KristoAnd when we had arrived home that evening and she had slid into bed with me and made love to me, I felt as though I was helpless to resist her. I had never really made love like that in my entire life. Fucking? Sure, but this was something new. Her body was good and sweet beneath mine, her breath playing on my skin, her touch light and playful as she skimmed her fingers all over my body and drew me in deep. It had felt as though she was peeling away at my walls, brushing them down so nothing about them mattered any longer, as though I was the only thing she wanted and needed. And her ability to be open with me in that way drew it out of me as well, pushing something that I had tried to bury down inside me all this time to run up and over and take control.And now, as I lay here in bed next to her while she slept peacefully, I found myself envying her. Because she had been the one to tell me she loved me, and she had been the one to take back control and lay the ground rules, an

AmayaCleo stared at me for a long moment, and I could see the doubt in her eyes, the distrust, the anger that I had lied to her. And I knew where she was coming from. These people had let me into their lives, and how had I repaid them? By lying to them, by letting this stupid contract that I had never even signed dictate how I acted with them.“Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “I won’t tell anyone for now. But you have some serious explaining to do, you understand?”“I understand,” I replied. I would have said anything to her at that moment if I thought it would get her out of here.“I’m keeping this,” she waved the contract in my face. “And I’m talking to my brother.”“Sure, of course,” I nodded. “I’m sorry, Cleo. I’m sorry you had to find out about any of this.”“Yeah, me too,” she replied grimly, and she paused for a moment, just staring at me, and a little sadness flickered over her face as though she was bidding farewell to the woman she’d thought she’d known when we had gone shoppin

AmayaI had never known how powerful it was before to have the most handsome man in the room on your arm, but the way everyone turned to watch us as we walked in told me everything I needed to know.I squeezed his hand and bit my lip and then glanced down at the rings weighing down my finger. They were gorgeous and no doubt cost more than my entire condo, and I felt sad that I wouldn’t be able to hold onto them after … well, after this was over. But for now, I was going to focus on having a good night and showing off my gorgeous husband to all these stuffy patrons of the library.“Amaya.” Tatania, one of my colleagues, emerged from the crowd to greet me. She glanced over at Kristo, her gaze lingering on him for a moment too long. I didn’t mind. He did look amazing in that tuxedo.“Good to see you.” I smiled at her. “So, where’s the bar?”With that, the night took off, and to my surprise, I actually enjoyed it with him by my side. I felt like a movie star, knowing that the most handsom

Kristo“Can’t you throw it in that she’s been fucking someone else this whole time?” I suggested, and my father flinched at my use of the word, and I cursed myself internally for not thinking about how badly it would hurt him. He shrugged and shook his head.“I just want this done with as soon as possible,” he admitted. “I can’t handle this. I really thought, after your mother, I thought this was it, you know? She was so good with the family, and she seemed so happy.”I thought back to those encounters I’d had with Karen, and I felt my blood boil in my veins. She had treated all of us like family right off the bat, and it had all been a lie. She hadn’t just hurt my father. She had hurt all of us, and she was going to pay. She wasn’t going to see a penny of my father’s money, no way in hell, no not if I had anything at all to do with it.“Come on, my office.” I pulled the food off the stove and headed through to my workspace. “We’re going to figure this out. Right now.”It was the best

KristoShe looked so worried, I found myself wanting to go to her and comfort her, to tell her everything was going to be all right, but the truth of the matter was that I had no idea how things were going to be. My lawyer had called me up when I had been out trying to figure out what the fuck I was going to do next, and he had sounded seriously worried.“Wait, let me just grab a beer first.” I held my hand up to stop him. I had no idea what was going to come out of his mouth next, but I had a feeling it would be a whole lot easier to handle if I was at least a little drunk.“Could I have a glass of water?” he asked, and I poured him one and handed it to him as I cracked open my own bottle and took a swig. Amaya reached for it, and I couldn’t help but grin as she took a swig, despite the clear annoyance directed at me written all over her face. I didn’t blame her. I’d just hit the bricks out of nowhere as soon as my father had been out of there, but if she knew what had been going on