“You’re not an idiot. You’ve got to stop beating yourself up for this. The truth is out now. Whore-livia will pay for what she’s done.”
“I know, but the hatred. Jared, you should’ve seen the look in her eyes. I’ve never seen anyone so full of malice before in my life. And what she said about our kids—I’m such a fool to think she had a good heart. She showed her true colors today.”
“You keep calling yourself a fool and an idiot, but she’s the fool, and one day she’ll wake up to realize the error of her ways. She’ll look in the mirror and hate herself for what she’s done. She lost a friend today, whether she wants to believe it or not. You were truly her friend, even when she didn’t deserve it. Now, dry your eyes. I’m coming home. I’ll be there in a few hours.”
“I’m coming with him,” I heard Andie call out from the background. “Booking the flight now.”
“You guys don’t need to do that.”
“Yes, we do. You and Drew need us,” Jared stated, his tone firm and decisive. I liked the way he said us. It was affirmative; Jared had found a place for his heart.
“You’re only there a few more days. Please. You deserve to enjoy yourself. There’s no need for you to get wrapped up in my drama.”
“We’re coming home and that’s final.”
It was in that moment I realized how truly lucky I was. True, Olivia had used me. She manipulated me to get her way, but at the end of the day, none of that mattered. Truth has a way of revealing itself, and the truth was, I was surrounded by good people. Even if Olivia tried to spoil it. Nate didn’t have to come forward. He didn’t have to put himself out there for me. He was content in life. Maybe not as happy as he thought he was, but still content. And while Drew might argue it, I knew in my heart of hearts Nate did love me at one time. I was also certain he cared for me now. His selfless act of admission was all I needed in order to forgive him.
I placed Mackie back on the mattress. Sitting up, I swung my feet over the side and slipped out of the bed. Mackie meowed her disapproval of my actions. I rubbed behind her ears and murmured, “I’m going to look for Drew. Wanna join me?” She stood up, walked around in a circle, then pounced down. “I guess that’s a yes,” I chuckled.
Over the sound of the thunder, I could hear the soft melody of music floating on the breeze. We sauntered out of the bedroom and followed the melancholy instrumental to the next room. The door to the music room was cracked open. Candlelight flickered in the darkness. The fresh scent of the late summer rain permeated the air.
I peeked inside to see Drew slouched over the piano, his elbows resting on the closed lid that protected the ivories. Wicket and Chewie rested on top, watching him. Candles were scattered all around the room. They lined the furniture, the floor, and around the open doors. Each one flickering in the breeze that drifted into the room. The sheer white curtains danced in the wind. They whipped and circled around the floor in perfect rhythm to the beautiful song. Rain blew into the room. Each drop landed silently on the wooden floor, leaving tear marks across the honey colored panels. It was as if the house cried in the presence of the elegant piece.
I gently pushed the door open and leaned into the doorframe, experiencing the passion that reverberated through the surround sound speakers. Drew hung his head, his eyes closed, letting the music consume him. My attention was glued to him. He was gorgeous sitting there with nothing on but a pair of flannel pajama bottoms. His bare, sculpted frame highlighted each time the candlelight flickered in his direction, reminding me of the magnificent man I fell in love with.
He shifted on the bench, his muscles flexed under his skin. A stir of desire bubbled inside of me. I ached to touch his bare skin. To taste him. To breathe him in. Drew cupped his face in his hands, rubbing them back over his masculine features to the crown of his head. He hurt. No matter how much he wanted to hide it for my benefit, I knew he hurt as much as I did. He was relieved to discover the truth, but there was a piece of him, a secret part, that wanted a baby.
My mind drifted to our earlier conversation, lying in bed together before I drifted off to sleep. Drew slowly brushed his fingers through my hair, my head resting on his chest. Each beat of his heart was a perfect song all of its own. The warmth of his blood pumping through his veins filled me with renewed strength. He tugged his fingers through tangles, gentle but persistent. It felt so good that my tired, weary eyes started to close. “I’ve been thinking,” he prompted.
