“Once someone knows my real name, my company is easy to find, as are our email addresses.”
“Bold of him to put anything in writing,” I say, almost relieved that this will be over soon. “What does he want?”
“Me to call him so we can ‘discuss this like gentlemen.’”
“Ohmygod, don’t make me laugh,” I say drily.
“Where were you headed in such a hurry?” Talon asks as his eyes flit to my lips, still holding me to him.
“To find you.”
“Oh, yeah?”
The tension and anxiety over hearing from Derek are still present, but Talon’s dilated pupils and crooked smile give away the desire he can’t hide. I never in a million years dreamed anyone would want me like this. Let alone a man like Talon.
“Down, boy,” I say with a laugh. “I was coming to run anidea by you.” I spend the next several minutes going over my plan to tell my story. The whole story. “Controlling the narrative, I believe it’s called,” I finish.
“Zeke, I don’t want you to have to do that. That information is private, not to mention excruciatingly painful, and the media isn’t soft. You won’t have to sit in a room across from Derek like you would in court, but it has the potential to be just as traumatic,” Talon warns.
“I know. But I decided to do this before I knew he’d reached out. Now that I know he has, it feels even more important that I follow through. I don’t want him in the background of our lives forever. Nor do I want to spend a year that I could be moving on, meeting with attorneys, going through pre-trial hearings, and reliving that night over and over again just to possibly get to the end and have a jury release him. It’s not worth it to me. Derek’s already gotten so much of my life. This way, the world knows the truth about Derek, about me, about you, and most importantly, aboutus, and the fact that this isn’t some predatory love story with a power imbalance on your part or a manipulative gold-digging mission on mine. Once we’ve told the truth, on our terms, then we’ve done everything we can.” I grip the hem of Talon’s shirt. “I just want to live life with you. Simply. Peacefully. Together.”
Talon stares at me for a long moment, saying nothing, and I can see the wheels turning behind his eyes. He’s in business mode, weighing pros and cons…it’s pretty hot.
“I hate this,” he finally says. “These choices are so un-fucking-fair to you.”
“Life never promised to be fair,” I point out. “But it’s hard to be mad at it when it brought us together.”
Talon kisses my forehead and runs his knuckles down my cheek.
“Let me make some calls. How soon do you want to do this?”
“The sooner the better. Before Derek reaches out again for sure,” I tell him.
Talon leans down and pulls my bottom lip into his mouth. It quickly heats up when he pushes me against the wall of the hallway, nipping at my jaw and sucking on my neck. His hands roam over my body, and the sounds that leave his throat threaten to leave me in a puddle of precum on the floor.
But time is of the essence.
I press lightly on his chest, and he stops immediately. Always looking for signs of my discomfort or need to pause.
Gripping the roots of his hair, I smile at him.
“Let’s do what needs to be done, and then I want to pick up where we’re leaving off, okay?”
Talon nods.
“Give me an hour.”
While he’s calling whomever he needs to call, I make a call of my own.
“Ricochet Medical Center, how may I direct your call?” the receptionist asks.
“Patient medical records, please.”
It’samazing how quickly things can get done when you have the right contacts and the right last name.
By three p.m., Talon, Eloise, Lorraine, Harrison, and I are in a studio of sorts. Lukas is notably absent, and I hate feeling like it’s my fault that he’s at odds with his family, but I shove the thought to the back of my mind. There’s no room to think about that right now.
“You must be Zeke,” a lady says, coming to stand in front ofme. She reminds me of a news anchor. Her makeup is well done, her hair is well-styled, and her clothes are perfectly pressed. “I’m Georgia. I’ll be conducting your first interview.”
