The Rebel's Redemption

by Kira Sinclair

  “I love you. I might not understand or agree with your stance on keeping the truth private, but I respect you enough to allow you to make that decision. However, you have no right to ask that I keep the truth from the people in my life that deserve to know. I took a risk, admittedly, a bad one, but at the time I felt comfortable with the decision.” Her grip on his jaw tightened. “I’m so, so sorry my decision caused you pain and will make your life more difficult.”

  Stone stared deep into Piper’s eyes. The love she felt for him was there, staring back at him.

  “Don’t you get it? I’m not worried about my life being difficult, Piper. I’d do anything to save you from being tainted by what I did.”

  Piper’s eyebrows slammed together in irritation and disbelief. “Tainted by what you did? Stone, I was saved by what you did. I’m grateful for what you did.”

  Her grip on him tightened. “I wish it hadn’t happened this way, but I’m glad the secret no longer has any hold over either of us. The world will finally understand what a wonderful man you are. Will recognize the sacrifice you made in order to protect me.”

  She moved closer, pressing the warmth of her body against his. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized how cold he’d become.

  “You’re caring and selfless, Stone. You place the needs of everyone around you before your own. And I’m so lucky to have you in my life.”

  Pushing onto her toes, Piper fused her mouth with his for several seconds. The heat of her kiss melted through him before she abruptly pulled back. “And, just so you know, I’m not going to let you walk away from me again. It’s my turn to fight for you.”

  Stone gripped her hands. For a brief moment, every terrible thing he’d ever done flashed through his mind. Blaine, prison, dangerous, despicable things that had scarred his soul and left him certain he’d never deserve anyone, least of all her. He should push her away.

  But he couldn’t.

  Not when she was standing in front of him, staring up with her calm, steady, determined gaze. She was stubborn enough to do exactly as she threatened. And he didn’t want to let her go.

  Wasn’t sure he had it in him to do it again.

  She obviously didn’t blame him or hold what had happened against him. In fact, instead of seeing him as a monster, she viewed him as a savior. She’d forgiven him for what happened, maybe it was time he forgave himself.

  Dipping down, Stone sealed his mouth with hers. Unlike before, this kiss held nothing but love and light. And it tugged at him to let go and sink into the connection they shared.

  But before he could do that, he needed to clear up a few things.

  “I’m sorry for doubting you. The thought of you doing the one thing I asked you not to...gutted me in a way that left me hollow and numb. Piper, very few things scare me because very few things have the ability to hurt me. You can.”

  She shook her head, opening her mouth to argue, but he continued over her, cutting off the protest.

  “I know you wouldn’t. Not intentionally anyway. I’ll never be happy that your pain has been splashed all over the media for people to dissect and judge. But I know you’re strong. Strong enough to handle the scrutiny.”

  Her lips tipped up in a half smile. “Yes, yes I am.”

  “And you have plenty of people around you willing to support you. Not just me.”

  “You’re right. It hurts that the woman I thought was my best friend has betrayed me. But I have so many other people who love me and will help me get through this. I know you’re not happy, but I think the truth being out will help us both move forward with our lives. With each other. The one thing that had the potential to come between us is gone.”

  It was Stone’s turn to flash her a soft smile. “Now we’re free to just love each other and build a life together.”

  Her hands rubbed across his chest. “Exactly.”

  Pressing his forehead to hers, Stone breathed deeply, letting the scent of her settle into his soul. Pulling back, he whispered, “I’ve loved you for so long. Over the years that connection has changed and grown. Intensified. Piper, you’re my world, and I don’t want to think about life without you.”

  A bright smile flashed across her face, lighting up her eyes and his heart. “Don’t worry, I have no intention of letting you do life without me ever again. I love you, Stone. Not many people get to say the best day of their life happened at six, but mine did. Because it brought me you.”

  Epilogue

  Several hours later, still curled up together in bed, Piper’s phone rang. Morgan’s name flashed across the screen. She didn’t hesitate to answer. “Everything okay?”

