Genevieve
Chapter forty
Iknew something was off the moment the guard didn’t lead me toward the long hallway of glass partitions. He didn’t tell me to sit at booth four and point toward the metal stool where I’d watched Reid through the glass.
Instead, he said:
“Follow me.”
My stomach twisted in anticipation as we passed the usual visitation area… then continued down a corridor I’d never seen before. The lights buzzed overhead, humming in a low, industrial drone.
This wasn’t normal protocol for my visitations, and I couldn’t help but brace for the worst.
He opened a door at the end of the hall.
And there, already inside… was Reid with no cuffs or glass separation. He was close enough that if I stepped forward, I could touch him.
For one stunned second, I couldn’t breathe even if I wanted to.
“Kaufman…” the guard bit out.
Reid’s eyes lifted, locking onto mine, and he stood immediately.
The guard continued, “You get—”
I didn’t even listen as every rational thought left my body. I ran to him, my body colliding with his, all breath knocked from me as his arms wrapped around my waist and hauled me fully against him.
His grip was so tight it almost hurt. It felt like his hands couldn’t wait to memorize me again. Like they were deprived of me just as I was him.
I heard a heavy sigh from behind. ”—thirty minutes,” the guard finished before pulling the door shut. But it was a blur. All I could think of, all that was on my mind, was Reid.
“Mon amour,” he whispered into my hair. “My Vieve.”
He smelled like detergent, soap, and an edge of aftershave. My knees nearly buckled.
My hands slid up his back, over the fabric of his thin grey shirt, curling into his shoulders, clinging so tightly my nails dug into him.
He didn’t care; he just pulled me even closer. His breath was hot against my neck, uneven, almost trembling, his fingers splayed wide across my spine, trying to carve his name into my bones, brand his touch into my skin, like I wasn’t already ruined for anyone else.
“Reid—” I breathed, half a sob, the other half a sigh of relief. I wasn’t even sure what to say. I was just so happy, so relieved to be in his arms again. His hand slid up, threading into my hair, tilting my head back so he could stare into my eyes.
“I told you to stop the visits,” he murmured, voice low and uneven. “I told you to limit the calls.”
“You still answer every one,” I whispered, and he sighed, one slow exhale as he pressed his forehead to mine, his eyes closing.
“You know I can’t help myself,” he admitted, voice roughened at the edges.
I couldn’t help the smile that broke onto my lips as I crashed them into his. He devoured me hungrily, like he couldn’t get enough, his tongue darting into my mouth, tasting and savoring me as my fingernails dug into his muscles.
Soon we pulled away despite me wanting more. His arms stayed wrapped around me, his hands more possessive and assertive as he held me.
“I didn’t think they’d give us this room,” he said. “Not this soon.”
“This room?”
His jaw flexed once, his fingers tightening on my waist. “In prison… sometimes,” he said, voice low, steady, maddeningly calm, “couples are allowed private visitation rooms.”
I stared at him, my eyebrows furrowing as he placed a kiss between them, a hint of amusement in his gaze.
“…Couples?”
“Yes.”
Oh? …Oh. My stomach flipped, heat flooding my skin. “Oh,” I whispered, and he let out a low chuckle that went straight to my core.
“Yeah, baby… oh.”
Before my pulse could settle, he guided me toward the cot, his hand at the small of my back, firm.
“You look tired,” he assessed, his tone possessive almost.
“I’m fine,” I lied, taking a seat on the fresh sheets.
He ignored that, fingers curling around my ankle to lift my leg, sending a shiver through me.
“Reid—”
There was no room for argument. He slipped my boot off slowly, eyes flicking up my body like he was checking for any sign of discomfort, examining the damage life had done since he last touched me.
He tapped the other leg, another command, and I obeyed before I even thought.
The second ankle boot slid off and he dragged his thumbs up the arch of my foot, into the swollen pads beneath my toes, finding the exact pressure points I’d complained about once to him.
