by Tonya Brooks
"I exist, but I'm not alive. I function, but there is no purpose. I'm a shell; empty, lifeless, without substance," he elaborated and dropped to his knees before her. "Without you, there is no joy, no peace for my miserable, wretched soul. I'm hollow inside without your love. A bleak, fathomless void of darkness that stretches to infinity."
***
Holy Mother of God!
The supreme alpha was on his knees pouring out his heart to her. Jolie felt as if she had slipped into the twilight zone. How many times had she dreamed of this happening? How many times had she fantasized about it just so she could crush him and watch him writhe in an agony of his own making?
She had not expected the tears that sprang to her eyes or the hope that filled her chest. She'd never imagined that she could feel anything except loathing for this man again. She'd been wrong. Yes, he'd treated her abominably, and yes, she had hated him for what he had done. But now she realized that through it all, she'd never stopped loving him.
That was why he still had the power to destroy her.
"I can't trust you, Reece," she admitted sadly. "I don't think I ever will."
"Trust can be earned," he insisted and squeezed her hands gently. "I swear I'll prove that you can trust me, Jolie. Just tell me what you want and I'll do anything you ask. Anything."
"Relinquish your parental rights as Bryce's father," she said firmly and pulled her hands free from his. "I want an agreement stating that sole custody is mine."
Reece nodded his understanding, his mouth set in a grim line. "I'll have George draw up an agreement giving you anything you want. Something ironclad that guarantees all the security you need," he offered as he stood.
Relief flooded her. "I didn't think you'd do it," she admitted.
"Earning your trust is worth any price I have to pay," Reece assured her. He lifted a hand to gently caress her cheek and said, "I won't let you down this time, Jolie. One day you will love me again."
Thank God he didn't know that she'd never stopped. More than anything, Jolie wanted to lay her head on his shoulder and let Reece wrap her in a cocoon of love as she had done so many times in the past. But she no longer had that luxury and the intimacy of the moment was too much for her shattered heart to bear.
"Trust can't be bought," she pointed out since he had a habit of throwing money at problems to make them go away.
"No. It can't," he agreed and she knew now that he had trust issues of his own thanks to mommy dearest.
"Neither can love," she reminded him.
"I've got more money than I'll ever spend, but it can't buy the things that really matter; love, happiness, trust," Reece assured her. "But it can provide creature comforts. Will you let me take care of you and Bryce, Jolie? Let me give you a safe place to live and provide anything else you might need?"
Her heart began to hammer in her chest. Reece was offering her everything she needed to give Bryce a decent life. She might not trust him, but she'd be a fool to turn him down. "I think that would be acceptable," she agreed and tried not to let her elation show.
"Good. I had George open a checking account for you yesterday," he admitted. "It's in your name and I can't touch it, so you don't have to worry about money. We can add as much as you want, but I thought a million would get you started."
Jolie's heart stopped and then started up again double-time. "Dammit, Reece, you can't just give me a million dollars!"
"Hell, sunshine, a decent divorce attorney would have cleaned me out," he pointed out with that charming smile that used to make her weak in the knees. Okay, it still did, dammit. "A million was the least I could do."
"We'll discuss your spending habits another time," she assured him. "Right now I'm starving."
"Should I order something?" Reece asked warily.
"You'd better. There's nothing left in the kitchen to cook," Jolie said dryly.
CHAPTER FIVE
Since it was almost noon, Reece ordered Chinese which they ate on the rooftop patio and shared bites from each other's containers like they used to do. Both man and beast were pleased since they seemed to be making progress. After they were both stuffed and feeling more relaxed, he asked, "Is Bryce with a sitter?"
"He had a sleepover with a classmate last night. He's at school now," she admitted.
He frowned in confusion because their son wasn't even three years old yet. "Isn't he a little young?"
"Bryce is exceptionally gifted. He said his first word at six months, counted to ten by one and could recite the alphabet at a year and a half," Jolie confessed. "I had him tested at two. His IQ was over 145 which means…"
"He's a genius," Reece said in astonishment.
If he'd needed further confirmation that Bryce was his, that would have done it. Reece was a certified genius with an off the charts IQ. It seemed his son had inherited more than his eyes. He wondered if he'd gotten his volatile temperament as well. If so, Jolie had her hands full keeping him entertained and out of mischief.
"Yes. He is. Which meant he needed to attend a school for gifted children as soon as possible. Even with the scholarship that the school counselor helped him get, the tuition is over two thousand dollars a month," Jolie said wearily. "Stripping was the only way I could afford it."
Jesus Christ. It shredded him inside to know the sacrifices that she had made for their son. Memories of the childhood from hell burst free of the wall he'd built around them and he felt physically ill. The evil bitch that had given him birth would have never done such a thing, but his sweet, gentle sunshine girl didn't have a selfish or manipulative bone in her body.
If possible, he loved her more than before.
Reece took her hand in his and asked hopefully, "Will you let me pay for his education, Jolie?"
"In a way, you already are," she admitted. "The Lone Wolf Foundation is his sponsor."