  “Everything’s fine. I was calling to let you know I confronted Carina. She admitted to selling the story to Madelyn Black. And the photograph from the party. She also broke into your place, which wasn’t difficult since you’d given her a key.”

  Having her assumption confirmed felt very anticlimactic. The truth didn’t change a single thing, although maybe it did turn the lock on the doors she and Stone had both closed tonight.

  “Apparently, she was tired of depending on your mother and me for everything. She wanted the money she would have had if she and Blaine had married and decided to use the information you gave her in order to get it.”

  Morgan’s words filled Piper with sadness. How could she have been so unaware of Carina’s unhappiness and dissatisfaction? She’d always thought they were close. Shared so much.

  It was crushing to discover she’d been so wrong.

  And it was tempting to blame herself for missing the signs. She was a psychologist for God’s sake. Seeing behind people’s words and actions to the underlying force behind them was her job.

  After hanging up with Morgan, she recounted her conversation to Stone and shared her own complicated emotions. Typical Stone, his response was to tug a comfy sweatshirt over her head, pour her a glass of wine and curl up with her on the sofa as they settled into a movie on TV.

  She was mellow and relaxed when Stone’s phone rang. Piper wasn’t really paying any attention to the conversation until she clued in that the person on the other end was the doorman from downstairs letting them know someone had stopped by.

  Piper followed behind as Stone moved toward the front door. Opening it, she peeked around his wide shoulders to find a strange man standing in the doorway, a mischievous grin splitting his tanned face.

  Stone’s eyebrows beetled in confusion. “I didn’t think you were supposed to be out for another six months.”

  With a smirk and a shrug the man responded, “Good behavior,” in a way that indicated the words were clearly a lie.

  Stepping back, Stone swept his arm inside. “Piper, meet Finn DeLuca, the slipperiest bastard you’ll ever meet.”

  * * *

  Charming and wicked, Finn DeLuca doesn’t steal for the riches. He does it for the rush.

  Or he used to, until Genevieve Reilly

  changes everything.

  Look for The Devil’s Bargain,

  available October 2020

  and Gray’s story, The Sinner’s Secret,

  coming November 2020!

  Keep reading for an excerpt Trust Fund Fiancé by Naima Simone

  WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK FROM

  Luxury, scandal, desire—welcome to the lives of the American elite.

  Be transported to the worlds of oil barons, family dynasties, moguls and celebrities. Get ready for juicy plot twists, delicious sensuality and intriguing scandal.

  6 NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE EVERY MONTH!

  Trust Fund Fiancé

  by Naima Simone

  One

  A man had a few pleasures in life.

  For Ezekiel “Zeke” Holloway, they included kicking back on the black leather couch in the den of the three-bedroom guesthouse that he and his older brother, Luke
, shared on the Wingate family estate. He had an ice-cold beer in one hand, a slice of meat lovers pizza in the other and Pittsburgh playing on the mounted eighty-five-inch flat-screen television. Granted, he might’ve been born and bred in Texas, but his heart belonged to the Steelers.

  And then there was this. He lifted the dark brown cigar with its iconic black-and-red label and studied the smoldering red tip before bringing it to his lips and inhaling. A hint of pepper and chocolate, toasted macadamia nuts and, of course, the dark flavor of cognac. It could be addictive...if he allowed it to be. These cigars cost fifteen thousand dollars a box. Which was why he only permitted himself to enjoy one per month. Not because he couldn’t afford to buy more. It was about discipline; he mastered his urges, not vice versa.

  And in a world that had suddenly become unfamiliar, cold and uncertain, he needed to believe he could control something in his life. Even if it was when he smoked a cigar.

