Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 29965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
“Chloe.”
She shook her head and dragged her gaze up, looking into his face. He had a defeated expression on his face, like he was scarred not just on the outside but on the inside as well.
“What happened eight years ago is not something I regret,” she said softly. “I've thought about it every day, wishing things had gone differently afterwards, wishing I could have told you that everything would be okay because I wanted it to be.” Her heart was racing. “I know why you reenlisted, and I know it was because you couldn’t stand yourself or the guilt you felt.” He opened his mouth to speak, but she slowly shook her head. “Please, let me get this off my chest.” He stayed silent, his eyes so full of pain and anguish. “I know you, Dominic. I know you're an honorable man who thinks only of others. You have no guilt to feel over what we shared that night. I know I don’t.”
Rising so that she was face-to-face with him, Chloe knew she had to be honest if she was going to have them get through this. This scene had played out in her head over and over throughout the years.
“I love you.” Her throat felt so tight. “I’m in love with you, and I don’t expect anything in return, don’t expect you to feel the same way, but I want—need—you to know.” She let that sink in, let those words move between them. “When I gave myself to you that night it was because I wanted to, because I wanted to share that part of myself with only you.” She took a calm, steadying breath and gauged his reaction before she continued. “It wasn’t just a coincidence that you saved me from Jake that night. I don’t believe that for one minute.” Chloe cupped his cheek. She could feel the stubble of a day’s worth of growth scrape across her palm. “I’ve loved you from the moment I knew what the concept was. I may have been young, but my heart and body knew that you were what I wanted as my forever.”
The fact she was finally telling him this, spilling those words she’d kept inside of her for all these years, felt liberating. It felt right.
Chloe shook her head. Everything she’d ever done in her life slammed into her mind, and all of it didn’t seem as important as this one moment.
“Chloe,” he said in a gruff, pained voice.
“I just had to tell you so you knew the truth. I knew what I wanted then, and I know what I want now. You may think this is wrong because you married my aunt, because for all these years you were known as ‘Uncle Dominic,’ but what we shared was not taboo or wrong. It wasn’t forbidden. We were two people who were alone and needing that connection. And we found it with each other.”
And then there was silence.
Just as she went to stand, he gripped her wrist in a gentle hold. Chloe’s breath stalled in her lungs. She could hear him swallow, saw the way his throat worked from the act.
“I went back into the service because of what you said. I couldn’t stand to even look at myself in the mirror. I saw a man who had done something forbidden and wrong. I took something from you that I shouldn’t have.”
His words stung, not because she thought they were remotely true, but because he had felt that way, because she heard the pain in his voice.
His grip on her wrists slowly loosened when he clearly realized she wouldn’t leave.
“These feelings I have for you have been my downfall, Chloe. I've watched you grow into a beautiful, intelligent woman. But despite trying so fucking hard, I haven’t been able to steer my thoughts away from feeling you, touching you, holding you.” Dominic pulled her closer to him. “I tried to punish myself for what we shared, tried to erase the guilt and disgust that swallowed me whole. I tried to drown myself in violence and anger, but nothing I did could erase how I felt for you.”
When the lone tear slipped down his cheek, Chloe’s breath halted in her lungs. She had never seen Dominic cry. He’d always been this strong, invincible man in her eyes, but watching him shed tears showed her how utterly human he really was.
“I love you, Chloe. God help me, but I love you. Maybe I’ll always think it's wrong. Maybe I’ll never be able to get rid of the guilt, but I can’t let you go. I’ve tried, and I’ve failed. I’m too selfish where you’re concerned.”
Not wanting to lose another minute, Chloe leaned in the rest of the way and pressed her mouth against his. “I’m here, and I am not going anywhere.” Tilting her head, she opened her mouth over his and slid her tongue along his lips. Fortunately, he didn’t push her away, but instead caressed her tongue with his.