“Why are you being so nice to me?” I asked, allowing the uncertainty to surface. “I’ve given you my loyalty. You’ll have it as long as you protect Alexis. The rest is a bit...perplexing.”
His eyes drilled into me as he sipped the last of his wine. He didn’t answer, and instead gestured with his head toward the doorway. “Come on. Let’s go upstairs.”
I swallowed thickly, anxiety swirling with anticipation as I followed him. We walked through the kitchen, setting both glasses on the counter, before he took my hand and led me upstairs. When we approached his bedroom door at the end of the long hallway, he tugged me inside and closed the door behind him.
A lamp shone dimly on the nightstand beside the king-sized bed, but otherwise, the room felt dark. Mysterious.Intimate.
Michael drew me toward the large window and pointed to the night sky. “A full moon. Just like the night we met.”
Facing him, I was suddenly overwhelmed with questions. What the hell was I doing? How had this happened so fast? Should I have waited longer and tried to find a different solution?
Instead, I lifted my chin and asked the most important question of all: “Why didn’t you come? All those years ago in the warehouse? I waited for you, and you didn’t come.”
Sighing, he splayed his hand and pointed at his fingernails. “You see this?” he asked, his voice low and gravely. “Most of them grew back fine, but this one,” he tapped his pinkie, “it grew back quite crooked. Perhaps to leave me a reminder of how terribly I failed you.”
I touched his pinkie nail, running my finger over it as I tried to understand. He’d somehow lost his fingernails? Had he been tortured? Suddenly, realization hit and I gasped as my gaze flew to his.
“No,” I whispered.
“Victor saw us under the dock,” he said, shaking his head with regret. “I knew I lingered with you for too long, but I hadn’t been able to resist. I paid for that dearly; webothdid.”
“Who tortured you?” I asked, feeling the tears form as my chin wobbled. “Did Victor—”
“No, that bastard turned two of my men and had them do his dirty work.” He lifted his hand to my jaw, cupping it as he spoke so reverently. “I’m so sorry, Bianca. I told you that I chose you and I meant it. I just couldn’t reach you before it was too late.”
“All this time,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I thought you deserted me.”
His shattered breath washed over me as he took my face in his hands and pressed his forehead to mine. “Never, mia,” he whispered, brushing his lips over mine. “I always choose you.”
My arms flew around his neck as I moaned, the sound sad and filled with the regret of a young love so tragically lost. Tears streamed down my face as he enveloped me in a torrid kiss. His hands roved over my back...my hips...my backside, and I longed to feel his naked skin against mine.
Sex had never been pleasurable for me. Victor had always done his best to pump his release inside me and send me on my way. As I got older, he came to me less and less, which I considered a blessing.
But with Michael...
Kissing him was more pleasurable than anything I’d ever experienced with Victor. Every cell in my body burned as I thrust my fingers in his thick hair, drawing him toward me as I licked his tongue, dying to taste every part of him.
He broke the kiss and crouched before sliding his arm under my knees. Lifting me, he grinned at my high-pitched squeal.
“Michael! You don’t have to carry me.”
His strong arms carried me to the bed before gently lowering me to stand in front of him. “I think I was supposed to carry you across the threshold, but that will have to do.”
My lips curved as I laughed. “We’re too old for those stupid traditions anyway.”
“Speak for yourself,” he teased, removing his jacket as his eyes simmered with lust and affection. “I’m a hottie according to Alexis.”
“Oh, god, you heard that,” I said, biting my lip. “She’s a bit much. I don’t know where she gets it from since her father and I are both quite serious.”
“She’s so much like you,” he said, tossing his jacket on the chair in the corner before returning to me and tracing my cheek in a slow caress.
“Michael, I’m not...” I lowered my gaze, wanting to prepare him to be let down. I had no idea how to please a man, especially not one as experienced as Michael. I’d only been with Victor, and our trysts had been brief at best.
“Bianca—”
“No, let me say this,” I said, straightening my spine. “First off, I’m not young like I used to be. I’ve had a child. I have stretch marks and scars—”
“We all have scars, stella,” he said, lifting his pinkie as he arched a brow. “I want to see every one of yours.”
