by K. M. Scott
Shay and I had never spoken about how I’d abandoned our friendship because it upset Abbi. She knew and never said anything about it, and even though I missed talking to her, I accepted the reality that what I’d done the night of Annalea’s birth had set in motion the hatred Abbi felt for her.
“I’m sorry, Shay. If I hadn’t been such a bastard to her all those months, none of it would have happened. I think her feelings toward you are more about how she never forgave me for what I did. Not that I think she should.”
“She forgave you, Kane.”
I hung my head, hating that this whole thing with Shay and Abbi was all my fault. “Well, she shouldn’t have. Some things shouldn’t be forgiven.”
“I forgave you because I love you.”
A look of horror settled into Shay’s face as we both saw Abbi standing next to us. I’d been so deep in feeling like shit that I hadn’t seen her walk up.
“Abbi, I—”
She shook her head. “No, let me say what I have to say.” She turned to look at Shay and smiled. “I’m sorry I let this go on so long that my husband doesn’t even feel comfortable talking with you. I’ve been stupid and petty because of my own insecurities, and that’s not right. I hope you can forgive me.”
Stunned, Shay said nothing as Abbi hugged her. I had no idea what had brought this on, but I loved her for it.
“Abbi, I don’t know what to say. I’m happy we can all be friends now.”
“Me too. Again, I’m sorry for everything. I hope you understand, but I need to speak to Kane now. We’ll be right in for cake.”
Shay smiled and headed into the house as I stood stunned by what had just happened. Abbi waited until she was out of earshot and took my hand in hers.
“I think it’s about time I apologized to you too. I’m sorry, Kane. I haven’t been a very good wife to you.” Her blue eyes welled with tears. “I wanted to be…”
“Don’t do this, Abbi. You’ve been a wonderful wife. You’ve had to deal with all my nightmarish shit and never once walked away, even when you should have. When I was in the hospital, I knew as long as I could feel your hand holding mine that I was okay.”
“I would never leave you. Never. I knew who you were when we started this that night in your rooms above the club. I also knew I loved you. So why would I leave?”
I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it, loving the gentle scent of flowers from her skin. “Because I put you through hell all those months after I sent you away. Because I still forget how wonderful my life is now and think I’m that person I was before I met you.”
Abbi wrapped her arms around me as I continued. “Because I lied to you and ended up getting myself shot because I couldn’t stop tilting at windmills.”
“You don’t see all the wonderful things about you. You never have. I do, though. I’ve seen them since you took me out of that club to protect me.”
I pulled back away from her and cradled her face. “I’m not going to do anything else with Sebastian. What Shay said is right. I don’t want to jeopardize our happiness. Sebastian’s fine. He grew up with a mother who loved him. He’s not like me.”
Abbi’s face lit up from her smile. “I know you’re worried I hate him. I did. When I was sitting in that hospital room praying to God you’d live, all I could think of was how he was to blame for you lying in that bed. I know that’s not true, though. I know how much family means to you, so if you need to be around him, I just need you to promise me you won’t lie to me anymore.”
“I don’t know. Maybe I will find him again, but right now, I have all the family I need.”
Standing on her toes, she kissed me sweetly on the lips. “Well, if you decide you want a relationship with him, I’m behind you one hundred percent. I just need to be sure there won’t be any more lies between us.”
“I promise. No more lies.”
“Good. Let’s go inside and celebrate your brother’s birthday and tonight we’ll have our own celebration,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
“What’s this change about? Not that I don’t like it, because I do, but this morning you were worried I might drop dead from sex.”
She pulled me toward the house. “Let’s just say I was reminded that I have a very sexy man for a husband and I realized worrying about everything was a waste.”
I didn’t really care what had changed her mind. I knew she’d tell me eventually. Until then, it was nice to be back to the way we were before I got shot.
Epilogue
Kane
Opening the bedroom door, I saw all the lights were dark. I’d tucked Liam into his crib and told Annalea her favorite nighttime story, but I’d taken too long. Abbi must have drifted off to sleep before I could get to bed.
Disappointed, I stripped out of my clothes and slid under the covers. I didn’t blame her. It had been a long day with everyone out at Alexandria’s.
I closed my eyes as a sense of happiness came over me that I hadn’t felt in a long time. Abbi’s problem with Shay was over, and even though I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do about Sebastian, I knew whatever I decided, the woman I loved would be by my side.
My time with my father when I was lying in that hospital bed flashed through my mind, and his apology replayed in my head. I’d spent nearly all my life wondering why I wasn’t enough for him to love me like a father should. When I became a father to my own children, the question remained.
Now I knew for sure what everyone who loved me had said was true. It wasn’t me who was lacking. It was my father.
Abbi slid her hand down my chest and over my stomach to take my cock in her hand. “Hey, are you just going to lie there in the dark or come on over here where your wife has been waiting for you?”
God, I loved this woman.
“I thought you were asleep already. I figured I’d be left to my own devices,” I said with a chuckle.
She nuzzled my neck, sending excitement racing through me. “No way, baby. I’ve been waiting for this celebration all day.”
