Page 207 of Soul Mates: Hercules Valentine and I
And…
“My Go…” I cry out to the high heavens.
“Oh, baby—” He swallows the words as he presses himself against me, quaking while erupting inside me.
We stay melded together as if we’re too afraid to part. My arms are wrapped around him, holding him close. We’re breathing in harmony with each other. I hate that our first sexual encounter since that fateful day has ended. It was good, satisfying. But still I want more. A lot more.
“Lake said that I’m the reason why you and I aren’t together,” I say.
Hercules remains thoughtfully still and silent.
My eyes grow wide with panic. “Maybe she was wrong.”
“No, babe, she’s right,” he finally says.
Hercules rolls off me to lie beside me. “I have to tell you something.”
I feel the heaviness in his tone. I flip onto my side to face him. “I’m listening.” My tone is as earnest as my expression.
“I know why are families have been feuding.”
My eyebrows shoot up. I’m all ears.
5:03 a.m.
Hercules and I are seated on the couch that’s against the window. We’re both staring out over the city. Dusk has purpled the sky. Some of lights that illuminate neighboring skyscrapers at night have flickered off. When I turn to Hercules, and he’s already watching me. We smile at each other.
He holds his palm up, and I interlace my fingers with his. Look at that. It’s happened. We are together, and no feud or trust can keep us apart.
Hercules trusted me enough to tell me his mother was living under a fake identity. He mentioned a book I’ve actually read titledThe Dark Christmas. I was shocked to learn that Marigold Valentine istheJulia Valentine.
“But she died in a plane crash,” I said.
“No, she didn’t,” he whispered.
“Oh.” I felt confused by it all. It was is if my brain found it very hard to believe a different outcome for the villainous woman and her father. “What about Arthur Valentine?”
“He didn’t die.”
I gasped. “He’s still alive?”
He said he didn’t know. Instead of telling him about what his grandfather did, his mother insisted he read the book if he wanted to know more. Since I already read the book, Hercules asked me to fill him in.
I explained the history of Arthur Valentine’s documented sex crimes and political aspirations. He wanted his daughter to marry a man named Jasper Christmas.
“Makes sense,” Hercules said.
“How so?”
“I spent the night reading the trust. If a male Valentine achieves the highest seat in the land, then he will receive the total amount of trust payments for the duration of his term and half each disbursement for perpetuity. That also applies to a female Valentine marrying a male who becomes president. Arthur would’ve been set for life.” Then he cocked an eyebrow. “This stays between us, Paisley.”
“Of course,” I said, assuring him he could trust me.
Then he shared with me the most bitter pill I had to swallow. My grandfather made a dirty move toward his grandfather and took TRANSPORT for himself. Orion figured out that the formula to solidify NZNN light would be hidden in my grandfather’s house after finding his grandfather’s notes. Our grandfathers never trusted each other from the get-go.
I didn’t question Hercules’s narrative. I told him that I had already discovered that a judge never decided that the patent for NZNN light belonged to my grandfather. I figured there had to be a reason why Hugo Valentine gave up his claim to the patent.
We decided to take a break and let everything we’d discussed seep in as we watched the sunrise.
