Chapter 23
ELIJAH
Alex stands by the window, the ocean spread out before him.
Early light spills over his body, tracing the hard lines of his shoulders and the tight boxer briefs hugging his undeniably distracting ass.
I catch myself staring—again. The puzzle pieces inked across his back stand out against his tan, each link a quiet reminder of what binds us together.
He leans forward, resting his forehead against the glass, tension pulling his shoulders tight. The sight sobers me. I wonder if he’s still upset with Gabriel. God, I hope not. Not today.
I run my hand across the cool sheets beside me—the spot where Gabriel slept last night. It happens to be Alex’s side now.
Shame and regret settle into my skin. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not like this. Not with Gabriel’s scent still clinging to the sheets and Alex just feet away—so close, so unaware.
I pull the covers up to my chest like it might shield me from the truth. But the weight in my chest doesn’t go anywhere.
Alex shifts, and the muscles in his back flex beneath the puzzle pieces. The ink twists with every breath he takes.
He’s quiet. Too quiet.
I want to call out to him, to say I’m sorry—to say it didn’t mean anything. But that would be a lie. It meant everything in the moment—and nothing I can live with now.
I close my eyes and press my face into the pillow Gabriel slept on, as if hiding my shame might erase what we did.
It doesn’t.
“Alex, love,” I call softly, pushing the white sheet aside, making room. “Come back to bed.”
But instead of joining me under the covers, he sinks down beside my hip. Close, but not quite close enough.
“I need to tell you something,” he says.
My stomach drops—not a slow, sinking feeling, but a freefall. I brace myself as his fingers find my hip bone, tracing a slow path over my abs, then lower, to my happy trail, where he lazily draws figure eights in the fine hair.
I try to breathe normally. I try to read his face. But all I can think is—please don’t say you know I betrayed you. Don’t make it real.
“What is it?”
The words scrape out of my throat. I have to force them past the lump swelling there, paranoia riding every nerve like wildfire.
He knows.
God, he knows.
Gabriel swore he made it through the airport unseen. Swore on his life. But now, thinking back to what Alex said earlier—how he thought he saw Gabriel boarding a plane—my confidence cracks, and doubt seeps through the fractures.
“I happen to know a little secret, Elijah.”
Oh, god. Here it comes.
“And what might that be, love?”
I aim for playful, but it lands hollow. My voice is too tight, too strained.
I’m too tense.
And I can’t lie. I’m not a liar.
Wasn’t a liar.
I was never a cheater either. But I can’t say that anymore, can I? Now I’m both. A liar and a cheater. And I’m so furious with myself.
Still, I keep my face calm. I’ll let this play out, see how bad the fallout is. I’ll do whatever damage control is needed. Whatever it takes. Because I’m not losing Alex. I love him too much to let this wreck us.
Maybe… maybe I should just tell him. Come clean.
We can work through this. I know we can.
He knows Gabriel and I are divorced. He wouldn’t blame me for talking to him. And that’s exactly what happened. In the beginning, anyway. He’d be furious with Gabriel, sure. But not with me.
Right?
Oh god—he can’t know about the sex. It’s impossible, really. But still…
His dimple flashes when I shift the sheet, revealing my naked body—one of those cute, involuntary smiles.
But just as quickly, he looks away.
“Follow me,” he says, already standing.
I curse under my breath, trying not to let that one rogue brain cell of paranoia take off.
He walks off, and I trail behind him, my chest tight with every step.
He leads us into the bathroom, flicks on the lights—but dims them immediately. Now we’re bathed in this soft, amber glow that makes everything feel intimate. Alex says nothing. The silence is deafening. Heavy.
And me?
I’m not the panicking type. Never have been. But I’m pretty fucking close right now.
He leaves me standing there—naked, exposed—in the middle of the bathroom while he calmly adjusts the temperature of the water.
“Are you coming?” he asks, casually, as he steps out of his boxers and into the shower.
Then he runs his fingers through his wet hair, slicking it back beneath the warm spray. Water glides down his shoulders, across the muscles of his back, down the inked puzzle pieces that drip with secrets.
And damn, he looks good.
Too good.
A wave of nausea hits me so fast, I have to grip the edge of the counter to stay upright.
Cautiously, I step in behind him, the hot water cascading over both of us. I wrap my arms around his waist, pulling him flush to me, my hands sliding over his skin.
“Elijaaah,” he breathes, turning my name into something melodic. He turns in my arms and leans against my chest. “Yessss…”
I close my eyes, letting the sound of his voice slide through the heat between us. Let the warmth of him sink into my skin.
Steam fills my lungs and—just for a moment—I shove the guilt aside.
Gently, I rest my hands on his chest, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breathing.
Water streams over us, hot and insistent, drumming softly against the tiles and our skin, and steam curls around our faces, mingling with our quiet sighs of comfort.
I feel the small, steady pulse of him beneath my fingers, the way his body tilts toward mine as I spin him around and bend him over, gently placing his palms against the wall.
Moans and sighs drift past his lips, trembling and earnest, each one reaching for something wordless.
I grab the silicone-based lube off the shelf and dribble some down the crack of his ass, then onto my cock, while trailing soft kisses along his skin.
He hums my name through sudsy wet lips as I push myself into his warm body.
And, yes… this. This is where I want to spend the rest of my life. Right here. With him.
His moans thicken as I roll my hips and push deeper into him, vibrating adorably through the steady flow of water cascading over his face.
A low groan rolls out of my chest the moment I feel him let go.
Every tremble. Every sigh. Every heartbeat.
Until he finally exhales, and I walk him toward the blue-tiled wall and release every ounce of my load inside him.
Elated.
Breathless.
And most of all, relieved… that whatever he was about to tell me seems to have been forgotten.