I pulled her on top of me and kissed her deep, my tongue mingling with hers and thrilling me like only she could. “What exactly are we celebrating?” I asked as I lifted my hips to slide into her wet and waiting cunt.
Straddling me, she rolled her hips forward and back as she balanced herself on my chest. “You. Me. Us. Me finally remembering who you are.”
I groaned, loving the feel of her wrapped around my cock. It had been too damn long since I was with Abbi like this.
“Did you forget who your husband was?” Holding her hips as she rode me, I added, “Because I never changed.”
She stopped moving and sat up straight on me. “I know, but I did. I got scared I’d lose you. Once that settled into my brain, I couldn’t see you anymore. You became the man I was terrified would die on me.”
We’d never talked about this, but I knew what had happened. I just didn’t know how to show her I wasn’t going to leave her anytime soon. So for months, she acted like she was afraid every day was the one I’d be snatched away, and I said nothing, too guilty for having put her through all that had happened because of my recklessness.
“I’m glad you can see the real me again, angel.”
Abbi leaned forward and kissed me like everything she’d ever needed existed in that kiss. “I want the man I fell in love with back, Kane.”
I rolled her over onto her back and slowly began thrusting into her. “Even though he works a lot and doesn’t talk as much as you want him to? And even though he might always be fucked up?”
Digging her heels into my back as she urged me to fuck her faster, Abbi pulled me to her and whispered in my ear, “I love that man, no matter how messed up he is. We were broken when we met, and I never wanted anyone but him.”
I plunged into her over and over, those studs marking her body just as they had that night we first made love. I’d found something in Abbi that I’d never found in anyone else in the world, and after all we’d gone through,
the truth was simple between us.
She was the angel who saved me, no matter how much she wanted to believe I’d rescued her. She’d accepted me and all the fucked up issues that I brought with me. But whatever else I was—father, son, brother—I was the man who adored her, first and foremost.
There, in that bed we shared as husband and wife, I gave her everything I had and reveled in the amazement that she gave me herself completely and without question.
As she rested her head on my chest where that bullet nearly took me away from her and everyone I loved, I leaned forward and kissed her hair. “Thank you for what you did today. It means the world to me.”
Abbi looked up at me and narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
I knew she thought I meant that I was happy Shay and I would be friends again, but that wasn’t it.
“Because it means you’ve forgiven me for all those months I was a fool and hurt you.”
Her expression softened at my explanation. “I should have done that for Shay and for you years ago, Kane. We’ve been given a real second chance, and I don’t want anything to tarnish that. That goes for you getting to know your brother Sebastian too. If that’s what you need to do, then I’m beside you one hundred percent. Family isn’t just your wife and kids. I know that.”
I thought about what my father said to me in that dream or whatever it was when I was in the hospital. Sebastian probably didn’t need me in his life, but I needed to give him the chance just in case he wanted to know me as his brother.
“I don’t know how I got so lucky, you know that?”
Abbi smiled. “Maybe you have a guardian angel?”
Holding her close to me, I thought about my father as my guardian angel and had to wonder. I may not have had love like my brothers had growing up, but I had it now.
And nothing was going to take that away from me.
HAVE YOU READ K.M.’S SILK SERIES?
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SILK
I want her. I crave her. She’s my addiction.
The world knows me as Ian Anwell, New York Times bestselling author, but Kristina makes me want more.
Much more.
I need him. I love him. He’s my obsession.
Everyone thinks they know Kristina Richards, but I’m more than what they see on the screen.
So much more.
I’m his muse, and this is our story.
READ ON FOR AN EXCERPT FROM SILK VOLUME ONE
SILK VOLUME ONE
Excerpt:
I sign my name and a few words about her being my biggest fan, but all I can think of is how her knee feels nudging against my thigh as she sits next to me with her legs folded underneath her. When I hand her the book, she smiles so sweetly at my inscription.
“Thank you. It’s perfect.”
More perfection from the world’s most imperfect soul. If she only knew.
Kristina shifts her weight and begins to fidget with her hands. “I guess you know all about that whole thing with John Stinson and think I’m just the biggest fool, don’t you?”
I truly have no idea what she’s referring to, but I can see by the pain in her gorgeous eyes that it’s something she’s embarrassed by. With a smile, I say, “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You don’t?”
Shaking my head, I explain I rarely watch anything that would tell me about Hollywood gossip. “So you see, I really don’t know what you mean.”
“Oh. I thought maybe that was why you didn’t make a move when we got back here.”
She presses her lips together as she waits for my answer, but I’m not in the mood to explain why I haven’t tried to kiss her yet. Better to just do it. Sometimes words get in the way.
The fantasy that’s been playing on a constant loop in my brain is about to come true. Taking her chin between my thumb and forefinger, I gently pull her face toward me and kiss that delicious mouth I first noticed days ago, dying to know what her perfectly formed lips will feel like as I press mine to them.
My cock is rock hard already, and I haven’t even touched her yet. Normally, it takes at least some decent foreplay to get me going, but that’s probably because of the poison flowing through me. Now my bulge is practically busting out of my pants before we even kiss.
