Chapter 21
The rest of the afternoon and evening passed in a blur.
Time seemed to go by fast when I was with her.
She opened up a bit more about her life and how Cameron treated her.
I put my best counselor face on and tried not to let my emotions show.
After a quiet dinner in, we made love and were basking in each other’s company when she spoke.
“I wrote a new poem today. It’s how I feel about you. Would you like to hear it?”
She was lying naked in my arms, and my hands were rubbing her back, her voice was soft and vulnerable.
“Absolutely, I would.”
“Okay, but you have to wait here. I didn’t memorize this one yet, well, because I guess I don’t have to do that anymore,” she said with a surprised look on her face, as if she just realized it.
I smacked her ass lightly. “Go on then, get that pretty journal and read to me.”
She scampered off the bed, grabbed the T-shirt I’d discarded earlier, and threw it on. She came back into the room and sat cross-legged at the end of the bed. I sat up and leaned against the headboard. She looked nervous, but oh so cute.
“Okay, so I feel like I should preface this with…with…I mean, it’s how I feel, but I don’t necessarily expect anything from you, other than maybe your friendship.”
My eyebrows drew together as I mulled over her words. “Friendship?”
“Well, I mean, Kinsley…I don’t know your status—open relationship, closed, if she knows about me…”
“She doesn’t know, for obvious reasons.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t then,” she said, chewing on her bottom lip.
“How about you don’t worry about my little pixie and instead you read to me. One friend to another.”
“If you’re sure?”
Her hazel eyes met mine, and I wanted to lean over and kiss her senseless. Instead, I waited patiently.
She cleared her throat and said, “I’ll need to change a few words.”
“No, you read it how it’s written, word for word. Understand?”
“Yes, Sir,” she said obediently.
“It’s titled ‘A Love Like Yours’ I was going to change love to—”
“Friendship?” I offered.
Her face lit up, and she giggled. Unable to resist, I leaned in, kissed her, and didn’t stop.
“Andrew,” she breathed, pulling back finally. “Did you want to hear this or not?”
“Sorry,” I mumbled and sat back against the headboard.
Once more she cleared her throat, and her voice rang out pure and filled with emotion.
Rip me open, straight to the bone.
Promise never to leave me alone.
Taste my tears, drench yourself in me.
For all that I am, only you can see.
Unmake me, and break me apart.
Then recreate me piece by piece,
starting with my heart.
No matter the blood, sweat,
and tears it may take.
I’m in it for the long haul.
There’s too much at stake.
You’ve cut the ties,
and opened the door.
With outstretched wings,
I’ll once again soar.
Say you’ll come with me,
and stick by my side.
I need your strength,
for this journey—this ride.
So rip me open, straight to the bone.
For a love like yours I’ve never known.
As the last of the heartfelt verses left her lips, her words circled around us, binding us in some small way. My heart swelled with every syllable. Her voice trembled with sincerity, and I was in awe of her spirit. She opened a window into her heart, allowing me in.
The haunting vulnerability shining in her eyes struck me. I was moved, not just by the beauty of her words, but the courage it took for her to share them with me. I hooked my finger and called her over. She set the book and pen down and crawled over until she was close enough for me to grab.
“Do you have any idea of the magnitude of what you make me feel?”
“No, Sir,” she whispered. “If it’s anything like what I feel though…” Her voice trailed off.
I cupped her face and rubbed her bottom lip with my thumb. “You are an incredible woman. I’d be honored to be your strength and a part of the next chapter of your life.”
Her eyes met mine, and tears filled them. “Really?”
My lips fell to hers, and I placed a small kiss on them. “Really.” Devouring her once more.
The night blurred into something deeper than desire, and the hours slipped past unnoticed. We reached for each other again and again. Less out of urgency or need, more out of the quiet relief of being seen, of not having to explain ourselves to anyone else.
By morning, the world had slowed. She slept curled against me, her breath soft and even against my chest. I traced slow circles along her back, memorizing the weight of her, the quiet strength she didn’t even realize she carried.
For the first time in years, something settled inside me.
A peace I hadn’t thought I was allowed to feel.
Because in a few hours she’d finally be free of him.
Cameron would no longer have a claim to her.
And God help me, I was already beginning to imagine what my life might look like with her in it.
I took a deep breath, trying to get control of my racing emotions, and buried my face in her neck. I’d picked out a new scent for her, and now, breathing it in, a calmness settled over me.
When I first picked it up, it tickled my memory bank, and I wondered if part of finding your soulmate had to do with scent because I knew it was her before she even wore it. Alek was forever going on about Kinsley’s: and this woman’s scent captivated me like no other.
There was a sweetness of sparkling berries that reminded me of her demeanor, soft and delicate, and once you nestled in, you were hit with an underlying scent of tangerines.
It was like a burst of sunlight reminiscent of her playful nature.
Together with the last notes of bubbly champagne, it teased me mercilessly.
