Chapter 13
13
J AMES
She gets lost in my arms, her face stained with tears.
Finally thawed, her heart beats for me, stronger than ever. I hold her tight as if I've just found her.
And in a sense, it’s true because I’ve lost her so many times.
“I’m... so sorry…” she whimpers against my chest.
“Don’t be...” I say, stroking her hair.
My heart hurts.
She’s finally here.
The girl I fell in love with.
The girl who couldn’t breathe around me and wanted me to have her body and also teach her.
The girl I killed one summer night, claiming her body and making her mine… All the while hoping I’d find her again inside a beautiful woman. In my arms… Maybe, later.
And now, she’s here with me.
They both are.
Alive and well, needing me more than ever.
Stroking my chest, she rests her head against my shoulder and cries her heart out.
Broken.
She wraps her arms around me, her body melting into mine. She’s warm and soft.
So vulnerable.
“I’ll take care of her… Okay, baby?”
She nods against my chest.
I tilt her chin up. She looks at me with misty eyes.
“I need that girl more than you can imagine,” I say.
She gives me a soft smile, more tears glinting in her eyes as I run my fingers across her cheek.
“I’m not going to hurt her again. And I won’t let anyone else hurt her, either. No other man will touch you. And no other woman will touch me. It’s going to be you and me and the rest of this fucked up world. Okay?”
She nods again, her tears staining my shirt, her nails sinking into my back. I press her face against my chest, my heart thudding underneath.
I can’t believe I have her back.
She breaks away from me after a few moments, her hair a mess, two trails of dry tears crossing her face.
“I need to do something about this,” she says, pointing to her hair.
“You have everything you need in the bathroom,” I say.
She searches my eyes.
“This place was set for you and me. It didn’t look like this before.”
“You’ve planned to meet me for a while?” she asks incredulously.
“Yes, I have.”
“Has Eve helped you?”
“Yes. I talked to her some time back.”
“Here?”
“In New York.”
Surprise floods her eyes.
“How did you find her? ”
“I talked to Rene and Donnie.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“So everybody knew about this except me?”
I nod.
She looks around.
“You had this place remodeled then?”
“Mm-hmm. And the Dark House.”
“You were sure everything would work out?” she murmurs.
“No, I wasn’t, but I’ve never considered losing you either. I’m always focused on winning, and you’ve been one of the most important battles in my life.”
Her smile fades, her eyes getting teary again.
“Don’t cry for me now, Rain,” I say, smiling. “Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m a big boy. I can take a fall.”
Her eyes shine with a smile before she loops her arms around me and kisses me softly.
“I’ll be ready in a minute.”
She breaks away from me.
“We’re in no rush,” I say before she waves at me and walks into the bathroom.
* * *
JAMES
I gulp the rest of my drink, set the glass back on the table, and train my eyes on the world pulsing with life outside.
The sound of cars and people becomes a dull hum, fading into the background.
If my father were here today, he wouldn’t recognize me or this piece of land.
He always taught me to aim high, but this would surpass even his expectations.
He’d be proud. I think he would. In awe, perhaps.
Power had always been his drug of choice, and he knew how to hook me on it early on. But even he couldn’t predict this.
If my mother were here today, she wouldn’t find the boy I once was in me. And she’d probably feel less for me since I’m no longer that little boy.
A part of me felt hurt and bled because she’d left without a word that day. So she wouldn’t mean to me as much as she had once meant.
Looking at it with mature eyes, I realize it must’ve not been easy for her, either. Maybe she had no choice, and that was the only way she could do it.
Perhaps I was the reason she had stayed with my father for as long as she had stayed.
I wish I knew for sure what made her pull away, although it’s not so hard to guess. It was my father.
I didn’t know back then what the women in his circle were, but I figured it out later. He’d used those women to put some distance between himself and my mother because he’d failed to love her the way she needed to be loved.
His cheating wore her out eventually, and the loneliness that came with it destroyed her soul.
She had stayed for as long as she could because she wanted me to be old enough to get distracted by things and not miss her.
I was a few short years away from becoming a teenager and, not so far down the road, a wild man.
She must’ve known I’d get swept away by life too.
For the most part, she was right.
What she didn’t know was that the little boy harbored his wounded love for her for much longer than she had thought. And that he couldn’t forget her.
Perhaps that’s why she never came back.
I’m sure she knew I wouldn’t look for her. I didn’t want to find a missing person. I wanted her heart back, but that was simply impossible.
