Emil Dani goes very still as my words sink in, and I almost regret saying them aloud. I haven’t told anyone about my marriage, about what was going on in those last few months. Callie died. It ended. All of it—the lies, the betrayal— ended in that horrific car crash that almost took my babies too. Her death robbed me of my retribution, my justice. It left a gaping hole in my heart full of grief and anger, a hole that has grown and festered for two years. Until now. With a de ep breath, I push past the discomfort. I want to tell Dani. I want to share something with her just as she shared with me. “Callie was using me,” I finally say. “Our marriage... it wasn’t healthy. She wanted so much from me —money, access, r eputation. I was blind to it at first, but it got worse over time. She would spend so much money it made my eyes water to see the credit card bills. I didn’t care about the money, not really. But the way she spent it felt like a dig at me. Like she was trying to hurt me. Wouldn’t meet me halfway. Wouldn’t talk to me, try to make things work.” I can’t hide the bitterness in my voice. Dani’s hand presses against my chest, against the dull thumping of my heart. Swallowing, I ke ep talking. “I wanted a divorce, but she said she’d take everything. She wanted the company—my father’s company. The company with my name on it.” “I didn’t know,” Dani whispers. “No one did. We were the perfect family on the outside. Two beautiful kids, beautiful wife, penthouse apartment and three vacation homes—I was supposed to have it all. But I was miserable.” “And you couldn’t divorce her because she threatened to take everything.” She pauses. “You didn’t have a prenup? I thought wealthy people always... took care of those things before getting married.” I let out a long breath. I shouldn’t be telling my children’s nanny this stuff, but I’ve been carrying it inside me for so long. “Prenuptial agreements are highly personalized documents written for a particular couple’s needs. No two are the same. When Callie and I first met, I didn’t want kids. She said she didn’t, either. Our prenup had a clause that said if we ever had children and s eparated thereafter, certain clauses in the prenup could be renegotiated. Callie and I were careful, but it still happened. Twice.” Maybe not as careful as we should have been—but I wouldn’t change anything. Dani freezes against me. I ke ep stroking her back until she relaxes, the touch soothing me as much as her. “I never regretted it, you know. I love those kids,” I say fiercely. “I never saw myself as a dad, but once they were born, it changed everything. Everything.” I take a de ep breath. “The morning she died, I told her I wanted a divorce. I didn’t care about her threats, I was determined to ke ep my company, to ke ep my kids. I was ready to fight her in court for twenty years if that’s what it took. I’d fight with everything I had just get her out of my life. I left the house that morning thinking that no matter what happened, I’d fight for my kids, my company. I thought I’d be free.” “Oh, Emil,” Dani whispers, burrowing de eper against my chest.
“I got the call two hours later. A police officer told me he’d attended the scene. My kids were in the hospital, my wife was dead. I was so fucking mad at her for getting in the car with my children. If she planned on hurting them...” I suck in a breath, closing my eyes. “I’ll never know if she was trying to take them, if she got into the accident on purpose. I’ve tried to forgive myself, but if I hadn’t given her an ultimatum that morning...” “It’s not your fault.” “It’s all my fault,” I say, my voice full of gravel. She trembles, stroking her fingers along my jaw. “You don’t need to tell me this, you know. If it’s too hard to talk about...” “I want to.” I don’t know why, but I do. I suck in a de ep breath. “I’ll never know if she took the kids to hurt them on purpose. I don’t know if she meant for that accident to happen. Part of me rejects the idea—she wanted to wring me dry. Why would she hurt herself? But another part questions everything—everything—about that relationship.” A pause. “I looked you up after you came to the apartment,” Dani says. “When you hired me again.” “Oh?” “Mm. Everything I read was about you being a doting father and loving husband. That your marriage was perfect.” I snort. “No such thing.” Bitterness swe eps through my veins with so much intensity I have to pause to pull myself together. “I made the decision not to tell anyone because talking shit about Callie would hurt the kids.” “So you couldn’t grieve. You had to carry all that hurt yourself.” Dani’s eyes soften, but it’s not pity. It’s just de ep understanding. Her fingers spread over my chest, a steady, warm weight on my heart. She holds my gaze, her lips dropping open. She sucks in a breath, hesitates, her tongue swe eping out to moisten her lips. “I was in love with the CEO,” she admits in a hushed whisper. “At my old job. He’s the one who pushed me to falsify the documents. He... he used me, too. He wanted his technology to pass all the certification tests, and he made sure his name was nowhere near the fraudulent documents. I don’t have proof of it, other than a few personal emails that might be smoking guns, but I have proof that the fraud happened. Blowing the whistle would have meant ruining my own career too. I think he knew I had proof. At first, he wouldn’t stop trying to find me. Called. Emailed. Showed up at my apartment. I ended up running, but he k ept finding me.” My hold on Dani tightens. A wave of red anger washes over my vision at the thought of someone using her like that, of the fear she must have felt when she decided to leave. Her face flushes and she tries to pull away, but my arms are like steel bands around her body. “Sometimes I feel like I’m making the same mistakes all over again,” she whispers, silver lining her eyes. “With you.” “I may be your boss, but I’m not using you, Dani.” I nudge her nose with mine. “Not unless you want me to.” Heat flares in her eyes, her body softening against me. This electricity between us has existed from the first moment. No matter how much I’ve tried to fight it, I can’t deny it’s there. I can’t ignore it. Can’t wish it away. And now I understand why—because Dani’s been through the same kind of betrayal as me. She was used by someone she loved; she had to stare into that darkness and decide to walk away. She’s had to
