Chapter 25
Spring had come, the bitter cold fading as the air warmed and the city returned to life. While I appreciated the winter, the rebirth of spring was usually a welcome sight. This year, however, it was only a reminder of how long it had been since I’d lost Riley. Each day that passed had not brought relief from the ache that was a constant companion. The pain that sat in my chest no matter how I tried to ignore it. Nothing gave me relief from it. I’d tried burying myself in my work. I avoided the street where her apartment had been. I tore my bedroom apart and redesigned it, erasing every trace of her, but nothing worked. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t remove the mark she’d left on my heart.
I’d sent her the ring, having Sherry mail it out the next day. I lost what little hope I had when no reply came. No return note, nothing. And so I buried myself back in my work, watching as the snow melted the way Riley had melted my heart. Watching as the spring flowers poked through and wondering why my chest still ached, why an emptiness still existed that I couldn’t seem to fill.
Folding the newspaper, I tucked it under my arm. The air was unusually warm today, and I’d left my coat at home. I made my way to the elevator, my eyes avoiding the firm’s lobby like they did every time I walked by. I’d tasked Sherry with finding me a new office so I wouldn’t have the reminders of Riley on the mornings I came in, but for now, I dealt with it.
I slid my keycard and pushed the penthouse button. As the doors closed, a heeled foot stopped them. I followed the line of the leg, recognizing the curves as my heart thudded. The doors closed, and Riley stood across from me. She was stunning. Her thick ebony hair was down, cascading in waves over her shoulders. She wore a tight black skirt that slit on the side and a loose silk shirt that sat softly on her chest, the buttons left undone just enough to show the swell of her breasts. Her emerald eyes were dark, nearly knocking me over with the confidence behind them.
She gave me a coy smile before hitting the emergency button, stopping our ascent.
“Miss Brinks,” I said, hoping I was reading her right, but afraid of the pain it would bring if I weren’t. “I thought I warned you about stepping into my elevator.”
Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “Our elevator, Mr. Tides.”
My breath caught, the strain of the past few months tempted to flee. She moved closer to me so that I could smell the light fragrance of her shampoo that mixed delicately with her perfume.
“Our elevator?” I asked, cocking my brow.
“Ours,” she said, leaning into me. I dropped my paper and grabbed her waist, bringing her against me, that fear of misreading her still in the back of my mind and not allowing me to kiss her like I wanted. She searched my eyes, her fingers coming up to trace my face, and I closed my eyes to her touch. “If,” she said, and I opened my eyes, caution returning to me, “you meet my conditions.”
“Conditions? I don’t do conditions, Miss Brinks.”
“That’s too bad.” She drew from my hold, but I yanked her back to me. The feel of her body against mine brought me to life where nothing but death had seemed to sit within me since I’d lost her.
“But you might persuade me to make an exception,” I said, moving my hand down to her hip. “Be a good girl and make me an offer.”
Her lips parted, a tremble going through her body. The pain in my chest receded completely as my heart pounded in anticipation. I slipped my hand up the slit of her skirt, hitting the distinct feel of thigh highs attached to a garter. My dick jumped at the feel. I turned her so that I had her back pinned against the elevator wall.
“Conditions, Miss Brinks, before I lose my patience.” Because I wanted to devour her, but I knew I needed to wait. Too much had happened between us, and I wouldn’t risk losing her again.
“You bring me in. Make me part of the business.”
I dropped my hands, stepping back. “No.” The thought of her getting hurt again was too much. I still couldn’t get the vision of her bloody and bruised face out of my mind.
Her jaw ticked. “Yes. You’re not leaving me in the dark again. Neither you nor Mason. That’s the reason Clint hurt me in the first place.”
I bit back the rage at the mention of his name and replied, “It’s too dangerous?—”
“How could it get any more dangerous, Greyson? Clint almost killed me twice. It doesn’t get more dangerous than that.”
“Yes, it does. You could be dead,” I said, hitting the elevator button. She pressed it again, and I shot her a look.
