Second Chance Mine, page 9
Photographers snapped picture after picture as I led her toward the entrance of The Ritz-Carlton. I despised the press. I never did interviews or willingly allowed them to take pictures of me. They were a waste of time. All they did was fabricate stories about me. Rushing through the press, it looked like Paige was just a part of my team. The paparazzi were used to seeing me with them.
Tonight, we were attending a political campaign fundraiser on behalf of Senator McAndrews. Everyone, including myself, was there to show their support, and by that, I mean their checkbooks.
The night started off as usual, mingling with everyone I was supposed to, acting as if I gave a shit about what we were discussing. It was an art I perfected over the years.
Although, I couldn’t help but notice how all eyes were on my date. Paige played her part perfectly like she was made for my life. She was the social butterfly at the event, working the room as if she had something to prove.
I watched the way men would lean in a little too close when she was talking. How they kept their eyes focused on hers, but in reality, I’d catch them glancing down at her breasts at any given moment.
I wasn’t a jealous man but...
She was bringing out the worst in me.
But what captivated me the most, was how she had every man in the room eating out of the palm of her hand. Paige looked good in my world. Which was why I fought the urge to make it known that she was mine to her, and every man she came in contact with.
I scrutinized her every move, from her mannerisms to the way she flipped her hair as she spoke.Getting these men to hang on her every word. I noticed her subtle movements and how she stood and casually swaying her body to the beat of the music from the orchestra performing.
Never once did she break eye contact with who she was speaking to. The way she casually touched their arms or chests, making sure to laugh or smile on cue.
Paige could handle herself and that was probably the hardest pill to swallow for me. Gone was the shy naive girl I knew years ago and, in her place, stood a woman who exuded confidence and sexuality. She was blatantly using it to her advantage; she proved she was the epitome of perfection.
In and out of my bedroom.
My ability to study her shattered when a man I didn’t recognize was escorting her up the stairs to a more private dance floor. He was holding her a little too close for my comfort. His touch was sensual, taking in her every word as if he was trying to claim what was already mine.
It was as if she felt me from across the room, and we locked eyes. It didn’t take long for her to realize the jealously searing off my skin and into hers.
With an ulterior motive, she backed him into the balcony rail and smirked at me while leaning in close to his cheek. Close enough to lay her hand on his chest and playfully laugh in his ear like he’s the funniest man she’d ever spoken to.
It was only then I understood what she was purposely trying to provoke out of me. Paying me back for earlier with Jasmine, I was sure. I wasn’t lying to her. I did use escorts often. It was easier that way, but I wasn’t actually going to use one tonight. I was only trying to get her to see reason. That she still loved me whether she wanted to or not.
I observed them for what felt like forever, trying to hold in my temper with the performance she was adamant on displaying for me. When they started dancing intimately under the twinkling white lights as if she was Cinder-fucking-ella and he was Prince Charming my restraint snapped. Hitting me like a bolt of lightning.
Possessiveness washed over me at breakneck speed, spreading clear across the distance between us.
Two can play this game, sweetheart.
She should have known better than to bait me.
I always won.
It was how I was made.
To truly test Paige’s self-control and determination to keep up her façade of no longer loving me, I walked over to the luscious blonde by the bar who had been eye fucking me all night. Grabbing ahold of her hand, I led her up the stairs to the dance floor.
No one was up there but the four of us, making it much easier to pull the blonde close to my chest. Giving Paige front row seats to the show I was simply playing for her.
Never tearing my heated gaze off hers, I wrapped my arm around the blonde’s lower back and placed her left arm on my shoulder before I entwined our other hands at our sides. The blonde gasped as I unexpectedly placed my right leg in between hers, so she was pretty much straddling my thigh and then I hugged her tight into my torso.
I allowed no distance between us as I locked eyes with the blonde like she was the only woman in the room that mattered. But in reality, that woman was in another man’s arms.
Beginning a war with me.
“Oh, wow. I guess what they say about the infamous Adrian Drake is true,” she purred against my ear.
I grinned, lightly pressing my lips to her ear, whispering, “Sweetheart, you have no idea.”
She giggled in that girly way as if it was the best compliment of her life. When the truth was, I didn’t give a flying fuck about her. I was only using her to prove a point to the woman whose penetrating stare was throwing daggers in our direction.
I didn’t pay Paige any mind, stirring her emotions the same way she just fucked with mine.
I could physically feel Paige’s restraint being stretched to the max. Her collected composure cracked momentarily as her eyes turned murderous with her nostrils flaring for a split second.
I had her exactly where I wanted her. It only confirmed to Paige that she still loved me. No matter what.
She. Loved. Me.
I continued to dance with the blonde while Paige’s fiery composure burned into my skin. Nothing could have prepared Paige for the reaction I was purposely evoking. She knew damn well she was only woman who always faithfully had my attention.
The song was coming to an end, and so was my shameless performance. I slightly dipped the blonde back again, using the blatant display as an opportunity to really one-up Paige. She needed to understand I was aware she was full of shit regarding how she felt toward me. Grazing my lips across her neck.
