You Are My Reason - Willow Winters Page 0,20

my chest, but then he moves.

Not just moves. He fucks me with a punishing force. The bed slams against the wall with each thrust. He kisses me as though he’s breathing the air from my lungs. He pins me down and takes everything from me, forcing me higher and higher, all while giving me everything I never knew I needed.

It’s not until I’m left panting and recovering from waves of pleasure that I start to question what I’ve done. But it’s late and I’m so exhausted. I forget it all except his name and what he’s done to me, and give in to sleep.

Don’t leave me alone…

Don’t leave me alone, I cried and I screamed.

Don’t leave me alone, my whole life demeaned.

You left me unguarded. My heart raw and bleeding.

You left me forever. The pain there left seething.

You left me here weak. Just a stone in the ground.

You left a place beside me, my picture-perfect life unbound.

Mason

Last night was stupid. Such a juvenile word but I can’t think of anything better. Fucking stupid.

I’ll blame it on the alcohol. A low exhale travels up my throat as I walk away from the floor-to-ceiling window in my office. The hustle and bustle of the street below is what drives me to keep moving. This city never sleeps and the work never ends.

Last night was about taking a moment to unwind from the shitshow my life has become. From my father, the arrogant prick and criminal that he is. The awareness of just how ruthless my father is has never hurt me more.

That’s what it really is. Pain. Coming to the realization that your father’s a disgusting excuse for a human being and should be behind bars is ... difficult to handle. It’s even worse when you’re tied to his bullshit.

I sink into my leather desk chair and it protests the movement with a groan until I’m comfortable. Unlike my father’s office, traditional and smelling of polished wood and old books, my office is the opposite. It’s airy and open, modern and sleek. A model of our newest planned development sits in the very center of the space.

That’s what started all this shit. A celebration for my company’s first suburban development. No more apartments downtown. We’re ready to expand into uncharted territories. I’m an idiot for thinking this would change things between my father and me. I really thought things would be different. I’d attributed the tense relationship with him to my own doing. A rebellious child with pent-up anger over his mother’s death. Born into this black-tie bullshit.

I was always supposed to act right. Always supposed to say the right thing, stand the right way, behave and pay attention. Well, I didn’t want to. I crack my neck remembering the fights I started. A smile kicks up my lips. Four boarding schools and hefty donations from my father still couldn’t keep me in line.

Working in construction was just another way to stick it to my father.

Higher education? Fuck that. I got a job ... but it didn’t last for long. I’m just not made to work for someone else and I wanted a more physical job. So, I started Gray’s Homes with Liam nearly three years ago. He had the schooling and I had the designs. I didn’t think it’d be this successful or grow so quickly. So successful, in fact, that I ran out of capital and so did he. I took out loan after loan, investing in myself and I’d do it all over again. It was worth it to keep growing and taking advantage of the momentum we had. I should have known better when my father came to me and offered to invest in me too.

Clients were eager to sign contracts with his name on them. Having him back me made bids easier to attain and everything run smoother. I knew it was too good to be true.

He just wanted to be able to hold it over my head. He wanted to own me. I narrow my eyes at the model in the center of the room. It’s all because of this one project. Now I’m in debt. I owe more than I’m worth and everything is hanging in the balance as we move forward with this one project that I’d love to trash just to spite my father. I should cancel it all now that I know the truth, but that would mean bankruptcy and more people than just myself being affected. Liam and all our employees