Chapter 17
Iopen her door, reaching for her hand. “May I?”
“Of course.” She slides from the seat. “I mean, what’s my hand when yours has been on my ass?”
“You liked it, Miss Morgan.”
“Careful. I’m still considering a sexual harassment suit.” The naughty glint in her eyes tells me she enjoyed it.
I take her by the hips, leading her to the front doors. “You haven’t experienced the kind of sex I want to harass you with, love.”
“Do tell.” She trembles as I lean in.
“In due time.” I unlock the door, holding it open. “This way.” Pointing to the stairs on the right of the entrance.
“What’s up here?” She peeks around the corner.
“My dungeon.”
“Funny. You don’t scare me, Pennington.” She walks beside me up the steps until we come to the landing. There are two rooms with the doors shut, a full kitchen and a long wall at the opposite end of the building.
“Welcome to my home.” I walk over to the refrigerator, opening it wide. “Drink?”
“Sure.” She looks around the room. I follow her gaze as she takes in her surroundings. A table and a few chairs are scattered about with a few lights.
“Sit where ever you like. We’ll get comfortable after the food is ready.” I duck my head behind the door. “I have Fireball and Jager.”
“Can you make a Hot Pepper?” Her voice vibrates with nervousness.
“Not only can I make it but I’ll have one also.” I get busy making our drinks. “I love Dr. Pepper.”
“Yeah? Me too.” She takes the drink from me.
“Really?” I cock my brow. “Wonder what else we have in common?”
“I could guess.” She smirks.
“Do you like pasta? I’m making fettuccine alfredo for us.”
“You ordered?” Her forehead wrinkles.
“No, I’m cooking. Do you like Alfredo?”
“It’s cheese sauce and pasta.” Reese stares blankly at me. “I’m a fat girl. That’s like asking if I like ice cream.” She giggles until she glances at me. I’m not laughing. “What?”
“Don’t do that.”
A line appears between her eyes. “Don’t do what, exactly?”
“Don’t put labels on yourself. Isn’t it bad enough we live in a world that uses labels to define a person for what they think they know about them when it’s only what they see? I’ve battled it my entire life. I refuse to listen to it.”
“I’m sorry. I guess I’m used to no one caring.” She shrugs.
I bend over her, coming nose to nose. “Demand better. You deserve it.”
“Should we discuss what you think you deserve?” She nuzzles me and chills race up my back.
“After we eat.” I run my hand down her leg, raising it. She gasps as I graze her ankle with my lips. “I’ll take these.” I slip her shoe off, dropping it to the floor. “Keep them close for later.”
“You forgot one,” she says, sticking her opposite leg out.
“Sorry.” I take the heel off, kissing her calf. “Let me get some food on.”
“Would you like some help?” Her eyes sparkle, and my mouth goes dry. She’s beautiful.
“I’m good. Thank you.”
“Do you cook for your ladies often?” She saunters over to the stove.
I laugh. “For my ladies?”
“Yeah, your list of conquests.” She takes a drink, scrutinizing my response.
“You’re the first.”
“The first here or the first for pasta?” She narrows her eyes.
I turn to her, squaring my shoulders. “The first I’ve cooked for, so I suppose both.”
“Oh, I wasn’t expecting that answer.” Her eyes flicker between me and the boiling water.
“No worries. I wasn’t either.” She breaks into a smile, making my stomach flip. “So, Reese Morgan, you have a middle name?”
“Reese is my middle name, Destiny is my first name.” She glances at me.
“Can I call you Desi?”
“Not if you want me to answer. Do you have a middle name?” She leans her hip against the counter, her curves screaming at me to touch them.
“I do. It’s Ian.” She giggles. “It’s my father’s name.”
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.” A line creases her forehead.
“Don’t, please.” I wave her off. “I’m not the favorite son, so I’m okay.” I toss in the pasta after giving the sauce a stir.
“I can’t believe that. You’re close to perfect.” She chews on her lip.
“You must be talking about my baby brother, Reese. I’m far from having it all together.”
“Why do you say that?” She straightens her back, listening intently.
“I was engaged once.” My mouth goes dry, my pulse beating faster with every word. She stands, her eyes wide. “Did I shock you?”
“Well, yes. Why aren’t you married?”
“Long story, bad memories, huge mistake.”
“The girl? She batshit crazy? Cause ya know you’re here with me.” She crosses her eyes, and we both laugh.
“No, not her.” I eye her out of the corner of my eye. “Me. I was… am the problem.”
