Page 39 of Knot in My Wildest Dreams: Part 2
“When the dust settled, there was nothing left of those miners in Arkala but bodies. And the only thing I knew, that everyone working in the mines knew, was that Harringday sanctioned it. That you ordered it.” His gaze lifted to mine, dark, searching, but without the same ice I’d seen before. “I believed them. For years, I believed them.”
I shook my head, my throat tight. “Dante, I never knew. I thought I’d made progress there, I never would have-”
“I know.” He cut me off gently, almost weary. “I know now. I know you were set up. That someone wanted everyone looking at you instead of the people actually pulling the strings. But I’m sorry, Celeste. For not seeing it sooner. For every time I treated you like you were my enemy.” His chest moved, and I gently lay a hand on his arm.
“It doesn’t excuse it, Dante.” I said quietly. “I should have looked closer. The moment that I knew someone had forged my name at Tedena, I should have turned Harringday upside down and found out what was happening behind my back. I was a pawn, a stupid, useful idiot. And I don’t blame you for thinking what you did. How would you have known?” I asked, tears forming in my eyes. I was a fool.
“We were all fools.” He said, his hand on mine as he looked at me. “We were set up. And even with the evidence right in front of me, I still didn’t trust you. And it almost cost me everything.” He sat up, pushing himself up as he looked at me. “I can’t forgive myself for that. If I hadn’t realized in time, if I hadn’t warned the pack-” He said, his voice still laced with that angry worry from earlier.
“But we’re okay now.” I said, wanting to curl up with him. “We survived.”
I looked at his chest, muscled and taut, but rising with each ragged breath like he was fighting off the near-death that triedto take him. “Dante, I did some research after I found those documents.” I said, picking at my thumb. “I know Harringday is my family’s legacy. And of course, I love my family, and cherish their memory.” I didn’t even want to bring up the painful truth I’d learned from my nanny about what happened to them. “But, Harringday was never innocent. I think there were many things I conveniently ignored because they happened so long ago.”
I thought of my father. And of the things I’d overlooked because it was easier not to look too closely, to preserve the memory of my family how I knew them. But now, I can't unsee it. He wasn’t the same man I’d clung to in my memories. He was a Harringday. The men in my family would let others burn to lift the company higher. The Harringday company didn’t get to be the biggest in the province from hard work alone.
“I think there were things I’ve been blind to, and now, I want to see.” I admitted. Dante’s eyebrows raised at my admission. “I want to know more, even the ugly parts. I want to be different. I want my family legacy to be different.” Dante looked at me in a way he never had before. His hands reached for me, and despite the pain I knew he was probably in, he pulled me in for an embrace that made me feel like we broke an invisible barrier that had always been between us.
“Celeste, stay here with me. Please.” He whispered, and I breathed in his smoked oud and pepper scent, savoring in the secure feeling I had now that my scent match was holding me. I’d missed this so much.
“I’ll stay as long as you'll have me.” And it was true. My scent match was here, having taken a bullet to save me. I couldn’t eversee myself leaving him, not now, not ever. Somehow, through all this pain, we found our way back.
Chapter 40
Sterling
The adrenaline had finally bled out of us, leaving behind the kind of exhaustion that we needed several days to recover from. But we didn’t have several days. Gideon would soon find out that the mercenaries he’d hired were unsuccessful, and we'd have to confront him, and the world, with the truth.
For the moment, at least, we were safe. The safehouse wasn’t much. But it was calm, and after the chaos we’d just managed to survive, it felt like a miracle. Gideon had texted me about his upcoming need for various projects. I pretended I was still nearby, just outside town. He still had no idea I’d been so close to his plan that I was nearly taken out.
Dante was stable now, and Vigo and Liam were already talking through strategies, sketching out our next move. Time wasn’ton our side, but in this small pocket of peace, we could let our guards down just a little.
Celeste was curled on the couch beside me, a blanket around her shoulders and my arm around her waist. I could only focus on her beautiful, enticing scent - the one that sent a shock wave through me the first time I’d smelled her in that kitchen so long ago. Her hair brushed against my jaw as she snuggled up to me, and the light touch was enough to have my pulse ticking faster.
I never thought having a scent match would make me flippantly disregard things so easily to just be near my mate. Gideon could be burning down the city, and yet all I cared about was sitting here with Celeste, finally enjoying having the woman I’d been obsessed with at my side, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“My hero.” She murmured as she clung to me, and I smiled, despite the dangerous situation we were in. “You were amazing back there.”
“Don’t worry, Celeste. We’ll get this over with soon enough.” I murmured, unable to stop marveling at how perfect she looked even after all the craziness we’d endured. “And once we get that over with, I have some making up to do.” I said, trailing my fingers across her shoulder as I watched the goosebumps rise up on her skin.
She turned, and her lips parted as she took in my face. I loved it when she did that. She never looked at me too closely before, and I always thought she’d be disappointed if she ever learned I washer scent-match. But every time I was near her, it was like she couldn't look at me enough.
“Oh yeah? What kind of making up?” She asked, her voice breathy as she ran her hand along my thigh, the warm touch on my skin lighting me up. I suppressed a groan, instead leaning in to nip at her earlobe.
“Lots of dates, lots of pampering, and about a year and a half of courting to make up for.” I said, a smile forming on my face at the idea of being able to shower her with all the affection I’d been holding back all that time. She curled into me, her hands now trailing up my thighs, pushing back the fabric of the gym shorts I was wearing. She bit her lip, her eyes big as she moved in closer.
“Pampering?” she asked, so close now that I could feel her breath. “What kind of pampering?”
I could feel how much she needed attention right now, and it only magnified my own desire. It was crazy how the scent match messed with your hormones. I knew she was close to heat, so she would be craving touch even more than normal. And I had so much to give to her.
“Anything you need, Celeste. I’ll spoil you, claim you, I’ll touch you until you forget the world outside these walls.” I whispered, my voice rough. She made the most beautiful sound as she squirmed closer, nearly sitting on my thigh as she turned to me. I reached down, pulling her pajama shorts, as well as her panties, aside to reveal her already slick pussy.
She gasped, a faint pink dusting her cheeks as her eyelids fluttered. I slowly, gently pressed my fingers against her, barely using any pressure as she started rocking against my hand, seeking out the movement on her own.
“Spoil me like this?” She asked, and I nodded, pressing a little harder.
“Exactly like this. And so much more, sweetheart.” My fingers were already wet now, and I pushed one inside her, feeling her clench around me as she gave me a breathless smile. She draped her arms over my shoulders, moving her hips so I went deeper into her.
“Sterling…I want…” She sighed, and I cupped her ass, pulling her closer to me and savoring the way she felt on top of me.
