Hold Me (Love The Way #2) - W. Winters Page 0,54
with me? To continue our power exchange in my home, rather than here?"
Her head comes up, curiosity running through the shades of amber in her dark eyes. “Yes.”
“Even if it wasn’t all of this?” I gesture around us and the obvious wealth. “I can take care of you, but this is not a lifestyle I ever imagined for myself.”
She pushes herself up to look into my eyes. “Would you ever want to live with me, then? Even if it was all this?”
I smirk at her to cover the instant twinge of uncertainty that burrows into my gut. “I don’t think I could maintain this lifestyle for you.”
“You wouldn’t have to. I’ve never had to work a day in my life. When my father died, I got everything. There wasn’t anyone else to inherit a thing. Even his business partners and everyone else suing for this and that and claiming rights …” She lies back down, as if comforted by the memory and explains, “Kam took down every single one of them and I got every dime to my father’s name.”
There’s something … off about the manner in which she delivered that statement. Like she’s used to the vultures, used to litigation.
“Did you expect that? That when he died, you’d have to fight to keep what he left you?”
There’s a sad smile that graces her lips as she peers into the fire. “In this world, there is always someone wanting what’s yours. I remember once, I …” she hesitates and I tell her to go on, to tell me what she’s thinking.
Swallowing thickly she admits, “Kelly, Trish and I, we were as thick as thieves.”
“You still are from what I can tell.”
Her hair rustles against my chest as she readjusts in my lap, getting more comfortable, still staring at the fire as if it’s playing back her memories. “We are. Because of the shit we got into. Drugs, alcohol … we were given invitations that no one should ever give minors. And I didn’t have a father or mother to tell me no. I had Kamden. Who was used to getting himself and his sister out of trouble.”
“I’ve seen your record.”
“It’s a colorful résumé, isn’t it?” she sighs, not with nostalgia, but with regret. “I’m thankful for Kam and what he did for me. If it weren’t for him, I might not be this version of fucked up, but I would be a hollow shell of …” She breathes in deeply before clearing her throat. “What I mean is that, all of this, is forever mine. There’s no needing support from anyone. So if you could want this, then it’s no bother.”
“I imagine—this—comes with Kam? Kamden was there for everything?”
“Always.” Ella skims her finger over the collar of my shirt. “Ever since I can remember. Our families have known each other forever. You know Kam’s sister, Trish and I, we got along from the start. That’s the way it is in this life. There are so very few people you can trust. You tend to stick with the ones you know, and we always knew Kam’s.”
I had friends growing up, though none were wealthy and there was never a threat of trusting the wrong person. Family friends, of course. My family had those. But they came and went and came back. It was easy. Society fears were never something I concerned myself with.
“Why did you choose him to take custody of you back then? When your father died and you were sixteen.” I’m surprised by the spike of needless jealousy. I can’t go back in time to be in every part of Ella’s life, as much as I want to. And even if I could, I don’t know if I’d do it. The way Ella and I are together is only possible because of the people we are right now, and those people were shaped by the past.
She frowns, her eyes going distant. “I knew he’d do anything for me. He took care of … a lot of things. So it made sense.”
In the space of this one sentence, her tone has changed. It’s off, and her body stiffens in my arm.
“Don’t withdraw from me, jailbird. We’re in this conversation until it’s over, unless you want to use your safe word.”
Her eyebrows go up as color darkens her cheeks. “I can safe word out of a conversation?”
“You can use your safe word at any time,” I remind her. “It’s not just for when I’m fucking you, or when you’re bound. It’s