A bond he’d never known with his own siblings.
He saw the tenderness in Elizabeth’s gaze, the absolute joy and acceptance, and he realized Elizabeth was the kind of woman he’d never known — selfless.
She’d given herself in exchange for her sister, who could not care for herself, and she’d done it in spite of being afraid, in spite of his demands, and in spite of the moral boundaries he’d required her to cross.
Because Elizabeth was that kind of person.
He’d treated her as he treated all women — disposable — but that’d been his biggest folly.
Elizabeth was anything but disposable.
She was…everything to him.
Sutton swallowed the lump in his throat as a formerly unknown emotion swamped him, threatening to capsize his soul in its wake.
He loved her.
Somehow, somewhere…he’d fallen in love with Elizabeth Downing.
The realization was almost too overwhelming; it threw everything he’d ever known or believed into a tailspin.
Love was a chemical reaction in the brain — if so, he was already addicted.
Love fades so don’t waste your time — every moment with Elizabeth would be worth it.
Love is for people who have to settle — love is for the lucky few who can recognize it.
His cousins had it — they cherished it.
Sutton finally understood that look in Vince’s eyes when Vince saw his wife, Emma — complete and utter adoration.
If Sutton had a mirror right now, he’d see the same expression on his own face.
He fucking adored Elizabeth and everything she was.
And he had from the very beginning.
He’d just been too blind to see what his heart had already known.
But could Elizabeth love him?
He’d done so much damage, created so much pain.
One way to find out, he realized and quietly left Rising Dawn before Elizabeth saw him.
He had work to do.
***
Elizabeth was puzzled by Sutton’s cryptic text message.
However, seeing as his last mysterious message had put her on a private jet to Spain, she wasn’t averse to finding out what the man had up his sleeve this time.
Dressed in her favorite Chantal dress, she took a little extra time with her make up and when the car pulled up to shuttle her to wherever Sutton had arranged, she felt beautiful and confident — two things she never thought would ever be in her wheelhouse.
The car pulled up to Swank and her cheeks flared with the memory of what they’d done in the restroom of this fancy restaurant.
The old Elizabeth would’ve been mortified to show her face, the new Elizabeth just smiled at the exciting memory.
She was directed to the bar where her favorite drink awaited her but Sutton was nowhere to be seen.
Frowning with mild confusion, she accepted the drink and took a fortifying sip.
Suddenly, strong hands encircled her waist and she smiled above the rim of her glass.
“I thought I was being stood up,” she teased and he growled in her ear.
“Never.”
She turned and her smile faltered as her breath hitched.
The man was far too handsome for his own good.
He took her breath away and put her at a disadvantage every time.
But then, Elizabeth was pretty sure he knew that, too.
The cheeky bastard.
“Come.” He offered his arm and she accepted it with a happy smile, delighted by this newly chivalrous version of Sutton.
She sank into the chair with Sutton’s help and he took his place opposite her at the intimate table.
It was then she noticed the sheaf of paper.
“What’s this?” she asked, confused.
Sutton held her gaze for a long moment, then answered, “Your dissolution papers. I’m releasing you.”
A shockwave traveled through her as hurt and confusion replaced her happy feelings. “W-what?”
“I need you to sign here,” he pointed out with a pen “and here. Afterward, I will have the rest of the money wired to your account. Following that…you are no longer…my property.”
She should be happy. This should be news that made her sing with joy.
But instead, a lump of something awful was lodged in her belly.
Tears blinded her but she accepted the pen and quickly scrawled her name in the appropriate places.
“So is this your goodbye dinner?” she asked stiffly, no longer feeling pretty or confident. She’d just been dumped. He chuckled and her gaze flew to his, wounded. “Why are you laughing?”
“The irony, I suppose.”
“Yeah, I guess there’s that,” she admitted glumly.
“I would’ve thought you would be happy to be free of me,” he said.
“Me too.”
“But you’re not?”
She wiped at her eyes. “No,” she murmured, her heart aching.
“And why is that?”
He was going to make her spell it out for him? That was just cruel. A spurt of spirit returned as she answered hotly,
“Because I did the stupidest thing imaginable and fell in love with you!”
Was that relief in his expression? She didn’t have time to question.
“Good.”
The sudden shine in his eyes took her aback. Was Sutton…struggling with something? He pulled a ring case and put it on the table.
“Open it.”
All she could do was stare. What was happening? She reached for the ring box and opened it with shaking fingers.
The biggest fucking diamond she’d ever seen winked at her, nearly blinding with its brilliance and all she could do was stare.
“What is this? I don’t understand…”
Now it was Sutton’s turn to be nervous.
