I groan internally, my stomach pitching. I might not like her, but I don’t want to see her top herself. I just want her out of our lives for good. “Then get some counseling. We’ve suggested it plenty of times now. Sounds like you need help getting over your guilt, your lies, your unrequited love for Brecken, and your loss of place in this family. At least you have millions in the bank courtesy of your mom’s divorce.”
“Roo—”
“Stay away, Sienna. It’s too soon to forgive you.”
Heart hurting, I turn towards the hotel and catch up to Winter. She’s been watching ourconfrontation?talk?from a row of parked cars.
A hundred things run through my brain as I catch up to her. Mostly, I think of Dad and Balthazar, the latter still dealing with a huge amount of bollocks thanks to Sienna. I think that’s why I let Winter encourage me to go with her to his suite a few weeks back, ready to convince him to pay us a visit. In all honesty, it wasn’t a hard sell. He loves his sons, I know that. He loves me. But importantly, he also loves Winter. For that alone, my estimation of him is as high as it can go.
But I realize it’s not the first time Winter’s been quietly and subtly encouraging me to open up to him. Toseehim.
So supporting him is important. I’ve experienced firsthand the crap that comes from family. And while I always had Jasper, the absence of my bio dad didn’t matter as much as it might’ve had no father figure been around for me. Therefore, I feel his loss, even though I still feel bitterness.
Make sure to tell him you love him,Winter had told me that night before we knocked on his door.He’s your dad, and he needs you.
I know,I replied, hacked off that she felt the need to mention it. Still, I hugged him, telling him:We’re here for you. We love you.It was a quick comment, spoken into his shoulder, but it felt good. And I realized something Winter had probably noticed: I rarely told him anything close to that sentiment.
It was a tough moment of clarity, and it’s been playing on my mind ever since.
After looking beyond my shoulder at hopefully a departing Sienna, Winter turns her attention to me. “Okay?”
I shrug. “I have no time for her.”
Winter nods, accepting my answer. “Not yet, maybe.”
My sigh is deep and long. “It hurts,” I confess. “The lies. The loss. It’s been on my mind a lot.”
Winter threads her arm though mine. “I’m sure.”
Truthfully, all the recent angst has helped me sort through my own problems a little, or if not sort through them, then at least examine them more closely in an attempt to deal with them.
I do push people away. Crucially, now it’s becoming clearer who deserves it and who doesn’t.
We enter the hotel, greeting the doormen by name before we walk across the lobby for the elevators. “I’m not ready to absolve her yet. I just want to forget about her.”
“Does that mean I get more of you?”
I’m grateful for her segue into happier territory. Winter always seem to be able to pinpoint what I need. “Yeah. I need to bury myself deep.”
“Not to fuck her out of your system, I hope.”
“No. I want inside you because it’s your birthday tomorrow and I got you something nice. Because I love you. Because you make me question things I should’ve questioned a long time ago. Things I should’ve changed.”
“Like what?”
We call the lift, and I flash my card over the reader for floor ten when we’re inside. Winter removes her hat and fluffs her hair, both of us unzipping our coats. The slow sound is seductive and alluring in the close, quiet quarters. As we ascend, Winter’s gaze settles on the growing bulge between my legs. I leave her question hanging as I cup her face and pull her in for a fierce kiss. The force of our connection has her back slamming into the wall behind her as she moans into my mouth. Her hands clutch my waist before dragging up my back as our mouths chase.
When the lift dings our arrival I hit theStopbutton, the doors remaining closed.
Our hands tangle and bump as we try and undo each other’s jeans. Wordlessly, we concentrate on our own clothes, our harsh breaths obvious in the enclosed, mirrored space as we throw off our coats and jumpers. My rucksack.
We’ve fucked in here before. There are mirrors on every wall, so of course, we have. And the security camera is triggered by the card, so any recording is encrypted and sent securely to my computer. No one else receives the content; not Balthazar, not security, not my brothers. Just me. And I love that Winter trusts me implicitly with the videos we make here. That we make in the suite and tower.
Rushing, my blood thrumming with need, I help Winter unbutton her clothes. Pushing down her pants, I line myself up with her entrance and hold myself there.
“This is because I love you,” I remind her, just in case there’s any doubt about what’s fired my blood in the past ten minutes. “Because you get me. Love me. Warts and all.”
She tries to push me inside her, her hands desperately forcing me closer. “I know. Fuck me, Roo.” I slide my dick through her wet slit, Winter crawling out of her skin at the delay. “Get inside me,” she orders breathlessly.