Today, we’d probably talk again.
I no longer hold a grudge against her, although I have a feeling she’s still grappling with guilt.
I shift my gaze and look in the distance.
Rain comes to mind.
Three years ago, I found this girl who is now the woman living in my heart.
Three years ago, the land in front of me was nothing but a piece of dirt, the lights and glamor a dream in my head.
I took the piece of dirt and morphed it into a patch of vibrant life. And then I took the girl and smashed her heart.
That’s how I learned.
Sometimes you crush the very things you love.
That’s why I stopped resenting my mother. I was no better than her in the end.
A door opens behind me, and I pull away from the window and swagger to her.
“Hey,” she says softly.
I drink her in, a smile tickling my lips.
“Hey.”
Her hair is all brushed back, and her eyes are clear of tears.
She dips her gaze to my shirt.
“You didn’t change?”
I smile.
“I like my shirts stained with your tears.”
She flashes a warm grin.
“Do you like me crying?”
“No. But if you do cry… I like you crying in my arms.”
Her smile withers away.
I slide my fingers into her hair, and then I cuff her neck.
Her arms go around me.
“Let’s hope there won’t be many tears,” I murmur in her hair.
She glances up at me, grinning again.
“Are you ready?” I ask, giving her a swift once-over.
“Yes,” she says.
“Good.”
I take her hand and lead her out of the suite before we enter the elevator and ride it down.
From time to time, I sense the heat of her stare on my face. Her hand trembles, tucked in mine.
“Nervous?” I ask, slanting my gaze to her.
Holding my eyes, she softly nods.
“Don’t be. You’re not alone,” I say.
A smile brightens her eyes.
The door slides open, and the hostess greets us.
“Mr. Sexton,” she says as she smoothly steps aside.
A few men who work for me tilt their heads discreetly, greeting us too.
We veer toward the VIP area, where Lex and Ed await us in a private booth.
They push to their feet as we near the table, their eyes drawn to me first and then to her.
They’re both smiling.
Lex shifts his gaze to me again and locks my eyes, a grin curving his lips.
The moment we near the table, she pulls closer to me, her hand locked with mine.
My heart almost jumps out of my chest. It pounds so hard.
We pull to a smooth stop in front of them, and then she glances at me. I tip my chin, motioning to her and them.
She shifts her eyes to Lex.
He holds his hand out for her.
She tears her fingers away from mine and meets his touch. Tenderly, he cups her face and places a soft kiss on her cheek.
“Where were you, beautiful girl? We missed you,” he says, his eyes glinting with a smile.
He winks at me.
“But not as badly as he did,” he adds.
“Cut it out, Lex,” I joke.
A grin tugs at her lips.
She glances at me again before she gets buried in Ed’s arms.
He kisses her on her forehead and runs his thumb across her cheek.
“You look great,” he says.
Another smile glows across her lips.
“We’re happy that you’re here,” he adds.
The waitress sets our drinks on the table as we all get seated.
She looks around, taking in the large venue and the people cramming the space.
“It’s good business,” she murmurs before looking at me.
“It’s business,” I say evenly.
“So, how do you like it?” Lex asks.
She moves her gaze to him.
“It’s impressive,” she says.
“And the new projects in town?”
“They look good. My dad was wrong after all,” she adds, shifting her eyes to me. “He was convinced the resort would create a lot of problems.”
“Not everything is good, but most of it is...” I say before tilting my drink against my lips.
“Have you considered moving back?” Ed asks.
She smiles, gazing at me.
“Yes, I have. And I might.”
With that, we talk about other topics.
Dinner is served moments later.
Throughout the evening, she locks eyes with me from time to time, her fingers brushing my arm or my thigh, her body never more than a few inches away from mine.
Several guests stop at our table, but we never lose sight of each other.
As the evening wraps up, she says goodbye to Lex and Ed, and we make the trip back to the garage.
“Where are we going?” she asks as I motion her to my Bugatti.
We climb in.
“I want to show you something.”
She looks at me, intrigued, as we roll out of the garage.
Shifting in her seat, she pins her eyes on me, a smile lingering on her face.
“I’m sure you’re gonna like it,” I say.
She rests her hand on my shoulder as the car dashes up the road. The night envelopes us, littered with stars, the sky stretching above us.
Soon we drive downtown, heading west.
Minutes later, we roll past the gate and enter the property.
Soft lights pave the way to the stairs as we pull up in front of the Dark House.