“Hmm?” My voice came soft, filled with exhaustion.
“What do you think about me starting my own firm?”
I glanced up at him through tear soaked lashes. “You serious?”
His forehead pinched but his eyes confirmed his desire. “I am.”
“I think it’s an amazing idea, but what about the family business?”
He touched his fingers to my cheeks, brushing away the remnants of moisture. “While my father is in charge I have no place there. On my own, I can do things the way I see fit. I can take on more cases like Nate’s. I can fight for the underdog. All my father cares about is money. I have money. I want to make a difference. Watching you today, it made me realize that my girl’s a fighter. I like that about you. You have a heart, but you didn’t take her shit lying down. That’s the kind of person I want to be, and taking big money cases, while lucrative, doesn’t satisfy my soul.”
I reached up, trailing my fingers along his jaw. “Then I say do it.”
Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t notice that the song had ended. The rain had silenced its weeping. The thunder died and the lightning ceased. All that was left was the sound of the gulf moving along the shore, and the salty breeze dancing with the candlelight.
“Did I wake you, Beautiful?” Drew asked, the husky edge of his voice tingling my insides.
Our eyes met and he smiled that smile that somehow always made me feel alive. I tilted my head to the side, admiring him. His aqua blue eyes twinkled in the candlelight. His soft, full lips were pursed ever so gently. Stubble grew over his jaw line accenting it nicely, but didn’t cover his deep dimples that appeared when his smile crinkled the corners of his eyes. Everything inside me screamed to be near him.
I fought the urge to rush to him, to consume him. I felt no matter how close we were, it would never be enough. My skin prickled with desire. I licked my lips, tucking the bottom one between my teeth. I returned his smile, shaking my head. “Nah. The thunder did.” I shrugged.
Mackie circled around my legs, weaving in and out. Her silky fur rubbed against my skin. Chewie and Wicket hopped down from the piano. They approached Mackie. Mackie slinked in between my legs, looking at them. Wicket nudged her with his nose. She looked up at me, almost asking my permission to join them. I chuckled. “Go, you silly girl. Have fun.” The three cats meowed at us and slithered out of the room.
“She’s happy here,” Drew observed.
“She’s finally home.”
“How about her mother? Is she home?”
I pushed myself away from the door, swaying my hips. “She is.”
He patted the piano bench beside him. Accepting his invitation, I crossed the room, careful to avoid the candles on the floor, and scooted in next to him. He gently cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. I parted my lips. Without haste, his tongue met mine. His taste was intoxicating. I could breathe again with nothing but one kiss of his lips. Fire burned inside me. All of the pain, the hurt, and the anguish that lingered inside me vanished in the light of his love. But a kiss wasn’t enough. It was time to remind this man how much I needed him and how much he meant to me. He was my home. My everything.
I started to draw tiny circles around his navel, relishing the warmth and firmness of his stomach against my fingertips. Just a slip of my hand down his flannel PJs and I could hold him in my hands, but I wanted more than mere sex. Sex was wonderful with Drew, but I wanted to make love to him.
My heart thrummed in my chest as I started to move my lips down the long column of his neck.
He dipped his head back, giving me access to his throat. I dipped my tongue into the crevasse between his neck and collarbone, tasting a mix of raindrops and Drew on my tongue. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing against my nose. I inched up, my lips meeting the bump in this throat. “McKenzie,” he whispered.
I slipped my hands up his chest, finding his nipples hard against my touch. Drew tilted my chin, my eyes meeting his. He brushed his knuckles along my cheek, scooping my hair back behind my shoulder. In this quiet moment, the earth stood still. I truly was home. His mouth found mine, and my arms wrapped around him, drawing him to me as close as possible. It wasn’t enough. Clothes, space, even air, put too much distance between us.
He cupped my face in his hands, his tongue circling mine, slow and sweet, innocent yet devious. The air ignited with each sweet caress. He had no agenda. He was in no hurry. He seemed to want to savor every second of this moment as I did. We were free for the first time. Guilt didn’t linger between us. This was our love, our hopes, our dreams, pouring out in a kiss that held so much power that even the gods had to turn their heads in reverence.
