Chapter 17 #2
For a heartbeat, he simply stares at me, as if making sure he heard me right, like I truly meant it.
Then, in the next second, he stands and sweeps me into his arms. I gasp, clutching his shoulders, but he only pulls me tighter against his chest. The steady thud of his heartbeat drums against my ear as he carries me down the hallway.
Neither of us speaks. His eyes stay locked on mine, burning and tender all at once, and I forget how to breathe.
And when he sets me down on his bed, my pulse turns wild. My fingers curl into the sheets to steady myself, but the moment he leans over me, I’m completely lost.
He claims my lips as though apologizing and vowing he will never ever hurt me again. His hands move with reverence, tracing the curves of my body as if every inch of me deserves worship.
My breath hitches as his mouth trails down my neck. I thread my fingers into his hair, tugging him closer in a silent plea, and he answers with a low groan that vibrates through my skin.
God, I can feel myself unravel beneath him, piece by piece. It’s overwhelming, this heady mix of passion and ache, of breaking and healing all at once.
When he finally pulls back and meets my gaze, it’s raw, stripped bare of the hurt he’s kept hidden for years.
And I realize we both don’t need words. In this moment, our hearts are saying everything we’ve been aching to hear, and it’s more than I ever imagined possible, after everything we’ve been through.
Holding my gaze, he draws me close and finally moves inside me.
And this time, when we make love, it’s not just a scratch to itch or an urge or to chase away doubts like last time.
It’s deep. Soul-deep. The years, the distance, the hurt…
they all melt away until there’s nothing left but us. Him and me. And our love.
His forehead rests against mine, our breaths mingling, his voice breaking as he whispers my name like a prayer with every thrust.
And when we’re both spent, he gathers me into his arms and pulls me tight against his chest. I snuggle into him, my cheek resting against the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. It feels like I’ve finally come home.
“I’ll never let you go again,” he whispers against my hair, pressing a soft kiss there. I smile, my heart full, and let myself drift off to sleep in his arms.
Later, the shrill ring of my phone drags me out of sleep. Groaning, I reach across the nightstand, my eyes squinting against the early light.
Annoyance prickles instantly when I see Sabrina’s name flash across the screen. I know exactly why she’s calling. She’s persistent as hell. She won’t let go until she gets the article.
Grabbing the phone, I roll over, ready to bury my face in the pillow, but freeze when I find the bed empty. My stomach drops, though the ringing doesn’t stop.
I swallow hard, forcing myself to answer the call. “Sabrina?”
Her bright, triumphant tone fills my ear. “Anna! We got the article. It was exactly what I needed.”
Confusion floods through me as I sit up and clutch the blanket to my chest.
“Article? What article?”
“The piece on Landon and his parents, of course.”
My heart slams against my ribs. “What do you mean?”
A chime follows, and I glance down to see a screenshot from her. I open it, and my breath catches, the headline glaring back at me in bold letters.
The Dark Legacy Behind the Hayes Empire.
And beneath it is everything Landon told me last night, every secret he bared to me in his most vulnerable moment.
My blood runs cold. “Sabrina, no. Don’t print this.”
“It’s already in motion, Anna,” she cuts in, excited, unbothered by my panic. “This is the piece that’s going to put us on the map. I have to run, but we’ll talk soon.”
And then the line goes dead.
I stare at the phone in horror, my chest caving in. How? How could this happen? Who did this? I never even breathed a word of it to anyone. So how did this get out? And worse, what will Landon’s reaction be when he finds out?
I’m about to leap out of bed to find Landon when the door opens.
He smiles at me, carrying a tray in his hands. My heart picks up as he walks toward me.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” he says softly, sitting next to me and setting the tray down. “I wanted to wake you with breakfast.”
My lips part, the confession already ready to escape my lips. I need to tell him before he hears it from someone else. “Landon, I have to tell you something—”
But before I can finish, his phone buzzes in his pocket.
He frowns and pulls it out. “Give me a minute, sweetheart.”
His brows furrow as he listens to the person on the other end. Then his eyes lift and lock onto me with a look that fills me with dread as he ends the call.
“The press…” His voice is tight, strained. “They printed about my parents.”
“Landon—” My voice cracks. “Please, let me explain—”
“Not right now.” He shakes his head and rises to his feet, already turning toward the door. “I need to go.”
And just like that, he walks out, leaving me frozen in place.
I press a hand to my chest as tears sting my eyes. Inside, my heart screams… I didn’t do this. I would never do this.
But the silence swallowing the room tells me otherwise.
It doesn’t matter what I didn’t do.
The damage is already done.