If looks could kill, I’d be fucking dead.
Paige scoffed in disgust, shaking her head, and threw her arms down at her sides. In one quick, sudden movement, she abruptly turned and left the man there stunned. I didn’t hesitate to leave the blonde, rushing over to Paige in three long strides.
I gripped onto her wrist and roughly yanked her back toward me, stopping her momentum and determination she was using to try and get away from me. Causing her to lose her footing, she fell against my chest and into my arms as the orchestra clicked over to another song.
The last thing she wanted to do was make a scene, and that was exactly what would happen if she hauled ass away from me. So, I hooked my arm around her lower back, placing her right hand into my left at our sides and proceeded to dance with her instead.
“How was that for hate, Cherry?”
She pushed off my chest a little too hard into a turn, spinning back into our hold.
“You’re truly unbelievable, Adrian.”
I possessively moved my right hand to the back of her neck, pulling her down into a fast dip at my side before sensually bringing her back up to my face. We started to dance effortlessly around the room like we were the only two people in the space.
“I see your taste in women hasn’t changed. Blonde bombshells with low IQs.”
I proudly grinned, eyeing her up and down with predatory regard. With my hand still gripping the back of her neck we strolled the dance floor. Once again, I dipped her, crudely jerking her back up with enough force to lock her body in place where I wanted it.
Her lips close to my mouth.
Her perfect tits pressed on my chest.
Her wet pussy against my hard cock.
I rasped, my mouth almost touching hers, “Jealousy looks fucking amazing on you, Paige.” I thrusted my dick against her heat.
She narrowed her eyes at me, probably pissed I spoke the truth.
“There you go thinking with your dick again,” she snapped, playing it off as if I wasn’t on to her.
Breathing out a chuckle, I roughly spun her so her back was snug against my chest. Slowly sliding my hands down to her hips, I made sure I took my sweet ass time. I craved for her to feel every inch of my fingers along the sides of her breasts, her ribs, and the curve of her waist. I knew I was igniting conflicting emotions she didn’t want to deal with, feelings she failed to bury from years ago.
“Should I keep going?” I huskily murmured, grazing my nose and lips along the slope of her soft, silky neck until I reached the tender spot right beneath her ear and jawline. “Or do I need to finger fuck you from behind to finally put an end to your bullshit lies?”
As soon as she felt my fingers descending her hips, she slapped her hands over mine, shoving her ass against my cock.
The violins from the orchestra hit a high point in the ballad and she seductively slid down my body. In the same sinful movement, she rotated her hips up, never stopping her persistent sway of grinding her ass against my dick.
I growled, hastily shifting her to face me. Wrapping her left arm around my neck, I gripped her right thigh, hard, causing her to whimper before angling it up to the side of my body.
We stared deep into each other’s eyes and the intensity of the music took over, only adding to the craze of our diminishing self-control.
“You’re an asshole,” she viciously spewed, cocking her head to the side.
I leaned forward, close to her lips. “Well, Cherry. I’m your asshole.”
With that, I stepped back, taking her along with me. I held her close to my chest to steady her movement, our chests rose and fell as one.
Then all of a sudden, she tried to yank away from my grasp, but failing hard and fast. Quickly, I yanked the tie out of her hair, and wrapped them around her wrists to hold her hands up above her head against the wall behind us.
She hit it with a rough thud.
Completely at my mercy.
Her eyes shifted to my mouth, and she licked her lips. Fucking baiting me to kiss her.
“You’re forever mine,” I groaned, following the movement of her tongue.
The expression consuming her face was filled with so much intensity I could barely take it.
“Paige, I never meant to hurt you.”
She shook her head, causing her expression to harden right before my eyes.
“I’m not doing this with you again.”
“It’s only a matter of time before you let me back in and I’m not referring to your sweet pussy.”
“If only your brother could hear you say that. He’d be so damn proud.” I snidely remarked.
Instantly, I jerked back and let her go. Her mark hit me exactly where she intended it to. I watched her turn and leave me there on the dance floor.
Alone again.
Fourteen
Paige
Iblinked, and I was standing outside on the balcony of the resort. The orchestra was still playing in the distance from inside. I couldn’t remember the last time I just stood still, appreciating a scenic view.
The refuge I sought was nowhere to be found under the full moon dancing off the buildings. Only darkness surrounded me like the sadness reflecting off my soul at the moment. I watched the wind blow the trees for I don’t know how long, letting my mind wander to a time when I was his.
I didn’t want to play these games with him, not then, not now, not ever. I hated how he was still able to elicit emotions I thought were long since buried. I was the one who started dancing with that man to get a rise out of him. I didn’t expect to screw myself in the process. I knew he was just dancing with her to show me a taste of my own medicine. That wasn’t what bothered me the most, it was that I wanted to be the woman he was dancing with.