“I’ve done things all wrong with you from the start. I bullied you into an arrangement that I thought I wanted until I realized I didn’t want a puppet, I wanted you. But then, I was lost, trying to make sense of the messages I was getting from my heart when they didn’t mesh with what was in my head. The thing is, Elizabeth, until you, I had no reason to trust women. All my life women have burned me, starting with my own mother, who abandoned all of her children for a better deal. I learned at a young age not to trust. I didn’t realize until I’d already fucked things up that you were cut from a different cloth than the rest of the women I’ve known. You deserved better than I gave you and I’m so sorry for all the pain I’ve caused you. You were right, I took the coward’s way out, pushing you away because I was struggling with what my heart was telling me. I…was an unbelievable asshole when I…”
Pain lanced through her at his admission. She shook her head.
“No details,” she managed to whisper, swallowing hard. God, she couldn’t fucking breathe at the very thought of Sutton being with someone else.
Sutton understood and solemnly promised, “Never again.”
Elizabeth was dumbfounded by his confession.
She was dangerously close to melting in a puddle of her own tears. She’d never seen Sutton so bare, so vulnerable — and it made her fall all the harder.
Sutton was prostrating himself before her, seeking her forgiveness?
Should she admit that she’d already forgiven him, even before this moment? She couldn’t manage the words, her throat had closed.
Her gaze returned to the ring. What was he saying?
“I don’t understand,” she repeated, shaking her head, trying to put things in order in her mind but everything was in beautiful chaos.
He helped remove the ring and gently slid it on her finger.
“You are no longer my property but I would be honored if…” he drew a deep breath “you would be my wife.”
Elizabeth might’ve fainted — or at the very least blacked out.
***
Sutton couldn’t stand the wait.
He was shaking al
l over, scared out of his mind that she was going to say no, tell him to fuck off, or just get up and walk out, leaving him with his dick in his hand.
But she did neither.
In fact, she simply cried while nodding her head and he took that as a resounding yes.
“I will be your wife,” Elizabeth finally answered, her voice choked with tears and he couldn’t wait another moment to touch her.
Reaching across the small table, he pulled her to him, sealing his mouth to hers, loving the feel of her, the taste of her lips.
He wanted a lifetime of this.
It’d taken long enough but he finally realized that something worth having wasn’t taken by force but coaxed and treasured.
He’d never again treat Elizabeth as anything less than what she truly was — his everything.
And he wanted to start their lives together immediately.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to make up for every tear I’ve ever made you cry,” he said in earnest and that made her cry harder, which wasn’t a good start. He chuckled and wiped her face gently. “Are these happy tears?”
“Very happy tears,” she said, her joyful laughter lighting a blaze of happiness through his insides. “Very, very happy tears.”
And that, he decided, was a good start to what was going to be an awesome life.
Bookmark: EPILOGUE
-EPILOGUE-
“Exquisite.”
Elizabeth closed her eyes at the sound of Sutton’s sultry voice at her neck, allowing but a moment to savor the sexy beast that was her husband.
She was the star tonight and had to remain on point.
“Are you talking about me or the art?” she teased as Sutton took his place beside her and handed her a glass of champagne.
“Both, of course,” he answered correctly with a cheeky grin that she adored.
The reception at Covington House was more than she ever dreamed it would be.
The guests were milling about, exclaiming at her art, and she no longer felt the urge to hide her face with embarrassment at the sensual art she’d created nor did she feel the need to hide her voluptuous body.
In fact, she felt nothing but pride in her creations — and herself — as it should be.
But as proud as she was of herself, there was a section of the exhibit that meant so much more and it was all Sutton’s idea.
Gretchen’s art filled a hallway and there were already buyers lined up to purchase prints.
All proceeds would go to the newly formed foundation in Gretchen’s honor for the research of autism.
In all, everything was wonderful.
All because one man and one woman were destined to love one another — in spite of themselves.
“Come with me,” Sutton said, leading her away from the throng of people and into the director’s office.
“What are you doing?” Elizabeth exclaimed, giggling. “I can’t just leave. I’m the guest of honor!”
“This will only take a minute,” he promised, bending her over the mahogany desk and lifting her dress to expose her hips.
Then he saw that she went without any panties and she giggled at his discovery.
“You little minx,” he said with silky approval. “Methinks you had this in mind from the start.”
“Well…I do know my husband.”
“That you do. And I love your sexy ass for it!”
When they emerged from the office, slightly winded but wearing bright smiles and pinked cheeks, they received a few puzzled glances but Elizabeth didn’t care.
Elizabeth loved that her husband was insatiable…because as it turned out…so was she.
And that was pretty damn awesome.
Life with a Buchanan was nothing short of amazing.
Now, if they were lucky…there might just be a new generation of Buchanans on the way.
If not, they were both happy to keep trying.
Because trying was the best part!
***
The End
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Bookmark: MORE BY ALEXX
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Coerced (Billionaire romance): Blackmailed by the Billionaire (Buchanan Romance Book 1) Page 15