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She giggles and rocks against me. “I’m sure you’ve had a million girls declare their love for you.” Her eyebrows lift, and I smile back at her.

“Not true love. Not like this,” I say, but don’t allow myself to say the words I desperately want to, too scared to give everything I feel away. So instead, I opt for the easier option. “I’ve never felt this way before, Gia.”

“I know, baby.” She holds my chin in the palm of her hands, then brings my face to hers and kisses my lips softly. “I’ve got you.”

GIA

His lips are my undoing. They’re soft and vulnerable, and when his tongue lashes out to take back the control, I moan against his touch. He grips my ass cheeks and thrusts up inside me, his thick length hitting the perfect spot. “Yes,” I beg. “Please don’t stop.” I throw my head back, and he kisses the column of my throat, then down my chest until he reaches my sensitive breasts. They’re heavy and tender, desperate for his touch, and when his tongue sweeps over my peaked nipple, I combust around him.

“Holy fuck,” he grunts, chasing his orgasm. “Again, baby. I want you to come again with me sucking on your tits.”

His filthy tongue is an aphrodisiac to my wanton soul, and wetness spills around us, but his movements never slow. My tits bounce in his face, and he groans, sweat coating his forehead. Every muscle on his crafted body contracts under his movements, and when I feel a release of milk from my nipple, my body becomes taut, my pussy clenches, and Reed growls as he sucks against me harder. His body wrings tight, his breathing escalates, and finally, his warm cum splashes deep inside me, spilling between us as he pushes inside me again and again to drain himself of every ounce of his cum.

He pulls back to face me, and the wonderment in his eyes allows me to see straight into his soul. He loves me, and though he hasn’t said the words aloud yet, there’s not a doubt in my mind that they’re coming.

Reed Johnson may be my greatest downfall; I just hope he can always build us back up.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE

REED

She lies tuckedunder my arm with her head on my chest, and my fingers tangle in her hair while she drapes one leg over my waist, allowing me to feel every move that our son makes.

“When my mom died, the man I knew my father to be became someone else.” I listen intensively, grateful she’s giving me this insight into her life. “He’d always been absent, cold even, but it’s as if he hated me for her leaving us.”

I knew George was a widow, but I never realized to ask questions about Gia’s family, especially given that she only classed Bryce as family, and the community too, I guess. “How did she die?”

“Cancer.”

I swallow back the lump gathered in my throat at the way her voice wavers. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I was twelve. A long time ago now.”

My fingers toy with her hair. “Still doesn’t stop the hurt, though, right?”

“No, it doesn’t.” She lifts her head to face me. “What about your parents, Reed? Do you have a relationship with them?”

A snort leaves me. “No. My father was a jackass and died about five years ago. For someone always surrounded by so many people, he died alone. A lonely old man.”

“That’s… sad.”

I shrug, not feeling the least bit sad about his death. Feeling nothing at all, like always.

Out of all my best friends, I’m the one who comes with the most influence, money, and prestige, and I grew up hating what it cost to receive it. That’s the only feelings I’ve become accustomed to over the years—hate and the physical pleasure from sex. Nothing more, nothing less.

“I have a half-brother Isacc; he’s a fuckup, thanks to our father. Our father couldn’t wait to shove us both in boarding school. That’s where I met the guys, and I’m grateful for that, at least. But I don’t have one fond memory of my father, not one. He just was never there, and I spent a long time hating him for it.

“Isacc didn’t thrive on the structure of school, like me. He was the bad boy, and our father constantly threw money at him, and it left him spoiled and made him think he was invincible to the world, when in reality he had a harsh lesson to learn.” I clear my throat and shake my head, appalled at my brother’s indiscretions.

Gia must sense my unease because she doesn’t push me further, and I’m grateful for it. I’m sure I will share the story of his downfall sooner or later; I am, after all, his lawyer.

“What about your mother?”

A disgruntled sound bubbles out of me. “She’s a bitter, twisted old woman. My brother’s mother passed away in tragic circumstances, and she took great pleasure in making sure we weren’t going to support him, as if it was his fault our father strayed countless times and created him. Whenever it was the school holidays, me and my father would spend an afternoon with him, and she constantly reminded me that he’s nothing, a worthless bastard child that nobody wanted.”

I laugh, but there’s no amusement in my tone. It’s bitter like how I feel. “The funny thing is, I had a family, and they didn’t want me either.” I shake my head. My kids will never feel the way I did growing up. They have an incredible mother, and I may not know much about parenting, but I know the kind of parent I want to be, and I’ll do my utmost to protect my family from the likes of mine. “I never want you to meet her.”

“Oh.” The disappointment lacing her tone has me wanting to elaborate.