Page 69 of Crossing Lines

“It was part of it. But the other part was my mom called.”

“Oh? Is she okay?”

“Yeah. She’s been trying to set me up with someone for a while now. She’s putting a lot of pressure on me to get married, settle down.”

The thought of Evren with another woman sends abolt of jealousy through me. “And you don’t want to, what?” I ask. “Get married? Settle down?”

“It’s more like I don’t want to be forced to go on dates with women I have no interest in. Not since I met you.”

“Why don’t you tell her that?” I ask.

“Because you’re the one who wanted us to remain a secret, and I’m respecting that.”

“Maybe you should tell her to have her back off.”

“She’d be here within hours of me saying that.” He chuckles, swimming closer to me. “She’s a bit overbearing, but in the best of ways.”

“What about your dad? What was he like?”

He grins. “He followed my mom’s lead in life. He was happier in the background while she shined. Zeki’s personality is more like my mom’s, and I take more after my dad.” He’s one foot away from me now, and I’m tempted to close the distance between us. “What about you? What about your dad? Did you ever try to find him?”

All the words I want to say crowd my mouth, restless and unspoken, waiting to be unleashed. Even Elodie doesn’t know that I know his name, who he is. I’m tempted, so fucking tempted, to tell him about Miguel. Evren wouldn’t judge me, I know that. And I’m so tired of holding it all in, of being the only person who knows.

“I have,” I blurt out, my heart racing at the unexpected honesty. The words tumble from my lips before I can second-guess myself. “And he was married when he had aone-night stand with my mom.” To a billionaire. Thanks to Google, I found out that tidbit. And I’m proof he cheated on his wife. Maybe that’s why he rejected me before I was born. “Even Elodie doesn’t know that I know who he is.”

The confession hangs in the air, heavy with the weight of secrets I’ve never shared with anyone before. Trusting him with this feels monumental, like I’m laying bare a piece of my soul that I’ve guarded fiercely.

“Thank you.” He steps closer to me, so close that his fingers brush against my thigh. “I’m honored you told me.”

Trusting him with such a huge secret is just proof that I might be able to trust him with my heart. Decision made, I swallow hard and guide his hand to the triangle covering my pussy.

“Are you sure?” he asks.

“Yes. I’m still scared about how this will change everything for us.”

“It’ll only change it for the better.” He says it with so much confidence that it’s hard to not believe him.

“You promise?”

“Yes.”

I blow out a long breath and say, “Okay. I’m clean and have an IUD.”

“I’m clean, too.”

He hooks a finger around the strings at my hips and pulls me into his body, right where I belong.

He chuckles and brushes a finger down my slit. “Do you know how long I’ve dreamed of touching you?” He teases my entrance and says, “Months.” He plays with the triangle of my top, tracing the edge and slowly working his fingers toward my nipple. “Too many months.”

“Stop playing.” I lift my hips just an inch, trying to get closer to his fingers. “I’m desperate, too.”

He smirks and slowly nudges me until my back is pressed against the wall. “Tell me how desperate?”

“The type where I think of you while my fingers are buried deep inside me.”

He squeezes my hips at my words. “One day soon you’re going to give me a front-row seat to watching you fuck your pretty pussy with those fingers.”

“Please,” I beg, fuckingbeg, mesmerized by the low, velvety hum of his voice. It slides over my skin like silk, each word soaking into me, rich and slow. It carries a promise—something wicked, something meant just for me. “I need you.”

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