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That was probably what was missing.

The house didn’t feel completely lived in because Richard was barely there. His clothes were upstairs in the bedroom. His toothbrush sat beside mine in the bathroom. There were bottles of whatever expensive shit he used lined up inside the shower.

But most mornings, I still woke up alone. Most nights, I went to bed the same way.

Sometimes several days passed without hearing from him. Then Richard would show up as though no time had passed, and suddenly the entire house felt different.

Richard had an entire life outside this house. He had businesses, responsibilities, meetings, and people constantly needing something from him. I knew all of that before I agreed to move here. I couldn’t expect him to spend every night sitting around a beach house because I was bored.

Eventually, things would probably settle down.

Maybe we could start traveling together.

I’d always wanted to see more than the handful of places I’d already been. We could go to Hawaii or Mexico, somewhere tropical where we could disappear for a week and nobody could bother him. The thought made me smile again.

We could do whatever we wanted.

I turned and headed back, quickening my pace as I neared the beach house. By the time I reached the steps, my feet were completely covered in sand. I picked up my shoes and climbed onto the deck.

I opened the back door and stepped inside.

For the first time since moving here, I wondered what exactly I was supposed to do with my life while I waited for Richard to decide he wanted to be part of it.

I didn’t like where that question was taking me. Thinking about it wouldn’t change anything anyway.

Instead, I walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Richard hadn’t said he was coming tonight. That didn’t necessarily mean he wouldn’t.

If Richard decided to come over, I wanted everything ready for him.

Chapter 23

Richard

Ididn’t expect this to feel sustainable.

Everything in my life has always been about momentum. I identified weak points and removed them cleanly. I reshaped whatever remained so it served me. Problems didn’t linger when you were decisive. Obstacles disappeared when you had the money, the connections, and the stomach to handle them. My world had never slowed down long enough for anyone to think they could pin me in place.

Until now.

The new house sat far enough from Brentwood to keep the noise and the questions at bay but close enough that nothing in the family business moved without my say so. Every deal, every decision, every loose end funneled straight through me.

That was the part I liked best. No resistance and no one left stupid enough to test me.

Power had been the only high that had ever really satisfied me.

But something had shifted. It crept in during the quiet mornings when I woke up and Samantha was still curled against me. Her hand rested on my chest. She slept like a woman who believed she was safe.

She loved me.

The words should've meant nothing. I had said them to plenty of women because they were useful. Delivered with the right tone and the right look, they melted right into my hands. Samantha believed me the moment they left my mouth.

Yet this feeling didn’t sit neatly in that category. It felt different. More permanent. I studied her in those moments. The way her face softened completely when I touched her. How she relaxed around me. It did something to me I hadn’t decided if I liked yet. It wasn’t the clean thrill of control I was used to. It was messier. Deeper. And I hadn’t decided whether I would keep it or eventually cut it out like everything else that stopped serving its purpose.

I hadn’t killed in a while. Really not since Edward.

The thought lingered. I told myself it was just timing. No loose ends screaming for attention right now. But the usual pressure, that familiar itch under my skin, had been strangely quiet. Almost like the beast was content. For now.

It was nearly seven when I returned to my office after the last meeting of the day. Most of the floor had already emptied, and I had one final file to review before leaving.