“Kiss me.”
“What?”
“Kiss me,” he repeats gently.
I press my lips against his and swallow down my sob as he kisses me deeply, holding the back of my head with one hand.
“I’m okay, Harls,” he whispers against my lips, making me sob out loud as he kisses me again. “It was a long time ago. I went to a therapist. I talked to my parents. I learned to deal with it. I moved on, Angel. I kept living.”
I nod as he keeps kissing me. I know what he’s saying is true. Reed doesn’t lie. And he’s been living his life for years, more than a decade since it happened. He’s successful, and he’s calm and in control. He’s brilliant and charming and confident.He’s living.He’s strong and healthy. But the thought that he was once in a place so dark that he considered not being here anymore lances through me, shadowing over everything, churning every cell in my body up until I realize I’m crying. My body shakes and my chest burns as I imagine a world without Reed in it. A world where the sun never rises.
“Hey, hey. It’s okay, Angel. It’s okay.” He kisses the tears from my cheeks, holding me tighter, and then his lips are on mine again, coaxing them apart, reaching inside me and soothing me with long, loving strokes. “I hate to see you cry. Nothing in the world is worse.”
He kisses me again and I pull him closer, pressing the length of my body against his and welcoming the heat of his skin onto mine. At least it reminds me that we are both here, in this moment. This is real. He’s here with me. He’s okay. It’s all in the past.
“She was never caught?”
“No. We filed a report before we moved. After what happened, I told my parents everything. They needed to understand why I almost…” He clears his throat. “Nothing ever came of it. Not enough evidence. I wouldn’t even know her if I saw her. I could pass her on the street. I could speak to her. And I wouldn’t even know. It took a long time to accept that’s the way it will always be. But I’ve made my peace with it. It’s something that happened to me. It’s something that shouldneverhave happened. But it did. I’m not going to let it wreck the rest of my life.”
“That’s why you always say the past should be left there, where it belongs?”
“You do listen to me, then?” He lets out a low chuckle and wipes a lingering tear from my cheek. “I promise you. I’m okay. I never really think about it now. It’s in the past. And that’s where I want to leave it. The thought of someone judging me or pitying me because of one moment in my life… it makes me sick, Harley. It makes me physically sick. And I know it happens to people. They can never leave their past behind them because others won’t let them. That can destroy you more than the event itself. I promise you, it’s in the past. I only want to think about the present and the future now.”
I sniff and nod at him in understanding. He’s chosen to leave it in the past and not let it define him. He takes strength from knowing he survived it and has moved forward to live his life. And the rest? He leaves that where it belongs.
Behind him.
“Some good’s come of it. I try to focus on that. Riley went into law, and she’s great. She’s a ruthless attorney. She’s helped so many people get justice. People that might never have gotten it otherwise. And it’s why I went into politics. I want to make changes. Do things that make a difference to people's lives.”
“You already do that, just by being you,” I croak, my voice raspy from all the tears. “I mean it, Reed,” I say as he looks back at me. “You’re amazing.”
He exhales a long breath and chuckles. The sound sends warmth radiating through my body, loosening my muscles, and easing all the tension I’m holding without even realizing.
“Careful, Mrs. Walker. I might start to think you mean it and aren’t just saying it as you’re on the payroll.”
“Jerk.” I smile.
He laughs and rolls me onto my back, kissing me again, all my tears finally dry.
“Am I amazing, or a jerk? Make your mind up, Angel.”
“You’re…”
He maneuvers my legs over his shoulders and pushes my knees up to my chest.
“I’m…?” He arches a dark mahogany brow at me.
“You’re…”
He slides into me in one slow, fluid motion, groaning in pleasure as I whimper beneath him.
“You’re…” I try again, tingles racing over my skin like electricity around a circuit.
His mouth is on mine as he begins to move inside me slowly. “I’m what…?”
I gasp into his mouth as he reaches to my breast and pinches my nipple, fucking me in deliciously slow, deep strokes at the same time. The sensation of his skin against mine with no barrier between us heightens every sensation as my body buzzes and vibrates around him.
“You’re…”