move silences him. My eyes never leave his, wanting to memorize this very moment.
We’ve been this close on many occasions, but I’ve never dared to cross the invisible line he placed between us so long ago.
Closing my eyes, I tilt my head to the side and cautiously press my lips to his.
It’s soft, and I’m scared, a complete contradiction to the man I am for the rest of the world. Just as I’m about to pull away, a switch flips, and every single part of Grayson turns on.
His large hands take hold of my neck, and his mouth moves against mine, urging me to kiss him back. Years of restraint fall away as we collide together in a medley of desire and desperation. We lick, and suck, and caress; the feel of his tongue against mine like both coming home and saying goodbye.
He tastes like truth and pain and hope and happily ever afters.
I kiss him like I love him.
I kiss him like I can have him.
I kiss him like he’s mine.
Slowly we break apart, my hands now placed against his chest and his cradling my face. He rests his forehead against mine before asking, “Who was it?”
His voice is so soft and quiet, and I pretend I don’t hear the life-changing question.
“Who was it, Kai?” he insists, his tone firmer. “If it wasn’t Dad, who was it?”
Swallowing hard, I press my lips against his one more time before whispering, “It was me.”
5
Grayson
His words are like fire singeing my skin. Hot and painful.
The high of being kissed by him evaporates with every passing second. Both repulsed and disorientated, I let my hands fall away from his face. “What did you just say?”
“It was me,” he repeats. His eyes are filled with nothing but heartache, but he doesn’t shy away from his admission, nor does he cower at the anticipation of my anger.
Stepping back, I run my hand over my jaw, my head understanding what he’s saying, but my heart refusing to believe it. “What the fuck do you mean it was you?”
“I need you to sit down.” His voice is calm, but the order is unmissable.
“You don’t get to call the shots here.” Rushing toward him, I take a fistful of his jacket in my hands. “What the fuck did you do?”
My body trembles with rage for all the wrong reasons. I don’t care about what he did; I care that he did it to me.
We’ve built a life and a business on loyalty and allegiance and he threw every rule we’ve ever had out the window. And for what?
“Why’d you do it?” I grit out.
He manages to raise his hands and wrap his fingers around my wrists, his voice trying to soothe me. “I can explain it all. Let me explain it all.”
If he was anyone else, he’d be dead already. I wouldn’t even have to think twice about it, and nobody would ever question me for doing it. It’s a no-brainer. But this… This is unexpected.
This is something neither one of us can take back.
“Please, G.” He drops a hand and pulls something out of his waistband. My eyes widen when he offers me his personalised carving knife. “Here. Do to me what you planned on doing to our dad.”
Emotion gets wedged in my throat as I contemplate executing the same mayhem on Kai as I would have on our father.
“Why?” I ask again, my voice catching.
With a sadness I’ve never seen on his face before, I step away from him, trying to gain my composure. “Do you want me to kill you?”
There’s no hate or anger in me, just a desperate need to understand how the hell we got here.
“I just wanted to get your attention,” he says. “And I didn’t know any other way to do it.”
A small huff leaves my mouth. He wanted my attention? Didn’t he know he’s always had it?
“I honestly thought you’d guess it was me. I mean, I wanted you to find out. I even left you clues.”
My brain mentally begins rummaging through all the files, trying to remember the missing pieces, trying to connect all the dots to Kai.
It’s then I notice Kai placing his knife on the arm of the sofa before deciding to take his clothes off. Shocked, I swivel my head every which way to see if anyone’s watching, but just as it should be up here, the place is deserted. He shrugs out of the jacket, letting it fall to the floor while he slowly begins