Page 98 of Seducer

Tonight, with her hair spilled over the pillow, she looked just like an angel. I could do nothing more than stare at her for hours.

I tugged the covers around her, folding her arms across her chest. As I brushed the tips of my fingers along one arm, she murmured in her sleep.

“Zach.” The single word enthralled me. She was already dreaming of me as I’d done with her.

“Rest, little one. Just rest. I’ll be here to watch over you.”

I stood for a few minutes over her, ensuring that she was resting easily. Finally satisfied, I moved toward the single chair in the room, sitting down so I could fulfill my promise.

As I leaned back, I thought about my life, which was not something I was used to doing. Why should I at this point? I’d done all the things I’d set out to do, including becoming a billionaire. When I was a kid alone in my room, I’d read books. It had been the one thing I could keep secret. The small paperbacks had been my only refuge, allowing me a peek into the lives of others. Cowboys. Construction workers. Rodeo stars. Doctors. I’d been able to be anything and everything I’d wanted to be without admitting it to anyone.

No one had listened anyway.

I made more money than anyone I’d read about, but just as with other aspects of my life, the wealth meant nothing. At least not like it used to.

Maybe I was just getting old.

I laughed softly and closed my eyes. What if I became a different man? Someone who no longer needed to pretend.

What if I was able to quiet the demons?

When I was with Sara, they were the last thing on my mind. Then why the recent dreams and images when I wasn’t? My fucking father. He’d destroyed my life thirty-nine years before and his existence was almost doing it again. Fuck him. I refused to allow it.

Maybe, just maybe it was time to settle down, prove to everyone I could be a family man. Another laugh threatened to rise up from my throat. What exactly did that look like?

I had no clue, no memory of good times. I didn’t envy Xander for remembering our parents. I’d seen the look of sheer torture in his eyes. What he’d been through had been much worse than with Wilder and me. That didn’t mean the years afterward were any easier, but we’d survived.

We’d thrived.

Only something significant was missing and I’d always known what that was.

Love.

A simple emotion for some. For me, it was brutal as well as difficult. And in truth, I feared I would fail. I’d never failed at anything.

Except possibly at being considered a human being with a conscience.

I no longer trusted myself, which meant I shouldn’t around her. But somehow, she managed to quiet the ache, turning it into a different need.

Admitting I not only wanted but needed her was an entirely different animal.

But as a smile crossed my face, I realized it was one I was ready to tackle.

Love.

Yeah, maybe it was time to cease playing virtual reality games and join in on real life. What could it hurt?

Yet even as I promised myself to give normalcy a try, all I could think about was how much I wanted her. And a single word continued to come to mind.

Mine.

CHAPTER 24

“Living with fear stops us taking risks and if you don’t go out on the branch, you’re never going to get the best fruit.”

—Sarah Parish

Sara

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