Watching Adrian all night was quite a show. The power he exuded. The way women were openly gawking at him. He truly was the king of the jungle.
Suddenly feeling him behind me, I couldn’t turn to face him in that moment. It was too difficult. The overwhelming sentiments I still had for him were too heavy a burden to endure.
Shaking off the unrelenting emotion he evoked from deep within my body, I opened my mouth to say something.
Anything.
But there was only silence.
He was the first to close the distance between us, merely adding to the internal battle that surfaced in the forefront of my mind. It was a whirlwind of sensations.
From my mind.
To my heart.
To every bone in my body.
I looked down at the ground when his looming presence behind me was too much to bear. My breathing hitched, but I stayed firmly in the place I was standing.
I didn’t move; glued in place.
It seemed like I was barely breathing.
In a moment where I felt completely vulnerable and exposed, I shared the only thing I could…
Silently praying.
Hoping.
He’d leave me alone.
But why did that feel so wrong when it was supposed to be right?
He was shattering my revolve like I didn’t have one anymore. I hated feeling this way, giving him all the power.
“You have no idea what it’s like having to work for you. To see you every day, pretending like you didn’t break my heart and stomp all over it.” I paused, clearing my throat. Pitifully resisting my emotions from getting the best of me. “I didn’t just lose you, Adrian. I lost Cade too. I had no one left because you took it all away from me.” Tears rimmed my eyes. There was no controlling them while they slid down my face.
“You two were all I had. I thought… I just imagined a life with you. One where we could finally be together out in public. Where you’d come home to me every night to kiss me and tell me you love me. I thought we had a future together. One that included marriage and having your babies…” I hesitated, breathing in a deep and sturdy breath.
Contemplating my next words, I debated if he deserved to know the truth and what he put me through.
I protectively wrapped my arms around my stomach in a comforting gesture, desperately trying to hold in the memories that threatened to spill. I knew he noticed. There was no way he couldn’t feel the effect he always had over me.
Thinking about the past and the future I imagined we’d have, I closed my eyes, waiting the unknown and the inevitable to be spoken. He felt my hesitancy to expose my truths. They seared into his skin with each passing second.
Although we weren’t even touching, I knew he could still feel me all over. It was calming and disturbing in ways I never expected for both of us.
“You know that’s what I wanted, right? What I’ve always wanted since I was a teenager. To marry you. To have your babies. To have a family and grow old with you. I never had that, and I thought you’d be the man to give it to me.”
He didn’t falter. “I can give you that now.”
I grimaced with big, huge, ugly tears falling down the sides of my face. I was hanging on by a very thin thread.
“It’s so easy for you. You know that, don’t you? I mean you know everything about me. Did your PI tell you how much I cry at night? Feeling lonely? Scared? Broken?”
“For fuck’s sake, Paige. What was I supposed to do? It was you or my brother.”
My body trembled as I spun to stare profoundly into his eyes. His willpower matched mine.
No more hiding.
From him.
From me.
From us.
“Why did you pursue me if you were just going to hurt me? When you knew my life had done that already? All I had was your family, Adrian, and you just ripped it away. For what? To claim my virginity?”
“You know that’s not true.”
“I don’t know anything. I didn’t know you at all.”
“You’re the only person who’s ever known me, Paige.”
It physically pained me to be standing there with him, telling him everything I never wanted him to know. More tears slid down my cheeks and I wore them like they were a shield of armor, proudly showcasing the damage he caused a decade ago.
It was still there.
The pain.
The memories.
That naive girl.
When he stepped toward me, I begged in a pleading tone, “Please don’t,” halting his descent.
“Paige, I just want to hold you.”
“You don’t get to fuck me over and then hold me and tell me you didn’t. Because I’m not telling you this for your comfort, Adrian. I’m doing this for some closure. You need to move on with your life. For the last ten years, I’ve tried really hard to move on with mine. With men who were nothing like you.”
He winced, hanging on by the same thread I was.
“I can’t do this with you again. I won’t. I barely survived my tainted love for you the first time. I refuse to allow you to use me.”
“Paige.” He wavered for a second. “I have no one to blame but myself for what happened between us. I spent years fighting the connection I had with you. You were my brother’s best friend. I knew better, but I couldn’t for the life of me continue to keep you at arm’s length. I’ve wanted you for as long as I can remember. It’s always been you, Cherry. I met you first, but he got you instead. For the first time in my life, I let him have something that was supposed to be mine.”
Several tears cascaded down my face and onto the floor between us. I was downing in my agony.
“I lost you too, Paige. I lost Cade. From his respect to his admiration, to his fucking friendship. He hates me. I can see it anytime he looks at me. It doesn’t matter how many years pass us by, he despises the fact he lost you because of me. I’ve lived with that guilt for the last ten years. I can’t do it anymore. I won’t lose you again. Do you understand me? I fucking refuse.”
I shook my head. “You can’t lose something that was never yours to begin with.”
He bowed his head in shame, inhaling a deep breath as he slid his hands in the pockets of his slacks.