“Huh? Oh, wait a minute. This is all a part of you don’t understand and you have no clue what you’re asking thing, right? Walker, we’ve all fucked up. We all have our issues and what one person may find a flaw,” she waves her hands down her body, “another person might not see it that way.”
“I can’t believe I’m about to do this.” I swallow past the growing knot in my throat. “Full disclosure?” I study her. “She left me. Truth be told, she should have.”
“Why should she have left you?” Her brows furrow.
“I lied to her, kept secrets from her about the man she’s now married to. When she called me out on it, Reese, I lost my shit. I tried to physically keep her from leaving me.” Bile rises in my throat. I’m afraid to look at her, to see the disgust written on her face.
“Can you clarify physically for me?”
My palms begin to sweat. I know this is where she’s going to run.
“I didn’t hit her but I put my hands on her. No excuses. It’s the same thing in my opinion. I held her, trying to keep her from leaving. When she broke free, we fell to the ground, me on top of her. I hated myself, still do. Probably the worst moment of my life.”
“Why would you do something like that? It’s not who you are.” I look at her, staring. “I mean, you’re controlling, most attorneys are.” She grabs a plate, holding it for me to add our food. “Hell, I like taking control every now and again.”
“Really? I never would’ve known.” She smiles at me, wrinkling her nose. “I wanted her and I knew, deep down, she didn’t love me. Hell, I didn’t really love her.”
“You wanted her?” Once our plates are full, I point toward the door on the other side of the room.
“I can see the error of my ways now. I knew it wrong on so many levels, but I was in deep and couldn’t see my way through it.” I open the door, allowing her to walk through. “Take any seat you’d like.”
“Wow, this is great a place. Is it your apartment or your sex lair?”
The lower half of the place is my living quarters. I have a sectional and a bed with an entertainment center and private bath. She sits in the middle of the couch. I join her.
“Sex lair? Seriously, I can’t wait to see what your imagination comes up with next.” She grins devilishly. “It’s okay for now. I plan to build sometime in the future.”
“So, what happened? And you gotta tell me who she is.”
I try to steady my breathing as my heart races.
“Well, she showed up the morning of our wedding on my doorstep. She pointedly asked me if I had lied. When I refused to answer, she told me she already knew the truth. And then when I did talk, I said everything that came to mind. So bad, like word vomit. She walked away. I tried to stop her by putting my hands on her. I’m ashamed.
It never should’ve gone that far and I’ll hate myself for eternity.
“I moved away, went to counseling, and have loathed my very existence for a while now. I did get to apologize to her and her husband. It does little to ease the pain I’ve caused to all of them, including her family. But they’re great people, treat me good, better than I treat myself.”
“Wow. This explains so much about you. You should’ve told me sooner.” She plays with her food, avoiding eye contact. “Who is she?”
“Thayer Hamilton Turner. Ava’s ex, Brannon, works with her husband Hardy and her brother, One.” That did the trick.
Her head snaps up. “One? As in Lea’s husband, One? As in, you work at their center?” She blinks rapidly, stuttering with every word.
“Yeah, that would be her oldest brother. Chord, the youngest, is Riley’s age.”
“Wait.” She puts her hand up. “You were at their gala and they were at the party Saturday.”
“What can I say, we’re a tight-knit bunch.” I drop my hands in concession. “We grew up together. We’re friends. Well, family really.”
“So, what did you keep from her?” And here’s where I vomit.
“I had Hardy investigated. I was told he had fathered a child with a girl who had died from a drug overdose before giving birth. I told her Hardy knew and was keeping it from her. He wasn’t the father and shit hit the fan.
The same investigator sold them information.
Said I fathered the child and pinned it on him. ”
“Damn.” She sits forward, not meeting my gaze. “Did you? Are you the father?”
“No, I wasn’t the child’s father either.
I paid for false information, the same false information Thayer received.
The guy did it all for the money. I took the girl’s family to court to have testing done, not to prove my innocence but to find out if the child was mine.
To say I was shocked is putting it mildly. ”
“Wow, what a fucking mess.” Her hand is splayed on her chest as she allows it all to sink in. “Wait a sec, so you’ve been beating yourself up over this shit all this time?”
I swallow past the bile, setting my plate on the table. “I have. I’ve hated myself for so long. I’ve drowned my sins in liquor, fucked around, just about thrown my life away. I’m humiliated by my actions, what I’ve brought on my family. I’ve fucked it all up.”
She whirls around, glaring at me. “You about done?”
“With fucking up?” She nods. “Yeah, I’m damn tired of it.”
“Good, I have better plans for you.” She winks at me.
My chest tightens. “Come on, none of this bothers you? Nothing I’ve told you gives you pause to rethink being here?”