“No.”
“But what if you—”
“Die?”
She shuddered, and he held her tighter. “Yes.”
“I’ll still be with you, every moment, whispering in your ear that you can do it because I believe in you.”
Tears stung her eyes. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, breathing in his smell, surrendering to the grip of his arms. He continued speaking, the darkness soothing all the rough edges of naked insight. “When we first met, I was on my way to everything I ever dreamed of. You see, I’d gotten lucky. Property development is a ruthless business, but a mentor took me in, and decided to teach me everything he knew. Said I reminded him of his younger self, and I had a magic ingredient the others didn’t. I remember being so damn proud when he said it, like I was finally special.” She waited, eased by him sharing his own demons. “Hunger. He said I was hungry for every opportunity. I had a thirst to win at all costs, which couldn’t be taught.”
“What was his name?” she asked.
“John. His name was John.”
Sierra sensed the story taking shape was bigger than a simple memory. “I’m listening,” she said softly. This time, it was her who held him, urging him forward.
He drew a breath. “John worked closely with me until I knew everything and began making a big name for myself. I decided to get my brother involved, and he began working for the company, too. John pushed both of us hard, but my brother wasn’t like me. He didn’t thrive on high pressure deals and big stakes, so he didn’t do as well. I was hard on him, thinking he just needed to believe in himself and push past his boundaries. Unfortunately, I was wrong. On all counts.”
“What happened?”
“Derek always had a problem with alcohol, like my father. I ignored the signs of the rising pressure. I refused to see how the job was breaking my brother apart, and he began drinking again, then using drugs. He had a complete meltdown and went off the grid. Lived on the street for a while. It was a hard time.”
“God, I’m so sorry, Kane. What did you do?”
“Worked harder. Told myself it was for both of us. In the meantime, there were some inquiries in the firm that money was missing and rumors of embezzlement began to skirt around. I ignored it, focused on my own shit, listening to whatever John told me to do.”
Sierra’s heart beat madly in her chest as he paused. She waited, fingers interlaced with his, knowing what was coming next.
“There was an inquisition. They found my deals led straight to the wonky accounting and dove deeper. Seems I was siphoning off money into other investments under John’s guidance, and the trail led clearly to me. They arrested me and threw me in jail for fraud.”
She closed her eyes in agony, trying to picture Kane in shock, betrayed by the one person he’d believed in. “It was John, wasn’t it?”
A humorless laugh shook him. “Yep. He’d been using me as a shield and when the shit hit the fan, he made sure the crime led to me. I was held for forty-eight hours, but in that time period, I realized my whole life could be over. At first, I didn’t want to believe it. I thought John was innocent and someone was framing both of us. Until I got a visit from a lawyer who laid out the terms quite clearly. They’d let me go quietly, because they didn’t want a scandal. I had to sign a nondisclosure not to share any details, and the company would drop the charges. It would be a blip on my record but I couldn’t say a word about anything. Then the lawyer said John was the one who made the deal on my behalf, in order to save me.”
She sucked in a breath at the horror of the situation. “You had no choice. You had to take the deal.”
Kane nodded. “I did. At first, when I found out the truth, I wanted to fight. I had these illusions of being some whistleblower who ripped the truth out. Going to the newspapers or exposing John. But then I was reminded that my brother had just gotten into rehab. An expensive one. A yearlong program that cost a crapload of money. John said it would be taken care of. That all I had to do was stay quiet, disappear, and move on. So, I did. I made the best decision I could.”
“That’s when you came to the Outer Banks.”
“Yeah. Brick took me in, even though I never gave him any details. You’re the first one I told the story to.”
The facts fell into place to create a fuller picture of the man lying beside her. The consistent betrayals he dealt with in the fight to be more than where he came from. The love and loyalty to his brother. The fierce devotion he showed Sierra from the moment they met, no matter how she’d pushed him away. Then why had he lied when she asked him about jail?
“But you said you hurt people?”
He gave a short nod. “I did. I made a promise to my brother and broke it. I sacrificed his mental health for my own wants. You were right about the man I was when we first met, Sierra. I was too focused on my goals and didn’t care what got in the way. So, yeah. I hurt a lot of people. Mostly myself.”
Everything became clear, and the rest of her walls crumbled. She rolled over him, breasts crushed against his hair-roughened chest, legs splayed open, his growing erection notched in the damp center between her thighs. Pressing her forehead to his, palms cupping his cheeks, she spoke fiercely against his mouth.
“You are an extraordinary man, Kane Masterson. You are a gift to everyone who meets you, and fuck every single person who ever told you differently. Do you understand me?”
She didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she took his mouth in a deep, passionate kiss at the same exact time she sank herself onto his throbbing cock.
Kane jerked, groaning, as she surrendered her entire self to this shattering moment.
Arching her hips, her tongue plunged inside, gathering his musky taste, hands gripping his head still, while she began working herself against him, hips grinding in a demanding rhythm that left them both no choice but to ride out the electrifying pleasure.
