#40
“And you fall, and you crawl, and you break, and you take what you get, and you turn it into. Honesty, and promise me I'm never gonna find you fake it" - Avril Lavigne
Giorgia was a bitch. I knew she’d dropped that bomb precisely because I hadn’t prepared the ground for this conversation with Megan. And now, inevitably, I was about to be exposed as a lovesick teenager.
With a glass of whiskey in hand and the bottle within arm's reach, I stared at her. I traced the details I had memorized over time: those light eyes, the shock of red hair, and the nervous way she clutched her glass of water.
“You're scaring me, Kels,” she said, her laugh betraying a flicker of genuine unease.
“I'm sorry. I don't mean to,” I replied, taking a long, slow sip of whiskey without breaking eye contact.
“The first time I saw you in person was at your wedding to Peter. And damn, Megan... you were breathtaking, but you looked so profoundly sad.”
“I don't remember seeing you there that day,” she whispered, her brow furrowing in confusion.
“My father had recently passed away. Even the people who had always treated me with respect began to dismiss me the moment I took the reins. After all, in their eyes, who would take orders from a woman in her twenties?”
I paused, the memory of that isolation still sharp. “I was there to secure a legacy, but I ended up watching you.”
“It's a horrible world to be forced to grow up in,” I agreed, taking two more sips of my drink. The liquid burned my throat—a welcome distraction. “But what does any of that have to do with waiting for me?”
“I had gone out for a smoke because your father had infuriated me,” I began, my voice low. “He was causing friction with Giorgia, who was breathing down my neck for money. Your father was a partner who drew heavily from both of us.”
“What do you mean?” Megan asked, the air in the room suddenly feeling thin.
“At the time, several ports were being auctioned off. I had the capital to buy them, and Giorgia invested because she knew it would expand her routes across the Americas. Your father... he was paid to ensure those bids were approved.”
“He left me with so many strings attached because of those deals,” she whispered, the realization hitting her like a physicalblow. Her expression hardened. “And you? Did you just use me for some kind of personal revenge? Is that all this is?”
“I would never use you, Megan!” I exclaimed, setting my glass on the coffee table with a sharp click before kneeling before her. “Please, just listen.”
“Don't lie to me, Kels,” she pleaded, her voice cracking. I reached out to hold her hands, kissing her fingertips when I noticed her eyes beginning to well up. “Don't lie to me. Please.”
“I saw you arguing with Peter that day. That was the moment I realized your marriage was nothing but a cold arrangement. All I wanted was to wipe that haunted look off your face, but Vanessa wouldn't let me anywhere near you.”
“And what else did you see?” she asked, arching an eyebrow, her gaze searching mine as if she could read my very soul.
“I saw you slip into a room with a woman... and I fell in love with the sound of your moans.”
I let out a heavy, ragged sigh, as if a decade of tension were finally leaving my body. “Damn it, Kitty, I wanted those moans for myself. I wanted your smiles. I wanted you from that day on.”
“So... you didn't use me?”
“Of course not, my dear,” I murmured, my thumb grazing her cheek. “I simply waited. I waited patiently for you to rid yourself of that nuisance and ascend to the peak of your career. I waited so I could be the one to help you take that seat on the Supreme Court.”
“All those years, Kels... just because you saw me once?” she whispered, the scale of it finally sinking in.
“Believe me, it was more than enough. And I would do it all over again, a thousand times, just to see you achieve your dream,” I vowed. I was caught off guard when she took my face in both hands and kissed me with a devastating tenderness. I swallowed a jagged, irregular sigh and pulled her onto my lap right there on the living room floor.
Our tongues met with a raw, desperate intensity—a hunger that had been fermenting for an eternity. That kiss was different. It was the one where I gave her everything, even the parts of myself I thought I’d lost.
My heart hammered against my ribs so violently it felt as though it were trying to tear through my chest just to touch hers. Driven by a sudden, primal need, I rolled her over, pressing her against the floor as I draped my body over hers.
We were both consumed by the heat radiating between us. It was mutual, violent, and undeniable. I hadn't realized how much I craved that feeling of belonging until the moment it finally claimed me.
Our heavy breathing merged into ragged moans as the kiss deepened. A continuous wave of relief washed over me; a soul-deep satisfaction in finally having this woman, and all her secrets, entirely for myself.
She ground herself against my thigh, moaning directly into my mouth and driving me to the brink of madness. Her nails dug into my arms, marking my skin as hers, while I slid one hand down the curve of her thigh and anchored the other at the base of that delicious neck.
