Page 85 of When Hearts Ignite

I just wanted answers.

It was easier not to get our hopes up than to get our hearts torn apart. Now, with the lens of childhood laid shattered at my feet, I’m too jaded to care.

I let out a shaky sigh as I doodle circles on his forearm with my finger. “Obviously, that relationship didn’t last, and I swore to myself I wouldn’t let my heart be ensnared by any man, because no one could be trusted outside of Mom and Taylor. And because I didn’t want to depend on anyone because everyone outside my family had deserted us in the past, I didn’t want to take money from friends. I’d much rather dance here for the two years and then start fresh later. So that’s why I disappeared and why I ended up here.”

Steven lets out a shuddering exhale, then he intakes another deep breath before repeating the motion again. I swallow the lump in my throat and while my voice is raspy from crying, my soul feels lighter than it has ever felt in recent memory. I glance up and find his impassioned gaze pinned on me, a vein throbbing on his forehead. His jaw is clenched. He opens his mouth as if to say something, but shuts it to swallow instead, like he doesn’t even know where to begin.

Finally, after a few seconds of silence, our naked bodies intertwined under the covers, he rasps, “You sweet, strong girl. God, I’m so sorry for everything you’ve gone through. And yet, you still stand tall, smiling at the world. You still find it in your heart to befriend a lonely man who has everything he could possibly want in life and yet doesn’t value his possessions when you had so little to live on. I don’t deserve you.”

His eyes cloud over with moisture as he raises his trembling hand to caress my face. I close my eyes and lean into his touch.

“And I’m the one who told you about the job offer, the person who set everything into motion.” His breathing is harsher. The words take on a clipped edge, and I can feel the anger and self-loathing seeping through his words. “It’s my fault—”

“Shhh…” I press my finger to his lips, halting his verbal lashing on himself. “It’s easy to want to blame someone else for our problems. I know I wanted to all this time, and it was easy to blame it on you because the thing is…you are everything I’m afraid to have…my biggest temptation. It was easier to be angry at you than to show you all the imperfections in me. But I’ve always known it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know everything I was dealing with. And even if you did, I wouldn’t have let you help me. My pride and fear didn’t allow it then.”

“Will you let me help you now?” Steven holds his breath, his eyes intense, his brows slanted in concentration.

My pulse is a beating drum in my ears, and my heart threatens to give up inside my rib cage. My tongue dips out to wet my lips, but his gaze doesn’t waver from mine. His muscles are tense, as if every atom in his body is waiting for my response.

I swallow and say, “Y-Yes. Please help me, Steven. I’d like to have your help.”

I look at her slumbering form as the storm rages outside, oblivious to the way my life changed in the last few hours. The wailing of the winds sounds eerie, but I barely notice anymore.

Normally, in the thick of the midnight tempest, I’d be staring at the dark ceilings, an aching want drenching my skin in sweat. My mind would be restless, my body filled with unease.

But now, with Grace tucked in next to me, her alluring scent of jasmine cloaking the room in a soft scent I hope will never dissipate, my heart is at ease and finally at peace.

My mind reels from how our bodies came together tonight. Sex before was meaningless and bland, a means to an end so I can eliminate the biological urge and focus on more important matters. But with Grace, it’s a communion, a transcendence.

I’ll never forget how she melted in my arms, how delicious her mouth tasted, how every nerve ending in my body vibrated like a tuning fork when I thrusted into her hot, wet heat, how her channel clenched my cock in a vise as if she didn’t want to let me go any more than I want to leave her body. I’ve never come as hard as I did tonight, our hands intertwined, much like our hearts.

It felt like…making love.

Unlike my past experiences, my body aches to do it again. And we did, when I carried her into the shower and fucked her against the tiles after I soaped up every inch of her delectable body and washed off the rain with warm water. Now, in the middle of the night, I want to rouse her from sleep and bury myself inside her again. I want to hear her screaming in my ears from pleasure as I lose my sanity with her. My cock throbs and my balls ache, but I swallow my impulse as I take in the sleeping princess once more.

She looks radiant even in her sleep, the murky glow of the night caressing her smooth face half-blurred in shadows. Her nose scrunches adorably and she buries her head closer to my chest, as if seeking my warmth.

I want to keep this expression on her face always. I’ll do everything I can to help her so she doesn’t have to shoulder her worries alone anymore.

She took down her walls tonight and decided to let me help her by paying off her loan from the Kents. I smile as I recollect her reaction.

“I still don’t feel comfortable taking money from you.”

“You won’t. You’ll come back and work with me at Pietra.” My lips twist into a grin as I watch her eyes widen, like the idea is something that hasn’t crossed her mind before.

“B-But there are no open positions available.”

I shake my head. “I don’t care, I’ll make one. This time, I’m not letting my boss turn me down. After all, I’m the COO now. I have the power to open a new position.”

A glimmer of hope and elation shines in those violet eyes. Her lips twitch into a wry smile. “Oh, right, you got promoted.” Her fingers travel up my chest, sending blood rushing to my stiffening cock. “Big boss now. But the answer is no.”

I frown. “Grace—”

“I want to be a consultant instead. That way, I get to be my own boss.”

My lips quirk. “I can work with that. I’ll hire you as my consultant, and you can help me on the TransAmerica takeover.”

I sigh, my smile falling away. “Grace, I need help with it. It’s my father’s legacy, and no one in the company is up to snuff. They’re all telling me what I want to hear, but not actually telling me what’s wrong with our approach. I need someone to come in with a fresh set of eyes. Please come and help me. I need you.”

---