  He sighed, bracing a hand on the balcony column and slowly exhaling into the night air. Behind him, the muted hum of chatter filtered through the closed glass doors. Guests gathered in the cavernous parlor behind him. James Harris, current president of the Texas Cattleman’s Club—of which Ezekiel was a member—hosted the “small” dinner party. As a highly successful horse breeder in Royal, Texas, and a businessman, James commanded attention without trying. And when he invited a person to his elegant, palatial home, he or she attended.

  Even if they would be rubbing elbows with the newly infamous Wingates.

  Bringing the cigar to his lips again, Ezekiel stared out into the darkness. Beneath the blanket of the black, star-studded night, he could barely make out the stables, corrals and long stretch of land that made up James’s property. He rolled his shoulders, as if the motion could readjust and shift the cumbersome burden of worry, anger and, yes, fear that seemed to hang around his neck like an albatross. It was ludicrous, but he could practically feel the hushed murmurs crawl over his skin through his black dinner jacket and white shirt like the many legs of a centipede. He could massage his chest and still nothing would alleviate the weight of the censure—the press of the guilty verdicts already cast his and his family’s way.

  Not even the influence and support of James Harris could lessen that.

  Lucky for Ezekiel and his family that the denizens of Royal high society hungered for a party invitation from James more than they wanted to outright ostracize the Wingates.

  Ezekiel snorted, his lips twisting around the cigar. Thank God for small favors.

  “And here I thought I’d found the perfect escape hatch.”

  Ezekiel jerked his head to the side at the husky, yet very feminine drawl. His mouth curved into a smile. And not the polite, charming and utterly fake one he’d worn all evening. Instead, true affection wound through him like a slowly unfurling ribbon.

  Reagan Sinclair glided forward out of the shadows and into the dim glow radiating from the beveled glass balcony doors. It was enough to glimpse her slender but curvaceous body. The high thrust of her small but firm breasts. The fingertip-itching dip of her waist and intriguing swell of her hips. As she drew nearer to him and a scent that reminded him of honeysuckle and cream teased his nostrils, he castigated himself.

  At twenty-six, Reagan was only four years his junior, but she was good friends with his cousin Harley, and he’d known her most of her life. She was as “good girl” as they came, with her flawless pedigree and traditional upbringing. Which meant she had no business being out here with him in his current frame of mind.

  Not when the dark, hungry beast he usually hid behind carefree, wide grins and wry jokes clawed closer to the surface.

  Not when the only thing that usually satisfied that animal was a willing woman and hot, dirty sex. No...fucking.

  Ezekiel blew out a frustrated breath. Yes, he’d had sex, but made love to a woman? No, he hadn’t done that in eight long years.

  If he had any sense or the morals that most believed he didn’t possess, he would put out his cigar, gently grasp her by the elbow and escort her back to her parents. Away from him. He should—

  Reagan touched him.

  Just the feel of her slim, delicate hand on his biceps was like a cooling, healing balm. It calmed the anger, the fear. Leashed the hunger. At least so he could meet her thickly lashed, entirely too-innocent eyes and not imagine seeing them darken with a greedy lust that he placed there.

  “I know why I’m hiding,” he drawled, injecting a playfulness he was far from feeling into his voice. “What’s your excuse?”

  Those eyes, the color of the delicious chicory coffee his mother used to have shipped from New Orleans, softened, understanding somehow making them more beautiful. And horrible.

  He glanced away.

  On the pretense of finishing his smoke, he shifted to the side, inserting space between them. Not that he could escape that damn scent that seemed even headier with her so close. Or the sharp-as-a-razor’s-edge cheekbones. Or the lush, downright impropriety of her mouth. The smooth bronze of her skin that damn near gleamed...

  You’ve known her since she was a girl. You have no business thinking of her naked, sweating and straining beneath you.

  Dammit. He narrowed his gaze on the moon-bleached vista of James’s ranch. His dick wasn’t having any of that reasoning though. Too bad. He had enough of a shit storm brewing in his life, in his family, in Wingate Enterprises. He refused to add screwing Reagan Sinclair to it.