The charitable organization that he had founded to assist paranormal children and teens through a variety of programs. His pack adopted the children who would have gone into foster care, and provided counseling for the ones who had been abused. Clinics that provided free medical and dental care, after-school programs for latchkey children, and scholarship funds.
The knowledge that his son had been a recipient was humbling. It also served as a painful reminder that he was a piece of shit father who should have been providing for the boy all along. He hung his head in remorse and said, "I am so sorry."
As if she understood the emotions that he couldn't put into words, Jolie gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Such a small action, but it meant everything to him. At that moment, Reece would conquer the whole fucking world if she asked him to.
"I'm going to take a shower," she said as she stood and entered the penthouse.
Jolie was a strong woman, but she'd been through so much more than he had imagined. Suffered more pain and tragedy than anyone should ever have to endure. Thanks to him. He had been a goddamn fool, of that there was no doubt. Thank God he'd finally come to his senses and gone looking for her.
It was time he found out just how hard she had fought to survive. That intent firmly in mind, Reece went into his office, opened a door in the credenza and removed a small cardboard box filled with manila envelopes. He sat down at his desk and flipped through the reports that he had received from the private investigator.
The man had sent him weekly reports but he'd never been able to make himself look at them. Starting with the oldest, he opened it and began to read. His expression grew grimmer with every page. His chest grew tight, his eyes damp. Breathing became difficult. And he hated himself more with every word.
He had thrown Jolie out with nothing but the clothes she'd been wearing. She'd been a distraught, sobbing mess when the police had hauled her away. They had taken her to a homeless shelter where she'd been forced to reside with the dregs of society. While he had gotten completely hammered in his multi-million dollar penthouse.
Sweet Mother of God!
It was no wonder that his sweet Jo
lie had become embittered. Reece had left her with no option except to fight for survival, but she hadn't possessed the ruthless streak that he'd been born with. She'd been a babe in the woods with no one to turn to. If he'd read these fucking reports when he got them, he would have known that.
There had been no other man. No lover for her to run to for help. She'd had no one to care what happened to her. Or their child. No one who gave a damn if they lived or died. No one except his brother. Thank God for Dane's chivalrous streak. He'd taken her out of the shelter and checked her into a hotel. He'd also provided clothes and shoes.
Jesus. She hadn't had any fucking shoes.
Reece raked both hands down his face and discovered it was wet. With tears, he hadn't been aware of shedding. There were no words to adequately describe the level of self-contempt he felt. He had put Jolie through absolute hell and in essence, forced her to become exactly like himself. The only difference was that she still retained a measure of her soul.
He didn't.
Reece was ruthless to his core. The first thirteen years of his life had shaped him that way. In order to survive his brutal existence, he'd grown hard, cold, emotionally detached on the outside. But on the inside, his wolf had been a raging inferno of fury. Volatile. Dangerous. One step away from self-destructing.
Then Douglas Lassiter had adopted him and he'd realized that wealth and power would make him invincible. So he had learned to control the beast inside of him. To behave as a civilized man. He'd channeled all of his considerable focus into feeding an unquenchable thirst for knowledge that had facilitated his quest.
Through sheer determination, he had made a place for himself in the world. A place where he was the master of his destiny. The ruler of his fate. The most powerful alpha wolf shifter in the nation. His brother jokingly referred to Reece as the great and powerful Oz, and his attorney George was the little man behind the curtain pulling the strings.
In a way, Dane was right.
There was nothing that Reece could not do. He had more wealth than he'd ever spend. More power than any one man had a right to command. The world was his oyster. But he had discovered that without the woman he loved at his side, it all meant nothing. So he was fully committed to focusing that same determination toward winning her back.
Restoring her faith in him was a priority. Because he knew that once broken, trust was hard to regain. He needed to find a way to prove that he would never hurt her again. And he needed to do it fast.
***
It had taken Jolie a minute to figure out the complex touch screen system that operated the various shower heads, but it was well worth the effort. A gentle rain fell from above as the wall mounts pulsed a massaging spray over her body. Once she'd washed and conditioned her hair, she just stood there indulging in the best damn shower she'd had in years.
Grabbing a towel from the heated bar, she noticed that the Egyptian cotton was a far cry from the threadbare towels she owned. The material was decadently soft against her bare flesh and she shivered at the sensual sensation. Living in the lap of luxury had been a novelty during their marriage, but after the past few years of abject poverty, she fully appreciated the difference.
Oddly enough, she felt lighter than she had in years. As if a huge weight had been lifted. It was strange how something as insubstantial as hope could lighten the heavy burdens she'd been carrying for so long. But it had and she was positively giddy with relief. She was finally going to be able to provide her son with a decent life.
Bryce was still a toddler, so he had no concept of poverty, but she wanted so much better for her baby than what she had been able to give him so far. A home in a neighborhood where children could actually play outside, clothes that hadn't been bought second hand, and educational toys to challenge his inquisitive mind.
With a million dollars at her disposal, she could give him the world.
