his eyes.” I examine her face to see if she’s joking, but she’s deadly serious.
“I have thought of that over the years,” I admit. “But the one thing that always held me back is the fact that would make me a murderer, just like him, and I’m nothing like that asshole.”
“You’re not. There is no comparison.” We both stare out at sea, and I wrap my arm around her shoulder as she leans into me. “You think I’m crazy for suggesting it?”
“No. Like I said, the thought has reared its head on more than one occasion, but it’s not a viable option. Fessing up is the only solution that makes sense, even if I do get sent down for it.” Naturally, I don’t want that to happen, but I’m tired of living a lie. This is the best way to protect the woman I love, and that’s all that matters. Worrying about Ren’s retaliation is keeping me awake at night, and I’ll feel safer knowing the authorities are aware of all the facts.
“Your fans would be up in arms if they did that,” Zeta says, thinking it through. “I’m confident that won’t happen although, if we are going to do it, we’d need to get some legal advice. I think the fact you’re handing over the real culprit will negate any potential fallout for you.”
“The fans might turn on me. On us.” I’ve given this a lot of thought, and it’s a very real concern.
She straightens up, tilting my face to hers. “I honestly think they’d stick by you. They love you. And if you explain it the way you explained it to me, they’ll understand.”
“Maybe, but it’ll bring a lot of heat at a time when we’re due to release our next album, go on tour, and announce our own label. If this just impacted me, I’d do it right now, but I can’t ruin everything for the guys. I’ll have to walk away from Torment, but if it means I get to keep you safe, then it’s worth it.”
She shakes her head. “I’m not letting you do that, and I don’t think the guys would either. You need to talk to them. Tell them everything. Even if we don’t go ahead and do this, I think they should know. I think you’ll feel lighter once all the people who love you know the truth.”
I love how everything is “we,” and having her in this with me means more than I can say. “What if they hate me? What if they turn their back on me?”