walk alone for years, just as I have. My lips find hers in a kiss more tender than our first, but just as hungry. I need this woman like I need air. For two years—and longer—I’ve lived with loneliness as my constant shadow. I’ve been strong for my children, for my business. I want to give in. To surrender to the desires whipping through me. To sink my fingers into the soft, feminine body on my lap and show Dani just how much I want her. There are so many things I’ve been dreaming of doing to her, fantasies that have tortured me every night and every morning. “Emil...” Dani whimpers, her kisses like little bites along my lips, my jaw. “Don’t tell me to stop.” I barely recognize my own voice, the rust that tinges it. “What are we doing?” Pulling back, I meet her gaze. “Why don’t you tell me exactly what you want me to do?” A small inhale sends my body rioting. My cock is so hard I’m worried it’ll burst a hole through my pants. I tighten my hold on Dani’s body, shaping her curves with my hands, smoothing them over her hips, her waist. Dipping my thumb beneath the hem of her shirt, I watch her lips tremble as her breath staggers, as if just one finger’s worth of contact against her side is enough to send her spiraling. When I lay my palm flat against her abdomen, Dani lets out a soft, feminine mewl. A jagged line of heat rips through me, my need almost overwhelming. Tightening the leash of my control, I force myself to slow down. To enjoy. My palm slides to the hollow of her waist, thumb brushing dangerously close to the underside of her breast. I feel the scalloped edge of lacy underthings and have to haul myself back from stripping her bare. Her heartbeat thunders under my touch, her eyes wide with anticipation. Soft, delicate fingers drift over my jaw, tracing the outline of my lips. I pause, letting her learn my body, giving in to the sensuality of her touch. Instead of tempering my lust, though, her gentle, feminine touches only ratchet it higher. It takes every ounce of discipline to stop myself from moving. Her fingers drift from my lips to my neck, then up to trace the shell of my ear. She scrapes her nails along my scalp, drawing a satisfied groan from my throat. Then those fingers—torturous, beautiful fingers—move lower. She glides over my shoulders once, twice, three times, as if she wants to remember the exact shape of me. A soft kiss to my neck sends my heartbeat into overdrive. “I have dreams, you know,” I hear myself saying. “Dreams?” Another kiss, placed where my neck joins my shoulder, followed by a flick of her tongue. I inhale sharply, closing my eyes. My thumb brushes her side, feeling the very edge of the swell of her breast. “Dreams of you. I’ve had them every day since the Summer Ball.” Her lips move to my ear, breath hot against my skin. “What kind of dreams?” I let out a dark chuckle, shaking my head. “You don’t want to know.” Shifting, Dani moves to straddle me. Her eyes are dark, fingers moving slowly, surely, to slip my shirt buttons from their slots. “Tell me.”
“I dream of tasting you,” I start, watching the way her tongue slides out to lick her bottom lip. “Spreading those creamy legs and burying my face between them.” Pink streaks across her cheeks. “And you... like that dream?” My hands slide up her thighs and over her ass. I grin, squeezing. “More than I can say.” For the briefest instant, she flicks those eyes to mine. Biting her lip, she returns her gaze to my shirt, now unbuttoned halfway down my chest. The fluttering of her fingers over my skin as she works is slow, sensual torture. She moves lower. Lower. Lower. “Do you ever dream of me doing the same to you?” Soft, soft words. “Tasting you?” My cock throbs, and I suck in a breath when her hand moves to feel it. Gripping her wrist, I pull her hand away. “You’ll make me embarrass myself again.” I won’t come in my pants again. I can’t. I need... I need more. A sly smile tugs those pink lips. “I’ve thought of that moment, you know. When you... embarrassed yourself at the Summer Ball.” “Mm?” I close my eyes as her hands lay flat on my chest, pushing my shirt open. She swe eps her palms over the planes of my body, her fingers a sensuous tease. “It was the most erotic thing that’s ever happened to me.” That makes me open my eyes. I arch an eyebrow, watching as she dips her head to kiss between my collarbones, then lower to one side until she reaches my nipple. I groan. “You weren’t disappointed?” Her hand slides lower, and I catch it before it reaches my crotch. She smiles against my chest. “No. Seeing you lose control like that turned me on. You’re always so... leashed.” I slide a palm over her cheek, letting my fingers drift into her hair and down to her nape. Lifting her head, Dani meets my gaze through thick lashes. I tighten my hold on her nape, letting my other hand rest on her hip. “Do you want me to lose control, Dani?” She exhales slowly, then dips her chin. “More than anything.”