Page 90 of The Broken Vows

“And you, husband dearest… you look like you want to fuck your goddess.” I smile, unable to keep from teasing him. Moments like these just make my day, perhaps even my whole week.

Zane chuckles, and the sound makes my heart skip a beat. He shakes his head admonishingly and grabs my hand, entwining our fingers. “I will, Celestial. Remember that as every man in the room vies for your attention tonight. It’smybed you’re ending up in.You’re mine. When the night is over, I’m the one that’ll take that dress off.”

The possessiveness in his gaze brings a blush to my face, and my heart begins to beat faster. “Then you’d better remember whoyoubelong to, Zane. As countless women ask you for a dance, remember, I’m the one who wears your ring.”

He grins at me as the car comes to a stop, looking surprisingly pleased with my words. The door opens, and Zane steps out of the car. Cameras begin to flash, and I panic, nearly tripping in my high heels as I follow Zane out of the car. He chuckles and kneels on the red carpet, sending the reporters into a frenzy as he straightens out my dress before rising to his feet. “Mrs. Windsor,” he murmurs, his voice barely audible over the reporters shouting questions at us. “I’ve always been yours.”

My eyes widen, and a bashful smile lights up his face as he pulls me along, ignoring everything and everyone around us. Zane does this to me — makes me feel like I’m in a bubble he crafted just for us, one where nothing can touch us and giddiness drowns out everything else. More and more, I find myself wishing these moments could last, like they used to.

“By the way,” Zane tells me, his hand wrapping around my waist as he guides me through the ballroom. The crowd parts for him, and he doesn’t even notice it. “Lex thinks we haven’t realized he’s been naming his cars so the initials spell WINDSOR backward. We’re all betting on how long we can pretend not to know before one of us spills the beans, so don’t breathe a word about it.” I bite back a smile, and he chuckles, shaking his head in amusement. “The model we’re on right now is called Diana, and we barely managed to prevent him from naming it Deluca, because he thought it’d be funny for Luca to have a car calledThe Luca. The two of you have always come up with dumb ideas each time I left you unsupervised, so do not egg him on this time.”

I press my lips together to keep from laughing, and Zane pauses to look at me, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Deluca?” I repeat. “Is he serious?”

Zane nods, and I burst out laughing as he pulls me closer, his hand moving to my lower back. I wrap my arms around his neck, unable to stop laughing and loving the way he’s grinning back at me. “Lex said it’d be funny to automate the system so he could order his Deluca car to do weird shit. He even gave us a demonstration, and I thought Luca was going to have a fucking heart attack when Lex said ‘Deluca, who’s a good boy?’ and the AI system replied ‘Deluca is a good boy, mighty Lex, my beloved creator!’ The best part? It was in Luca’s voice!”

Zane bursts out laughing at the memory, and we just stand there, our arms wrapped around each other, neither of us able to stop laughing. “Mighty Lex?” I repeat, trying my hardest not to burst into a fit of giggles all over again.

Zane chuckles, the look in his eyes changing as his gaze roams over my face. He sighs happily and cups my cheek with no regard for the packed room we’re in. His thumb brushes over my bottom lip, and he stares at me with an intense longing that leaves me breathless. Do these moments between us feel as significant to him as they do to me?

He pushes his thumb against my lips, lust flickering through his eyes as his free hand wraps into my hair. A needy whimper escapes the back of my throat when he pulls me closer, his lips finding mine.

I rise to my tiptoes to kiss him back, holding on to him tightly, desperately. Something that feels this right can’t be wrong, can it? Zane pulls back a fraction, only to kiss me all over again, like he knows we should stop but just can’t make himself. He captures my bottom lip between his teeth and grazes it teasingly before pulling away, his forehead brushing against me, and his breathing as ragged as mine. “Let’s just go home,” he whispers, his voice tortured. “Fuck it, Celestial. Lex releases a new car every year anyway.”