“You’re not winning this. You don’t get me unless I’m part of things. Mason let me on the inside, and I’ve spent the last month learning everything he could teach me.”
I laughed. “Mason is a child in this business.”
She leaned into me. “Then teach me what he couldn’t.”
I gritted my teeth, hating what she was asking because it would expose her to everything she despised about me and the life I led.
“I can’t love you completely if I don’t know you, Greyson.”
“What’s the other condition?” I asked, hearing the bite to my tone.
“Who said there were only two?” she replied, knotting my stomach with worry about what could be next.
“What, Riley?”
“You return to working with Mason?—”
“Fuck, no. I don’t work with anyone.” I tried to start the elevator again, but she stepped in my path. She was aggravating me with her conditions, none of which were ones I liked.
“Mason agreed to it, just like you offered when you agreed to find Clint. When you pretended you didn’t know where I was and hunted the man who threatened to hurt me, agreeing to a truce with Mason to keep me safe.”
“That was necessary.”
“And so is this.” Her voice held a plea I couldn’t ignore. “Greyson, he’s my brother. How can I be Mrs. Tides if my brother is your enemy?”
My jaw dropped, my heart slamming in my chest. “Mrs. Tides?”
She reached into her shirt and brought out the engagement ring, putting it in my hand. I let it sit there, staring at it, its weight increasing with every passing second.
I lifted my eyes to hers as she said, “If you want me to be yours, you need to meet my conditions.”
Words failed to form as she held her fingers out toward me. “What’s the last condition?” I finally asked, afraid to hear her answer. So far, her demands had been steep.
“That we have a Christmas wedding because I missed spending Christmas with you.”
My smile was wide enough to cause my cheeks pain, the tightness in my chest burning with the love that hadn’t faded.
“I think I can arrange that.”
“And the other conditions?” she asked, as I took her hand.
“You’re demanding, aren’t you?”
“I can be when it’s something I really want.”
“And is this something you really want?” I asked, wanting to hear her say it. “To be my wife?”
“Are you asking me to marry you, Greyson?”
I slipped the ring on her finger, saying, “Yes. Marry me, Riley. Marry me, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for the pain I caused, for the lies, for the?—”
She stopped me with a kiss, throwing her arms around my neck, and I pulled her closer. I’d waited so long to hold her again, thinking I never would and tolerating the void that thought had caused in my chest. I never wanted to let her go again.
“I’m sorry, Riley,” I said between kisses.
“I know.” She pulled her lips from mine, her green eyes studying me. “Can we go home?”
“Home?” I asked.
“To our home so you can make love to me. I’ve missed your touch.”
She reached for the elevator button again, and I stopped her. “I thought I told you there were consequences to walking onto my elevator, Miss Brinks.”
She shivered deliciously.
“What sort of consequences, Mr. Tides?”
I gave her a mischievous smile and pinned her to the wall, relishing the hitch of her breath as my hand slid back up her skirt, skimming along her bare ass. Her eyes twinkled, and I cocked my brow.
“You said to leave the thong off next time,” she said slyly.
“And so I did, Miss Brinks.”
“Mrs. Tides,” she corrected, making my heart leap to my throat.
“I’m going to ravage you in this elevator and mark it as ours, Mrs. Tides.” Saying the words left a tightness in my chest that reverberated through my body.
“Is that one of my consequences?”
“It’s a start, but I stole some silk scarves when the movers packed your things that I might need to put to use.”
The blush climbed in her cheeks gloriously.
“And a blindfold that fits perfectly over those gorgeous green eyes of yours.”
Her lips parted, and I couldn’t help but kiss her, letting the strain of the past few months slide from my muscles and the ache in my chest dissipate with each touch as I took her in our elevator. I spent the day making love to her, touching every part of her body that I’d missed and putting every sigh, every moan, every cry of my name to memory.
Riley was no longer running because I’d claimed her, and I would never let her go again.