“I love you so much,” he breathed against my lips.
Hearing those words set my soul on fire. I needed him. Wanted him. Just knowing he felt as I did was more than I could bear. I let out a quiet moan, my eyes fluttering closed, allowing this moment to linger inside me.
Drew slipped his hands around my waist and pulled me into his lap. My legs dangled over the side of the bench, his fingers sliding up my outer thigh. I glanced down at his hand, then back into the eyes that mirrored my soul. I felt his need pressed into my backside, reminding me this man deserved every part of me. I placed a kiss on his lips, tender and chaste, then moved off his lap. Drew seemed confused by my movements until I stood up, pulled my nightgown over my head, and slipped out of my panties. My breasts bare and my nipples hard, I straddled his hips and pressed my back into the piano, giving myself to him.
He moaned, his breathing heavy and his eyes filled with lust. When his mouth pressed against my stomach, I whimpered, resting my hands on his strong shoulders. His skin heated under mine. Long languid kisses moved up my stomach, stopping between my breasts. “Not here, Angel. I want you in our bed. Is that okay?”
Liquid heat burned inside me. “I like the sound of that,” I breathed, kissing him long and deep. I moved off his lap and padded toward the bedroom. Each step we took was like a heartbeat, a single breath, inviting me to witness the very nature of this man. Drew trailed his fingers down my back as we walked, almost as if he needed to touch me as much as I needed to feel his touch.
We reached the bed and I crawled up into it, positioning myself in the middle of the mattress. Drew’s heated gazed roamed my naked body. His tongue darted over his lips. He pushed down his pants and knelt on the edge of the bed, reaching for a condom from the nightstand drawer. Every time I witnessed him naked, I found myself in awe of the beauty that was Andrew Wise. He sheathed himself, his eyes never leaving mine.
Drew positioned himself above me. Skin to skin, he cupped his hands around my face, splaying my hair out over the pillow. Neither time nor space could come between us in this moment. Time had no place here. All that existed was our love. When our bodies connected, we were made whole. Slow and steady, our souls danced together through our flesh. We explored, tasted, touched, and breathed each other as if it was our first time, and the truth be told, it was.
There was no guilt, no pain, no worry. All of my wants and desires were fulfilled in him. For once, we were free to love one another without the past intruding. Nothing else mattered. I was his and he was mine.
“What did I do to deserve the right to love an angel?” he breathed against my heaving breast.
Tears formed at the corner of my eyes, the power of our love overwhelming me. Every inch of him from his head to his toes was a part of me in that moment. Where he ended I began, and I didn’t want it any other way.
By the time our mutual releases came, I was consumed by our love. Never in my life had I felt anything like I did in this moment. This was everything I had ever wanted and everything I needed. I held on tight, yet let go of everything in the moment. My past disappeared, my future was clear. I could see the light at the end of the long, dark tunnel I had been prisoner of, and the source of the light was Drew. I was home.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Andrew
I stared up at the ceiling. The room was dark except for the sliver of moonlight shining through the windows. The still night was about to give into the early morning, ringing in the dawn of a new day.
I rolled over onto my side to find my sleeping beauty resting peacefully. A tender smile twitched the corners of her mouth. I touched her lips with the tips of my fingers, feeling her breath on my skin. I wondered what she was dreaming to make her smile so. In her secret, innermost thoughts, I longed to see. Her dreams were magic; a deep, hidden part of her that only she had access to. More than anything, I wanted to know if she dreamed of me, because she was all I dreamt about.
Time ticked by slowly and my mind wouldn’t shut down. My whole body was on edge. If she only knew what I had planned for her today, she probably wouldn’t be sleeping as soundly. Minutes felt like hours as I rehearsed over and over how I intended everything to happen. I’d been devising this for months, with a little help from Jared, Ethan, and Gavin. By the way they acted, one might think they were the ones about to propose to McKenzie
The four of us discussed every minute detail at great length. I’d chosen the perfect ring—a thin, platinum band with a square cut diamond. I knew exactly when and where I wanted to ask her, and I’d even written an outline of everything I intended to say.
