10
WES’ POV
Ididn’t know what was happening when I saw Renee racing past the kitchen, looking incredibly distraught, but I knew I needed to follow her, to find out if she needed me. I just didn’t know how much she was going to need me. I didn’t expect to find her crumpled in a heap on the floor, weeping like her heart had been absolutely shattered.
Renee’s lips pouted out as she wiped some tears from her cheeks, before she finally met my eyes through her eyelashes. “You think so?”
That was all it took to pull me in. There was no way I could leave her all broken like this, it wasn’t right. I wiped my dough covered hands on my apron and joined Renee on the floor, where I tugged her into my arms for a hug. She practically jumped on me as I offered her comfort, wrapping her legs around me as a fresh wave of tears overcame her.
I never thought she should marry someone like Diego. I’d always thought she was way too good for him, but this was confirmation. I’d overheard her weeping and saying that she didn’t want to sacrifice her happiness for an unwanted marriage. Now I knew I couldn’t keep listening to Stark. Even if he was my boss, I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing anymore. It wasn’t right. Renee needed to see with her own eyes that there were other options out there, and that she could be with a man who treated her right.
After a few drinks the other night, Lucky confessed that he’d hacked into Diego’s cell phone and knew with utter certainty that he was being unfaithful.
“Of course I think so,” I finally whispered back. “Renee Vaughn, I have never met anyone quite like you. I’ve never met anyone as special. Anyone as beautiful…”
Shit, now I was the one getting all choked up. I wasn’t supposed to be getting emotional, not when I was trying to help Renee work her way through her feelings. I guess I just didn’t think I would ever get the chance to express any of this aloud. I’d settled on having to stuff these feelings down until we were done working with the Vaughn family. Then I could work through my feelings after. In therapy, perhaps. It had been a long time since I last went.
“What am I going to do?” Renee wept in to my chest, not really processing any of my words. “How am I going to escape this? How can I stop myself from being trapped? All I want to do is paint, Wes. All I want to do is create. I don’t want this.”
I couldn’t give her answers to any of that. I knew what I wanted her to do, though. I wanted her to walk as far away from Diego as possible so she could find that happiness she was so desperately seeking. I actually wanted her to realize that I could be the man for her if she allowed me to be. But I’d already made a massive mess of things by speaking out. Spark would rip my head off my neck if I dared to offer any more unsolicited advice. And if he didn’t rip my head off, Mr. Vaughn would. There was something terrifying about that man. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was, but he scared me. Likely Renee as well.
I secured a hold on her neck as I cradled her. “You need to do what’s best for you,” I whispered, because at least that was something safe I could say. “You need to take some time to work out what will make you happy. Don’t sacrifice your happiness.”
“It’s too late though,” she murmured back. “Like my father said, the wedding planning is too far along, there are too many people involved. The business…”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Toby had hinted to me that he thought this was more of a business deal than a marriage, but I refused to hear it at first. I didn’t want to imagine that could really happen in this day and age, but it seemed I was wrong.
“You need to think about you,” I continued as we rocked back and forth. “This is ultimately your life. Think about the sort of love you want in your life.”
“It isn’t him,” she spat out. “It’s never been him. I really wish I hadn’t ever agreed to get myself in this mess in the first place. I should have just gone to Paris.”
“Paris?” I asked curiously. “You wanted to go to Paris?”
“I just wanted to paint. I’ve always wanted to paint. There hasn’t ever been anything else for me. Europe was just a part of the dream. The real dream is painting.”
I pulled back to look at her, and in that moment I felt like I was seeing her at her most vulnerable. She was offering that side of herself to me, letting me be a part of it, and I was honored. I just didn’t want to do her wrong.
“You can still paint,” I offered, but she shut me down instantly.
Shaking her head, she told me how it was. “No, I won’t be allowed to paint. Not in the way I can right now, and the way I want to in the future.” She sniffed sadly. “I will be expected to be a Vanderbilt wife, which means attending charity events with other bored, wealthy housewives, and popping out an endless amount of children. I will be expected to be at Diego’s beck and call, even if I hate him and think he’s a scumbag.”
She didn’t say anything about Diego cheating on her, but it seemed like she knew. Although, since it didn’t seem like they were in a relationship in the traditional sense of the word, could it even be classified as cheating? Disrespect, sure, especially since he’d treated her like shit in the library when we first met her.
It was all so complicated. And those complications were fogging up my brain, which was made worse when Renee closed the gap between us. He lips connected with my neck, then my cheeks. She was kissing me, flicking her tongue out every so often to lick me. A part of me knew this shouldn’t be happening, but there was something so intoxicating about this that I just couldn’t stop her.
Renee pushed me backward. She leaned the weight of her body against me and pressed me to the ground, her lips moving toward mine as she did. I was weak, unable to resist her. I needed her. I had needed her ever since we were first introduced.
But there was still a little part of me that needed to check.
“We probably shouldn’t do this,” I whispered to Renee, but I couldn’t stop my hand from resting on the small of her back. “Especially since you’re so upset.”
But Renee batted off my suggestions of rationality. “I need this,” she insisted. “I need to forget about everything. I want to feel as special as you make me feel. At least for a while.”
Okay, so this was temporary. Renee wasn’t promising me anything, which was fine. I didn’t want her to feel obligated to me. She was trapped enough at the moment, and the last thing she needed was to get herself all mixed up with me. I kissed her back tenderly at first, but it soon became so passionate that my head was spinning.
Where were her hands? I could barely even work out which part of my body they were on, but I knew it felt damn good. The more of my clothing that came off, the more electrifying I felt. I couldn’t seem to stop myself from practically tearing the clothing off of her as well.
I wouldn’t shift, not at a moment like this, but this was the closest to primal I could possibly feel while I was in my human form. My eyes might have shifted, but that was about it. Even as Renee’s eager touch found my rock-hard cock.
While straddling me, she wrapped her fingers around me and held me for a couple of seconds, watching as my hips bucked desperately with need. I wanted to stay where I was, looking up at her for as long as I could, but I needed her too badly for that, so I grabbed her hips and spun her around until she was pinned on her back. I hovered over her, using my arms to hold me upright, but my cock was teasing her entrance. Renee could feel me, and she firmly gripped my hips to make sure I didn’t move just yet.
That was fine by me. I was more than happy to go at a pace that suited her.
“Be gentle with me,” Renee whispered, her voice trembling with a mix of nerves and desire. “I’m…you know… This is my first time.”
Fuck. That gave me pause. This was her first time? She was a virgin? I couldn’t let that happen out here in the shed while she was all emotional. I fell into a tailspin, pushing myself back and away from Renee.
“Have you been saving yourself for marriage? If so, I don’t want to be the person to ruin that for you. Virginity is a precious thing.”