Page 103 of Captivated By You

It was over.

Months of waiting for the trial date, and finally, that bastard had gotten what he deserved. I burned a stare in the back of his head, praying he’d turn to face me, face Kiana, face all these other women whose strength as they, one by one, had taken the stand humbled the fuck out of me.

He kept facing forward like the coward he was.

The sentence, when it came, wasn’t enough. Three years for filming Kiana without her permission and for distributing the images. An additional year for each of the victims who’d come forward. Nine years in total.

I hoped he suffered through every single one of them.

Tucking Kiana’s hand in mine, we left the courtroom with Jessica and the others following on behind. Journalists from the tabloids gathered outside, but my driver already had the car idling, and I hustled Kiana and Jessica through the throng and into the vehicle. The two women had become firm friends, brought together by circumstance and adversity but, like the warriors they were, rose from the ashes to triumph.

We dropped Jessica at her home, then headed on to Kiana’s parents’ place. She’d asked them not to come to court, and they’d respected her wishes. She’d also asked the same of her best friend, Gia, who I’d finally met last month while on a trip to New York. Gia hadn’t taken staying away quite as well as Pamela and Owen, but had reluctantly agreed regardless.

For the first time in my adult life, I took an entire week off, handing the reins over to my deputy CEO. It hadn’t been easy to let go, but over the last few months, I’d taken on board Dad’s sage advice after Kiana had returned to Chicago, and I’d tried my hardest to put it into action. The faith he put in me to run the company he’d founded through the sweat of his considerable efforts was something I’d never take for granted, and while I’d probably always worry that I’d let him down, I’d gradually come to accept that I was worthy of his trust.

And like he’d said, Kiana deserved more of me, of my time and attention. Cutting back on the insane hours I worked and handing off more of the responsibility to my hugely capable team was a vow I’d made to myself, and one I intended to keep.

We stayed in Chicago for four more days, spending most of the time with Kiana’s family. But as we boarded my jet to fly back to Seattle, I acknowledged the pleasure it gave me to have her all to myself again.

I dumped the bags in the foyer of my penthouse, my eyes on Kiana as she wandered over to the bank of windows that overlooked the Sound. I followed her, drawn to her light, her warmth, toher.Sliding my arms around her waist, I rested my chin on her shoulder.

“How are you holding up?”

Her chest rose and fell as she heaved a sigh. Twisting in my arms, she slid her hands around my neck, playing with my hair that curled at the nape. It needed cutting, but with everything we’d had going on, I hadn’t had time to visit my barber. Then again, the way she twirled the strands around her finger, brushing the skin along the back of my neck as she did so, maybe I’d leave it on the longer side.

“I couldn’t have gotten through these last weeks and months without you.”

“I can’t get through a single hour without touching you, so I think that makes us even.” I kissed her to prove my point.

“Your mom and dad, too, your entire family. They’ve all been so great, Ash. So supportive and lacking in judgment.”

“What would they judge you for? Sleeping with a man you were romantically involved with at the time and putting your trust in him?”

I ground my molars, any thoughts of that bastard causing a violent need for vengeance to rise within me. I hadn’t felt hate for someone before. Disliked people, sure, but hate? Such a strong, visceral emotion that I wasn’t at all fond of but instinctively knew would be with me for as long as that fucker walked the earth.

“I love you,” she murmured, turning up her face for another kiss, one I was all too happy to indulge her with. “And I love your family. I’m so lucky, Ash.”

“I’m the lucky one. I never thought I’d find a woman who’d match me in all the ways that matter, and who’d accept and embrace the madness of joining a family like mine. It isn’t easy being a Kingcaid.”

“Maybe that’s my secret. I’m not a Kingcaid.”

A bundle of nerves gathered in my stomach. I’d questioned the timing of this, and honestly, I’d vacillated so many times it made me dizzy. But her comment opened a door… and I walked through it.

“Stay here.” I kissed the tip of her nose and dashed off to my bedroom.Our bedroom.

“What are you up to?”

Kiana’s perplexed expression greeted me as I returned a couple of minutes later. I captured her hands in mine, bringing them to my lips, but my mouth was dry, my palms were sweaty, and my heart tripped inside my chest.

You’ve got this. You can do it. You’ve stood up in front of hundreds of people and made speeches.

Yet making this one speech, to one woman,my woman,and I was falling to pieces.

“Ash?”

She looked up at me with shining amber eyes, the ones that had so captivated me the first time I’d stared into their depths, and my heart swelled, my love for her endless. It was time to make her truly mine. For today, tomorrow. For the rest of our lives.

“The evening we met was a turning point in my life. One that I wasn’t even aware I desired or needed. I was happy, running a company my father had groomed me for since the day I was born. I was rich, successful, had every material possession a man could ever want. Yet my life was empty in all the ways that mattered. I worked incessantly to fill the hole that opened up each time I walked through those doors and into this lonely space.

---