Page 129 of Stolen Fate

There weren’t any complications. Or kept secrets. Any lies told.

“Why do you need my focus on you?” she asked.

“Because everything feels better when I have your eyes on me,” I told her, meaning it. Everything was better with her around. I wasn’t a single dad, scared that I might fuck up my little boy’s life with my careless actions, I wasn’t the CEO of one the top equity firms in America, with thousands of people counting on me to ensure they could put dinner on the table for their families.

I was just me, and when I had her eyes on me, being just me felt like it might just be enough.

Her shoulders relaxed, and then her entire posture. She didn’t feel so tense or uncomfortable in my lap anymore. She cupped my cheek with one hand, mimicking my movement from earlier, and I nuzzled into her soft palm, kissing the center of it, keeping my eyes on her the whole time.

“Everything feels better with you around, too,” she admitted to me, and I pretended that hearing her say that didn’t affect me as much as it had. I had a feeling it wasn’t easy for her to express her feelings most of the time, so the fact that she was telling me this kind of thing was huge.

“It doesn't feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders anymore,” she continued. “For the first time, it feels like I could be selfish and that would be okay. I’m selfish with my time with you, Jace. I’m selfish when it comes to you.”

“Good,” I said, my voice gruff. “Always be selfish. Take what you want. Can’t you see how much I want to give you?”

Couldn’t she see how much I fucking loved her?

When did that happen? I had told myself I would never love anyone, not after Camila. And it wasn’t because I had loved Camila and she broke my heart, but because I didn’t love her and look where it had gotten me. I couldn’t imagine how much worse it could have been had I loved her.

Yet, I loved Evelyn. And I didn’t know how to stop it.

If Evelyn was selfish of me and my time, then I was fucking obsessed with her.

I had been since the first moment her picture landed on my desk and I could see the sadness in her brown eyes. I had wanted to do everything I could think of to make that look go away.

It was much worse now.

Now, I couldn’t stand the very idea. But I would have to break her once more when I tell her the truth. When I tell her that the little boy she’d been missing for the past six years was right in front of her. And that I had known about it all along.

Without thinking, I gripped the back of her neck and pulled her down in a hard kiss. It didn’t take long for her to respond to me, a moan captured in my mouth when I slid my tongue inside her mouth, deepening the kiss and ignoring everything else around us.

Her hands moved to my shoulders then, as if trying to steady herself, and her tongue moved against my own, driving me insane in the best way possible. I wanted to hold onto her like this. I wanted to keep kissing her like this if I could, but I knew it wasn’t the place to lose control, and I didn’t want her to think she was nothing more than a cheap fuck to me.

I slowed the kiss down a bit before pulling away, opening my eyes to take in the sight of her swollen lips, messy hair, and closed eyes. Her chest was moving in and out vigorously, and I knew it was because of the kiss.

It took a while before she opened her eyes back to me again, showing me those big brown eyes.

I pointed to the shot glasses on the table. “Take a shot, baby. And come out with me to the dance floor.”

She bit her bottom lip in contemplation and I waited for her to tell me what went on inside her mind to put that look on her face. “I’m not much of a dancer,” she said.

I nodded. “Okay.”

“I mean, my mom was a dancer. A really good dancer. And so is Emilia, obviously. She inherited that from our mom.”

“I know.”

She didn’t say anything for a while, as she turned to look back out to the dance floor. I directed her attention back to me with my hand underneath her chin. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“I can’t really dance. Like, I’ve never really danced in front of anyone before. I can’t even remember if I’ve ever danced by myself in my room. I don’t want to embarrass you out there.”

I frowned at that. “Do you really think you can embarrass me? Just because you can’t dance?”

“Yes?”

I shook my head. “You could never embarrass me,” I said. “I would always be proud to have you in my arms. And trust me when I say this, if you’re grinding your body against me, I won’t be focused on your dance moves.”

I wiggled my eyebrows to let her know exactly what I meant, and she slapped her hand on my chest, a look of indignation on her face.

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