Page 73 of Tangled

Kane exhales before lying back flat, staring up at the ceiling. I trace the lines of his chest and stomach with my fingertips while I wait for him to speak. Just when I think I’ll let him off the hook, his voices fills the room.

“Her name was Natasha. We were high school sweethearts. We started dating when we were juniors and then I joined the Army after graduation to serve my country and get my degree paid for at the same time.” He pauses and his eyebrows draw together as he gathers himself to continue. “She understood my choice and promised to stay with me while I was away. And for the first four years, things were fine. We made it work. But then I re-enlisted for another four years and she wasn’t happy with my decision. I was just at a place where I felt like I couldn’t leave, but I promised her that after those four years, I’d be done. I even proposed to her so she knew I was serious. I saw my future with her and I loved her.”

He shifts again, back to facing me. The anguish in his eyes penetrates my soul as I watch him struggle to continue. Instinctually, I reach for his hand, intertwining our fingers and caressing his, silently showing my support.

“I came home early, discharge papers in hand to surprise her, when…” he clears his throat of the emotion clouding his voice, “When I walked in on her fucking my best friend, T.J.”

And my stomach drops, my heart breaks, and my eyes cloud with tears when I realize this woman shattered the man in front of me.

“Oh, Kane…”

“Don’t, Olivia. I don’t need your pity.”

“It’s not pity, Kane. I just can’t imagine being betrayed like that,” I argue, hoping he doesn’t shut down on me now.

“It killed me, but I’ve been working past it. I just… I’ve never felt a betrayal like that in my life, and it made me want to shut myself away from the rest of the world.”

“I can only imagine,” I whisper, tracing the lines of his shoulders before cupping his face.

“It’s been over three years, and even though the sting isn’t as fresh… it still is something I struggle with accepting. The two people that I thought I could trust the most ripped my heart from my chest and left me a shell of the man I thought I was. It took me a long time to accept that their choices were their own, and I could either let them define me, or move on. I vowed to never let anyone in again… but then I met you…”

I swallow hard as he pulls me close to him, the full length of our bodies touching as his eyes search my face.

“Me?”

He nods. “You were the one thing I never thought I wanted again. Even though the night we met was more about letting go and trying to have some fun, there was something about you I couldn’t stop thinking about. And when I saw you again, it made me feel things I hadn’t felt since… well, since I wanted Natasha.”

And right then and there, I surrender to this pull I’ve felt to him since that night.

“I understand completely, Kane. In fact, more than you probably think.”

“How’s that?”

“Well, that night was about me escaping betrayal myself. My entire reason for coming home was because I found my boyfriend fucking his secretary in his office. I was trying to surprise him, but it seems I’m the one who got the surprise.”

Kane shakes his head and then presses a light kiss to my lips. “Why any man would want to cheat on you boggles my mind.”

“Well, I could say the same thing about you. I thought I had it all. I thought I saw a future with my ex, but when I realized all the warning signs were there, I blamed myself for not seeing them.”

“It’s easy to take the blame for other people’s actions, especially when they hurt you.”

“I’m sorry you were hurt, Kane. I’m so sorry that the people closest to you made you question your ability to trust again. But thank you for opening up to me about it. Yet, I guess I should really be thanking Natasha...”

Kane chuckles. “Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”

“Because if she hadn’t messed up, you and I wouldn’t be here right now.”

The words leave my mouth before I thought them all the way through, yet the smile on Kane’s face tells me he understands my confession as exactly what it was supposed to be—a clarification that things happened the way they were supposed to.

“Her loss, your gain, huh?” He teases, rolling me onto my back as he hovers over me.

“Definitely,” the rasp of my voice comes through as I feel Kane’s length harden against my leg. My entire body heats up in an instant at his touch, his hands traveling down to my thighs, pulling my legs apart so he can settle between them, rubbing his cock through my wetness.

“Christ, woman. What did I do to deserve you?”

“You killed all of those crickets,” I joke as he throws his head back in laughter. “This is just my way of repaying you.”

“You better not show your appreciation to anyone else who kills crickets for you in this way.”

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