Little did she know, I’d taken the day off from work. We’d go to the beach, have our jog, and just as the sun climbed over the horizon, I would kneel down and propose right there where we first met. It was the perfect plan.
Lucky for me, taking the day off from work was easy now that I didn’t have an employer to answer to. Being my own boss was better than anything I’d ever imagined. My father wasn’t too keen on the idea of me leaving Wise & Associates, but he really had no choice in the matter. He fought me, even threatened to sue me, but I’d followed every bylaw in my contract to the letter, and therefore he had no grounds for a suit.
Within a month of my leaving the family business, I’d started my own firm with the aid of a dear, old friend. Niles jumped at the chance of being a named partner in my new firm. He loved Harvard, but moving to Florida to help me start up a business was a good move for him. It gave us both a fresh start. Together, we had a decent client list to pad our roster until we could build and branch out. But it didn’t take long for us to find equity partners interested in signing on. Peltier/Wise was still a small firm, but we developed a reputation for being one of the best.
The only drawback was I missed seeing Gavin everyday, but Wise & Associates was good for him. It was where he belonged. Ethan packed up shop and came with me. Although, I refused to allow him to remain a legal secretary. His knowledge and expertise were far too valuable. He became the first paralegal at my firm and was damn good at it. While nothing ever came of him and Natasha, he did mellow out a little after spending time with her. Instead of sleeping with six women a week, he cut back to four.
McKenzie let out a dulcet sigh, her hand moving up in front of her face. I smiled, thinking about our lives together. So much had happened since that first day on the beach. It almost seemed unreal to think back on the events that led us to this moment. We faced hardships that no one should ever endure in the beginning stages of a relationship, but to me, that proved our worth. We were meant to be. Nothing could tear us apart. Destiny knew what it was doing the day we met, and today I would pledge to spend the rest of my life with this woman, if she’d have me.
I glanced at the clock, surprised that nearly an hour had passed. Soon my darling girl would wake up, ready to go for her morning run. A run I couldn�
�t wait to join her on. After everything that occurred with Olivia, one might think McKenzie would crawl into a hole and hide from the world for awhile. She did have a habit of running away, after all. But not this time. Instead, she picked herself up, brushed off the dirt of the past, and started to rebuild from the rubble. Her old school district jumped at the chance to rehire her, so when the school year started, she had a job to return to, which helped her heal.
Jared was thrilled to be working with her again, as she was him. They really were two peas of the same pod. Andie and I would sit back and watch them, both shaking our heads. At times, they acted more like siblings than we did. Maybe it was the fact that I trusted McKenzie, or it could’ve been that I was certain Jared had fallen in love with my sister. Either way, I didn’t feel jealous of his connection to McKenzie any longer. They shared similar passions, yes, but her heart belonged to me.
I lifted my head, glancing at the alarm clock on McKenzie’s side of the bed. A little face popped up, blocking my view. Mackie nuzzled her nose to McKenzie’s neck, her bright yellow eyes honed in on me. She had acclimated to our home with ease. Chewie and Wicket, who were both resting at the foot of the bed, adored her. We were one big, happy family.
I reached over and scratched the little cat behind her ears. She purred so loud that McKenzie’s eyes fluttered open. A gentle, tired smile appeared. I touched her cheek with my knuckles, earning me a disapproving huff from the cat, who wanted my attention. “Good morning,” I whispered.
“Morning,” she hummed.
“Sleep well?”
She settled her hand on my chest, her skin warm from being enveloped by our covers. “As always. You?”
I placed a sweet kiss to her lips. “Not as well as I’d like, but I have a lot on my mind.”
“You work too hard.” She rubbed her thumb along my collarbone.
“Not really. Not like I used to.”
The Truth Be Told (The Truth in Lies Saga #3) Page 24