I laugh and lean back in his arms to look at him. “We can’t,” I murmur, my hand slipping into his. He sighs reluctantly as I pull him along, and when I look over my shoulder, I find him staring at my ass longingly. A soft giggle bursts from my lips, and I tighten my grip on his hand. “Just a few hours. Then I’m yours.”

He hums and squeezes my hand. “You’re already mine, Mrs. Windsor. You always have been.”

My heart warms, and he smiles at me as we navigate the crowd. “Let’s go congratulate Lex,” he says, and I nod, my cheer fading away when I spot him across the room. The way he looks at me makes me want to shrivel up inside myself. Lex’s expression tells me I’m not worthy of his brother, and I never will be. He doesn’t know the full story, but I suspect even if he did, he wouldn’t feel any different.

I smile tightly and stand to the side as the two men hug, feeling entirely out of place. Some guy I vaguely recognize makes a beeline for Zane, clearly eager to capture his attention for a few moments, and Zane glances at me to make sure I’m okay. I nod and tip my head toward one of the servers carrying champagne to indicate I’ll grab one.

“I’ll get it,” Lex says, beckoning one of the servers closer. I raise a brow, a tight smile on my face. He hands me a glass, and I take it gingerly.

“Congratulations on the new car,” I tell him, trying my best to show him my sincerity. He frowns, irritation flashing across his face, and it just makes me even more nervous. “I saw you managed to develop the AI system you were dreaming about a few years ago, and it’s honestly so impressive. It feels so real, and every time I ask anything at all, it gives the most natural response. I’ve tested it extensively and it hasn’t failed to understand my questions once. I made it park my car for me the other day, and it worked flawlessly.”

His gaze softens, and I press on, unable to stop rambling. My need to fill the silence between us is overwhelming, and though I wish I could just stop, I can’t help it. “I also saw you managed to bring renewable energy to 70% of the countries you’d wanted to, and it’s amazing how you’ve been able to bring both electricity and the internet to remote places that never had it. I always wondered if Sierra and you managed to make your mother’s dream come true, you know? Windsor schools in places that needed it the most. I mean… if you’ve put in the infrastructure, she’s probably already building the schools, right? Of course she is.”

Lex raises a brow and knocks his champagne back. “How do you know about that?” he asks, his tone only slightly friendlier. “We don’t advertise those charity efforts.”

I smile nervously and clench the stem of my glass in an effort to stop trembling. “How could I not? I developed a lot of those plans with you and still wanted to turn them into a reality. By the time I had the funds to start implementing our ideas, I found that it’d already happened. It couldn’t have been anyone but you.” I look away and inhale deeply. “Besides, despite everything, I still consider you family. Just like I always know what Archer is up to, I always kept an eye on you too.”

Lex stares at me for a moment, his expression disarmed. “How long left?” he asks eventually, his tone firm and so unlike the playful tone he uses with his siblings — the one I’d gotten used to and taken for granted.

I look away in an attempt to hide the pain his words cause, a fake smile on my face. “Two years and one month,” I answer, knowing exactly what he’s asking about.

“I need you to stay gone this time,” he says. “I saw the two of you just now, and I’ll be damned if I let you hurt him again.”

Anger mixes with my heartache, and I glare at him. “Zane isn’t the only one who got hurt,” I snap. “Did you ever think about what he must’ve done for me to retaliate the way I did? You always said I was like a sister to you, but when it comes down to it, those were just empty words, weren’t they? You’d never treat Sierra this way if she suffered through what I did.”

He smiles humorlessly. “Don’t compare yourself to Sierra,” he tells me, his voice hard. “Consider this a warning, Celeste. Hurt him again, and I’ll personally make you face the consequences.”

I take a step back, sharp pain tearing through my broken heart. “I won’t,” I tell him, my tone conveying my torment. “I can’t hurt your brother even if I wanted to. Despite what you think you saw, he wants me gone as much as you do. What you’re seeing is him making the best of a bad situation, and don’t worry, Lex. He never lets me forget it.”

ChapterSeventy-Seven

Celeste

“Can you handle the 3 p.m. acquisition meeting for me?” Zane asks as he rises from behind his desk, looking stressed out. “I need to leave.”

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