A low curse escaped him. “Your morning sickness isn’t getting any better,” he muttered.
I could only roll my eyes. “Reid.”
“I can hear it in your voice when you call in the mornings,” he muttered, hands moving to my calf, kneading slowly, deliberately.
“Reid, I said I’m fine,” I said for the millionth time. “I’m worried about you. You’re still in here. I don’t want to talk about me.”
“I do.” He was closer now, breathing in my space, touching me, making me all hot and bothered. “I want to know how you’re holding up. How your days look. What you’re eating. What Eugene is obsessing over this week.”
“But I tell you those things every day,” I whispered.
“And I still listen,” he countered, tone gravelly. “Because it’s the only thing that keeps me sane in this fucking place.”
“I thought you said to limit my calls.” I raised an eyebrow and he glared up at me, watching as I tried to hide a giggle that wanted to surface. A sad smile graced my lips as he continued massaging my legs, his hands feeling like magic on my nerves.
“You still haven’t heard anything.” I whispered.
Something dark flashed across his face. Something that made me feel a pit in my stomach.
He let out a breath. “Nothing’s going to change, Vieve.”
I frowned, confused, my heart thudding. “How do you know that?”
“Because I know what kind of situation I’m in. And I’ve accepted it.”
I swallowed. “Reid… what does that mean?”
He let out a quiet breath, hands moving up my thighs, pressing into my skin gently.
“Vieve. I’m not being let out. For a long time,” he began, and my heart clenched in my chest as I fought back tears.
“There will be no trial, no lawyers, no trace of me being put away. Then at some point… there will be no trace of me left at all.”
“Why?” I said, my voice cracking.
“Because that’s just how things are going to be. There’s nothing I can do to stop it, Vieve.”
“Did you know this would happen?”
Reid’s jaw flexed again. “…I knew something was coming.” His gaze dragged over my face like he was memorizing it. “But I didn’t expect it to be this. Or… for you to be this involved.”
“I’m involved because I love you,” I whispered before I could stop myself.
His breath hitched, his hands tightening on my thighs.
“This is exactly why I wanted you to limit the calls, limit the visits,” he practically growled. “Because every time you do, every time I see you, hear your voice, I’m reminded of what I can’t have.”
My lips parted, shaking. “But you can have me,” I whispered. “You can have us.”
“I can’t, baby. Not like this.” His hand slid to my waist, fingers curling in the fabric of my dress.
“I can’t protect you or give you a life from in here. And the men who put me in this cell will consider you leverage the second they know you matter to me.”
Tears fell down my face at his words, and he lifted my chin with two fingers, forcing me to meet his eyes.
“They’re going to move me,” he said quietly. “Soon. Somewhere no one can reach me… Off-grid. You won’t know where. And I need you to be ready for that.”
“Ready?” My heart skipped another beat. “B-but your companies,” I murmured. “Your board. Silicon Valley’s new ventures—how can you—”
“I’ll still be working.” His tone didn’t change. His fingers drifted back down the side of my neck, warming my skin. “Alexander will handle the physical side of things, be the face of the company. I handle everything else. Phone approvals. Transfers. Contracts. Decisions.”
“You’ll still call the shots?” I whispered.
“I never stopped.”
“But what about us?” The words broke out of me before I could hold them back.
He sighed. “Vieve—”
“If you can still run Silicon Valley, we can still be together.”
“We can’t,” he said finally, and a sob climbed my throat. I tried to swallow it down and failed.
He cursed under his breath, his hands on my face, thumbs catching the tears before they fell, tilting me toward him. “I hate seeing you like this.”
“Then stop saying things that make me cry,” I whispered.
“I will.” His thumbs brushed my cheeks slowly. But we both knew the promises he couldn’t keep would only grow the longer he was here. And like a lovesick fool, I held onto them because a promise he couldn’t keep felt better than nothing at all.