Just before her mouth meets mine, she moans ever so slightly a tiny whimper, and then we kiss. Her lips are soft and full, and all I can think of as her tongue slides tentatively into my mouth is how much I want to feel those lips and tongue on my cock.
Her hands caress my cheeks as our kiss intensifies, and then she’s on my lap straddling my hips, her black skirt up around her waist. My hands instinctively move to cup that beautiful ass I’d admired as we left the bar, and a jolt of excitement courses through me when I feel skin instead of the cotton of panties. Fuck, she’s wearing only a garter belt under her skirt!
That gorgeous, full ass feels incredible in my hands. My fingers knead her silky skin as she grinds against the front of my pants, and I lift my hips off the couch to push my cock against her.
Our kiss deepens and our tongues dance together. Kristina moans into my mouth, and I squeeze her cheeks hard, loving how eager she is. She tugs on my hair, her desire ratcheting up against mine and I slip a finger down toward her drenched pussy.
I want her. I want to live the fantasy that’s played repeatedly since that first moment I filled my eyes with her beautiful face.
Kristina’s fingers slide down over my neck to my shirt, and she begins to unbutton it, whispering against my lips, “I want you, Ian. That’s why when my manager told me you wanted to meet me, I made the meeting for as soon as possible. Tell me you want me. Tell me what you want me to do.”
I push her hands away and groan, “Take your sweater off.”
She obeys my command and slips it off, revealing a pink lace bra. I want to see the gorgeous tits under it, so I quickly unhook it and throw it off to the side as I fill my eyes with the sight of her breasts. Full and firm, they look real, which thrills me even more than I imagined. I cup them in my hands and take one full, deep pink nipple in my mouth, sucking gently at first.
Looking up, I see her watching me, biting her lower lip and whimpering, “Yes…harder…”
Her wish is my command, and I suck her pebbled skin harder into my mouth. I close my eyes and listen to her moans as I bite down gently on her excited nipple. Fuck, she’s responsive! I hadn’t expected that.
Kristina rolls her hips and begins to rub up against me in earnest. I love the idea that my mouth on her is going to get her off even before I whip my cock out. I feel her juices dampen the front of my pants and look up to see her face show the ecstasy building inside her. Releasing her nipple, I move my head to the other one and take it into my mouth, sucking hard as she pulls my hair.
Her hand slides between us and she fingers her wet pussy, but it gets in my way, so I pull her hand away. Disappointed, she frowns and admits quietly, “That’s the only way I can get off.”
I say nothing but shake my head, determined now to make her come from anything but her fingers touching her clit. Holding her hands behind her back, I slide my cock out of my pants and stroke it from base to head. I position it at her entrance and look up at her.
“Not with me.”
She smiles and rolls her hips, taking just the tip of my cock inside her. She’s wet but tight. Lowering her mouth to mine, she kisses me long and deep and then slides onto me until I’m balls deep into her hot cunt. Releasing her hands, I grip her hips and won’t let her move, loving the feel of being inside her. A rush unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before courses through me just as she breaks our kiss and whispers in my ear, “Fuck me. Make me come, Ian.”
My brain shifts to pure pleasure, and every part of my body has a single goal. Make her come from me fucking her. I release my iron grip on her sides and begin guiding her up and down on my cock, loving the sight of her riding me. She’
s wild and uninhibited in her pursuit of the orgasm she craves. I want to give that to her as much as I want to come too.
Kristina rocks her hips back and forth, urging my cock to rub up against her G-spot. So open, so responsive, she seduces me and for one of the few times in life, I want another to feel pleasure as much as I feel. Her teeth sink into my shoulder as the first moments of her orgasm overtake her. The gentle squeeze of her cunt around my cock tells me I’ve given her what no one else has ever been able to give her.
I pull her hair roughly to force her to face me. “Don’t look away. I want to see your face when you come.”
Those blue eyes soften as her body gives in to mine, and then they close as she comes hard on my cock. I’m so close and the tender squeeze of her inner walls milking me sends me over the edge. I flood her cunt sending jets of cum inside her. The feeling is better than anything else I’ve ever experienced, even my other addictions.
And she is already an addiction. I know that.
“Oh my God,” she moans softly as she collapses against my chest. “I’ve never been able to get off like that.”
There’s nothing a man loves to hear more than a woman tell him his cock was able to give her something no other man’s cock ever could. It’s something primal and animalistic, but it makes him feel like that woman is his.
I know no matter what twists and turns our time together might take, Kristina is mine now. But that has to remain our secret.
Smoothing her damp hair from her forehead, I look deep into her eyes and say, “I need you to promise me whatever we are together is kept private. Will you promise me that, Kristina?”
Her mouth turns down and a pained look crosses her face. “Why?”
I place a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose and shake my head. “Because of who we are. The rest of the world knowing would ruin this. Tabloids, paparazzi, gossip columns in the papers, all that would taint what we are. So I want to keep this like a delicious secret just between the two of us. Will you?”