Page 101 of Captivated By You

“Do you want a drink?” He poked his head in the fridge.

“Water if you have some.”

He returned with two bottles, snagging a glass off the drainer as he passed. He gave one bottle and the glass to me. I shook my head at the glass, twisting the cap off the water and taking a sip to cool my parched throat. Worry tended to dry me right up, and Ash was acting all weird.

“I wasn’t sure if I’d see you again.”

Drawing my teeth over my bottom lip, I shook my head. “I know I left you with that impression, but I always planned to return.” I attempted a grin. “Might need you to smooth the way with Philippe after I left him in the lurch.”

“Oh, so now you want my help with your career?” he deadpanned.

His response set me back a step or two. “I-I didn’t mean—” And then I saw his lips twitch. “Very funny, Ash.”

Palms raised to the side of his head, he outright laughed. “You asked for that.”

“Yeah, I guess I did.”

Dropping back into serious mode, he motioned for me to sit. “Will you please talk to me?”

I sank onto his comfy couch, and he joined me.

“I reported Simon to the police.”

His eyes shot wide, followed by rapid blinking. “You did?”

“Yep. The officer in charge of the case caught me right as I was boarding the plane in Chicago. They took him in for questioning and searched his apartment. Forensics has his laptop, and from what she told me, he had several files on there that appear to be of him with different women.”

Ash’s lips flattened. “He recorded others?”

“Seems so.”

“Jesus.” Running both palms over his face, he blew out a heavy breath. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

I hitched up my right shoulder. “It sucks, Ash. But there’s nothing I can do about it. I hate,hate,that your family got dragged into this mess, and I have no idea how I will ever face your parents again, but I refuse to allow him one more second of my time. He’ll face judgment, and the courts will deal with him. As for me, I choose to put all that behind me, to take back the control he thought he’d stolen by sending those emails.” I slowly slid my fingers toward his, running the tips over the back of his hand. “I choose you. Us. A future. If you’ll have me.”

“If I’ll have you?”

He moved fast, and then I was astride him, my thighs butted up to his. He ran his hands up and down my sides, settling them on my hips.

“I love you, Kiana. I told you that when you left. I wish you had let me come with you. The idea of you facing this alone when I could have been there, supporting you, helping you through it, being there while the police questioned you. It hurt that you cast me aside so easily at the very time we should have stuck together.”

I played with his tie, threading it through my fingers. It was the same tie he’d worn that first night. Either that, or he had a bunch of them.

“When all that crap happened with Simon and his brother, I ran to my parents and let them wrap me up, take care of me, of everything, while I wallowed in self-pity. When Forster touched my ass, I ran away, then met you and allowed you to deal with it for me. But this time, Ash, this time, I had to deal with it by myself, and in my own way. Otherwise, I face being one of those women who let everyone around them fix their shit. This was my problem, and I had to be the one to fix it. And you know what? It felt good. Better than good to stand up for myself, to take charge. And when this goes to court, I’ll proudly get up on that witness stand and tell the jury what that bastard did to me, and God knows how many others.”

I bent to kiss him, keeping it brief even though that single touch of his lips sent electricity sizzling through my veins.

“You don’t need a woman to look after, Ash. You need an equal partner, someone who is worthy of standing by your side. If I’d allowed you to take charge, then I’d have let another chance for me to grow into the woman I’m supposed to be pass me by. That would be unfair to you,andto me.”

“God, you’re magnificent.” Ash captured my mouth, sliding his tongue between my teeth. I wallowed in that kiss, sinking against his powerful chest, wrapping his tie around my fist.

“Let’s go to bed,” he murmured against my lips.

“Just before we do, there’s one more thing.”

He groaned, tilting his hips. “Fuck, Kiana, can’t it wait? I thought I’d lost you, and now all I want is to bury myself inside you and forget the last few days ever happened.”

“You said you didn’t want me to be alone at the police station. Well, I wasn’t.”

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