He might not have known the finer things in life, hell, he'd known nothing but the bare necessities so far, but there was one thing that her son had never lacked. Love. He was happy and healthy and she loved him with every fiber of her being. If a mother's love counted for anything, Bryce Lassiter was the wealthiest little boy alive.
Speaking of wealthy Lassiter's, she went in search of her ex and found him sitting at his desk, completely focused on whatever he was reading. There were empty manila envelopes dropped haphazardly onto the floor and a stack of unopened ones on the desk beside him. "What are you doing?" She asked curiously.
"Reading the reports from the private investigator I hired to follow you," he replied absently without looking up. Her stomach lurched at what the reports might contain. God knew her past had not been pretty. "Wanted to know who your lover was." The world tilted on its axis as she tried to focus on what he was saying through the roaring in her head.
"Should have read the damn things when I got them," he muttered and finally looked up at her. "Are you all right?"
Jolie was so weak that she had to sit down. She managed to nod her head, but it was a lie and he obviously knew it. Suddenly Reece was kneeling next to her, chafing her cold hands in his. The genuine concern in those turquoise eyes was her undoing and a shuddering breath escaped before she could stop it.
He slid both arms around her and held her close as tremors shook her. "Sunshine, what's wrong?" Reece asked gently. "Talk to me."
For the first time in four years, she had lowered her guard and allowed herself to believe that things were going to get better. Reece had offered her a measure of security, a way out of the situation she was drowning in and the relief had been immense. She had made a tentative start to trusting him again only to be reminded how insignificant his assurances were.
"I thought you believed me," she choked out and could barely articulate past the pain that had gripped her. She could almost see the thoughts racing in his head. It was amazing how fast the man could process information. It was also unsettling the way he could still read her so easily.
"I know you never had a lover," he said heavily and cursed under his breath. "You were right earlier. I do need to know the hell I've put you through so I decided to read the reports."
"I'm sorry," Jolie found herself apologizing because he looked so defeated again. "I had just started trying to trust you and then…"
"I fucked up. Again," he said grimly.
Jolie reached across the desk and lifted the stack of sealed manila envelopes. She flipped through them, a frown marring her brow as she looked at him in confusion. "You never opened them."
"Jolie, I couldn't bear to hear your name mentioned," Reece admitted. "Reading these would have killed me."
"Then why did you hire the investigator?" She asked in confusion as she dropped them back onto the desk.
"So I could destroy the bastard who had taken you away from me," he admitted and the ruthless intent shone in his eyes. "And I would have destroyed him, sunshine. If there had been another man I would have ripped him apart with my bare hands."
Her breathing hitched and she stared up at him wide eyed, shocked at the glimpse of his feral side that Reece had never let her see until he'd been too far gone to reign it in. His eyes were glowing with power. Just like they had the night he'd thrown her out. She didn't doubt a word he'd said either.
Reece would have killed her lover if she'd had one.
Shaken by the revelation, she stood and said, "I need to go home."
He rose and the scowl on his face assured her that he was not pleased with the idea. "Why don't you stay here until you find someplace safe?" He suggested. "I can have a realtor arrange some viewings for you."
The thought of going back to her fleabag apartment chilled her to the bone. Jolie had never felt safe there and couldn't get any decent sleep because she woke at every sound. "I accept," she agreed and saw how relieved he looked. "But I need to go pick up our things."
"Why bother?"
She understood the question completely. All of their possessions were worthless and not some
thing she cared to keep. "I need to get Bryce's birth certificate and baby pictures," she explained. "Will you take me?"
"Anyplace you want to go," Reece confirmed.
CHAPTER SIX
Once they were in the car, Jolie checked her phone and saw several missed calls. Since her battery was in the red, she ignored them and made a call to the nanny of one of Bryce's classmate's. Madeline was a sweet woman, very loving and nurturing, and she spent more time with little Jeremy than his mother did.
Because her employers traveled for extended periods, Madeline frequently invited Bryce for sleepovers and after school play dates to help entertain her lonely charge. The two women had become good friends so Jolie arranged for the nanny to drop Bryce off at his father's since Jeremy's family lived a couple of buildings away.
She had learned during their marriage that the political world had no set hours. Reece dealt with alpha leaders all over the world and was on his phone in the middle of the night as well as on weekends and holidays. He'd carried on a conference call during the entire drive and it gave her the opportunity to study him.
He was still the most handsome man she'd ever seen, with a body to die for. How she had reveled in exploring his muscular frame, pushing him to the very edge of his control and then sating his desire and hers. Their lovemaking had been a beautiful thing. Sometimes fast and wild, while others were a slow, pleasurable journey to ecstasy.
She had craved his touch with a hunger that no one else would ever be able to satisfy. The sad thing was, she still did. Only Reece could make her mindless with pleasure and leave her so satiated that she was boneless. Her womb clenched in remembrance and she had to force the images from her head.
Jolie had let him back into her life for their son's sake, but she could not allow him back into her bed. Because if she did, he'd own her heart and soul, just like he had before. And just like then, she would be completely vulnerable to him. That was a situation that she simply could not allow to happen.