“And if he’s suspended?” I asked. “Or charged?”
“That actually strengthens your position,” he said. “It limits his leverage. It shifts power away from him. And if he tries to retaliate, stall, or intimidate you through the divorce, that becomes evidence.”
I let out a slow breath. “So I don’t have to wait for everything else to finish.”
“No,” he said gently. “You don’t have to put your life on hold until the world catches up. You can move forward while the investigations run in parallel.”
I stared at the ceiling, absorbing it all.
“I hate that this is my life,” I admitted.
“I know,” he said softly. “But here’s the part I want you to hold onto — this isn’t you fighting him alone in a vacuum. There are systems in place now. There are eyes on him, and he’s going to have to take accountability one way or another.”
He brushed his thumb along my arm.
“And you’re not asking for special treatment,” he added. “You’re asking for safety. Courts understand that distinction.”
My throat tightened. “I don’t want this to turn into another long war.”
“It doesn’t have to,” he said. “Especially if the truth keeps coming out, and I have a feeling there are more people involved who will want to save their own asses, so they’ll be truthful about Nathan and what he’s been up to. And most people like him don’t want their lives examined under fluorescent lighting. My bet is he’ll do what he can to settle quickly.”
That earned a weak, breathless laugh from me.
“I’ll help you find the right attorney,” he added quickly. “Someone trauma-informed. Someone who knows how to protect you without dragging you through hell.”
I met his eyes. “You don’t have to do all of this.”
“I know,” he said. “But I want to.”
I rested my forehead against his chest. “I’m so tired.”
“I know,” he whispered. “And you don’t have to solve the rest of your life tonight.” He kissed me gently. “One step at a time, Ari. Tonight, you’re safe. Tomorrow, we start building the exit.”
My head was swimming, but I felt the muscles along my spine relax marginally now that I had at least a vague idea of what would happen next. I cuddled into Shane more, hooking my leg up over his hip so his thigh was between mine, his arms wrapping me up, my head against his chest.
We lay like that for a long while, my eyelids growing heavy as his fingers drew lines and circles on my skin.
And as the heaviness of the night drained away, heat slipped in to take its place.
My heart picked up its pace in my chest as my body catalogued every place we touched. A spark of electricity zipped through me, making me squirm against Shane, my hips rolling. His warm thigh gave just the briefest shot of friction to my clit, and my breath caught.
“Ari…” Shane warned, his hands tightening on my hips. But he didn’t stop me. He rolled with me, helping me find that sweet build of electricity. “I thought you said you were tired.”
“Not too tired to touch you,” I said breathlessly. “Not when I’ve waited decades to feel you like this again.” And then my arms were hooking around his neck and pulling his mouth down to meet mine.
Everywhere
Shane
Present
I couldn’t get enough.
I couldn’t kiss her enough, couldn’t touch her enough, couldn’t feel her body close enough to mine. Ariana climbed on top of me, and I slid my hands under my t-shirt that she wore, feeling the soft curves of her hips beneath it. She rocked against my erection, and I groaned, nipping at her lip and deepening the kiss.
“I need you,” she panted, tugging at my shirt until I leaned up enough to pull it over my head. Her mouth was on mine the second the fabric was gone. “Need you so fucking much.”
“I’m here. I’m yours,” I promised, and then it was her turn to strip. I slid the fabric up over my wrists until her arms lifted, and then I peeled the t-shirt the rest of the way off, flinging it somewhere off the bed. “And Iwantyou, Ari. With every fucking cell in my body.”