I was so drunk on her I didn’t want to ever let her go, not even for one second. I let her sleep as late as I could and then kissed her awake. I needed to check in with Pasha and make a few phone calls before we left, so I excused myself and left her with instructions to order breakfast.
My eyes were drawn to the poetry journal we’d purchased.
A teal flair pen rested on top of it. She’d read me the poem last night, but I wanted to read it for myself once more before I left.
Her words gave me hope and filled me with wonder once more.
I put it back exactly how I’d found it and left the suite.
Forty minutes later, I closed the door to Pasha’s suite and walked the short distance to mine. The breakfast cart was placed outside the door. I paused and lifted the dome off one of the plates. The fruit was mostly gone; the rest picked at.
She’d eaten at least a little. That minor detail settled something in my chest. I opened the door quietly and stepped inside.
Victoria stood near the sitting area, her bag at her feet, fingers knotted in the hem of her shirt. Her eyes flicked up at the sound, and for a second, I saw the storm behind them—fear, determination, all tangled together.
She was ready. Or at least trying to be.
In an effort to make this look real, like she was going back to him, she only had the bag she had brought from home. The plan was to leave it with the asshole. She wouldn’t need anything in it anymore, anyway.
We would come back for the rest of our things after everything was said and done. The lift ride down took seconds, and her quiet demeanor had me feeling a strange mix of anxiety and anticipation. The lobby was bustling with people checking out.
So much was riding on today. Declan would be well on his way to the safehouse by now and, if all went as planned, he’d arrive just before we did.
Holding her last night—her breath against my chest, her fingers curled into my skin—had changed me. Somewhere in those quiet hours, I stopped trying to fight what was always inevitable.
She was mine.
The depth of what I felt for her knocked the wind out of me. Passion, yes—but more than that—a promise. A knowing. And it didn’t matter that she had a child. That part of her wasn’t baggage. It was a gift.
The thought had barely settled before the mood shattered. Cameron strode through the door, flanked by Nigel and another man I didn’t recognize.
Victoria’s breath caught—a fragile sound that made my heart skip. She looked at me, those beautiful eyes flickering with something I couldn’t quite place. Hesitation? Doubt? I wanted to put her mind at ease.
“Are you ready?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
Her gaze slid to Cameron, lingering a moment before snapping back to me. Then the change hit like a wave. That sweet vulnerability vanished, replaced by a cruel, mocking smile that curled her lips. It was sharp and knocked me back.
“Ready? For what?” Her voice dripped with bitter sarcasm, thick with disbelief. “You really thought I was going to stay? Oh my God, you actually did. Cam, he thought I was going to leave with him.”
She tossed her hair over her shoulder, laughter spilling out—cold, scornful, and merciless. Cameron and his men joined in.
Something cracked inside me. The past clawed its way back—memories consuming me. Every single one I’d tried so hard to forget. It was like watching myself from somewhere far away, disconnected and numb.
My mind couldn’t grasp what was unfolding in front of me. Had Cameron wormed his way back into her? She hadn’t been alone for long this morning, and when I’d returned from checking in with Marcus, she’d seemed…okay.
But now, her voice, her swagger—it was the same venomous girl from those dark school days, the one I thought I’d escaped. Except now it was repackaged and even more devastating.
She drifted toward Cameron with a cruel grace, and he pulled her into his arms as if she were his prize. I wanted her to recoil, to flinch, to show any sign of resistance. But there was nothing.
I choked out, “What are you doing? I thought—”
A harsh, bitter laugh shattered whatever fragile hope remained inside me.
“No way you’re this gullible,” she spat, eyes sharp and mocking.
“I gave you a heads up at your grandmother’s, remember?
The plan? You really thought I’d leave my husband?
For you?” Her voice dropped cold, slicing deep.
“I like a man who takes complete control—who doesn’t play safe.
For a man paid to listen, you’re the worst I’ve ever met. ”
Each word was a blade twisting in my chest, and the room spun, the ground slipping away beneath me. I caught Marcus and Pasha out of the corner of my eye, my fists clenched in anger.
The weight of onlookers’ eyes burned into me. Words wouldn’t form, and it was as if someone had hit the rewind button. Gone was the confident man I’d become, and I was the fat boy standing on the porch in a tuxedo, being completely humiliated again.
If she’d stopped there, maybe I would have been able to get myself together, but her voice rang out loudly, dripping with poison.
“You’re pathetic,” she sneered, her face taking on a haunting look. “Your own mother didn’t even love you. It’s too bad she wasn’t successful all those years ago.”
I recoiled as if slapped, my face flushed hot with anger and humiliation. I wanted to ask her why she was doing this, but the words were caught in my throat, and I choked on the emotions.
Cameron laughed. I flashed him a look, and he stood triumphantly beside her, his arm wrapped around her. But it was her snuggling into him that shattered me.
The sight of it echoed along with her words in my ears, and I turned and walked back to the lift.