  In a life full of selfish decisions, that might be the cherry on top of his asshole sundae.

  And regardless of what some people might think, he possessed lines he didn’t cross. A sense of honor that had been drilled into him by his family before he’d even been old enough to understand what the word meant. And as a little dented and battered as the Wingate name might be right now, they were still Wingates.

  That meant something here in Royal.

  It meant something to him.

  “Let’s see.” She pursed her lips and tapped a fingernail against the full bottom curve. “Should I start alphabetically? A, avoiding my parents introducing me to every single man here between the ages of twenty-two and eighty-two. B, boring small talk about the unseasonably hot summer—it’s Texas, mind you—gel versus acrylic nails and, my personal favorite, whether MTV really did need a reboot of The Hills. Which, the only answer to that is no. And C, karma—I avoided every one of Tracy Drake’s calls last week because the woman is a terrible gossip. And now I find out that I’m seated next to her at dinner.”

  He snorted. “I’m pretty sure karma starts with a K,” he said, arching an eyebrow.

  “I know.” She shrugged a slim shoulder, a smile riding one corner of her mouth. “I couldn’t think of anything for C.”

  Their soft laughter rippled on the night air, and for the first time since arriving this evening, the barbed tension inside him loosened.

  “And I just needed air that didn’t contain politics, innuendo or cigar smoke,” she continued. The velvet tone called to mind tangled, sweaty sheets at odds with her perfectly styled hair and immaculately tailored, strapless cocktail dress that spoke of unruffled poise. Even as Ezekiel’s rebellious brain conjured up images of just how much he could ruffle her poise, she slid him a sidelong glance. “One out of three isn’t bad.”

  Again, the miraculous happened, and he chuckled. Enjoying her. “I know it would be the gentlemanly thing to put this out...” he lifted the offending item between them “...but it’s one of my few vices—”

  “Just a few?” she interrupted, a dimple denting one of her cheeks.

  “And I’m going to savor it,” he finished, shooting her a mock frown for her cheekiness. Cute cheekiness. “Besides, no one in there would accuse me of being a gentleman.”

  Dammit. He hadn’t meant to let that slip. Not the words and definitely not the bitterness. He was the carefree jokester of the Ho
lloway brothers. He laughed and teased; he didn’t brood. But these last few months had affected them all. Turned them into people they sometimes didn’t recognize.

  Talk and accusations of corruption and fraud did that to a person.

  So did a headlong tumble from a pedestal, only to discover those you’d known for years were only wearing the masks of friends, hiding their true faces underneath. Vultures. Sharks.

  Predators.

  He forced a smile, and from the flash of sadness that flickered across her lovely features, the twist of his lips must’ve appeared as fake as it felt. For a moment, anger that wasn’t directed at himself for fucking caring about the opinions of others blazed within him. Now it was presently aimed at her. At her pity that he hated. That he probably deserved.

  And he resented that more.

  “Gentlemen are highly overrated,” she murmured, before he could open his mouth and let something mean and regrettable pour out. Her quiet humor snuffed out the flame of his fury. Once more the utter calm of her presence washed over him, and part of him wanted to soak in it until the grime of the past few months disappeared from his skin, his mind, his heart. “Besides, I want to hear more about some of these vices.”

  “No, you don’t,” he contradicted.

  Unable to resist, he snagged a long, loose wave resting on her shoulder. He pinched it, testing the thickness, the silkiness of it between his thumb and forefinger. It didn’t require much imagination to guess how it would feel whispering across his bare chest, his abdomen. His thighs. Soft. Ticklish. And so damn erotic, his cock already hardened in anticipation. As if scalded by both the sensation and the too-hot mental image, he released his grip, tucking the rebellious hand in his pants pocket.

  Giving himself time to banish his impure thoughts toward his cousin’s friend, he brought the cigar to his mouth. Savoring the flavor of chocolate and cognac. Letting it obscure the illusory taste of honeysuckle, vanilla and female flesh.