Page 109 of An Inevitable Marriage

“You already know my parents’ marriage wasn’t a happy one.” I went on to tell her about the beatings my mother had endured, and how my father just wanted to get his hands on Nouvelle Femme.

Once I’d started, I couldn’t stop. I opened up about everything I’d witnessed as a child, ending with the night I’d seen my father murder my mother and how no one did a thing about it because my grandfather was wealthy and influential.

“That’s awful.” Eyes glistening with tears, Snow touched her fingers to her mouth. “I can’t imagine the horror you must’ve grown up with.”

“It wasn’t ideal,” I admitted quietly. “And as much as I would’ve loved to blame all of that for every wrong in my life, I can’t. My choices, good or bad, were still my own. Some I’m proud of and others not so much.”

My gaze roamed over her beautiful face. I hadn’t lost her yet, but that could still change once she heard the rest of it.

“I’d told you I never dated. I had no interest in it. But I’d be lying if I said there weren’t times I wasn’t lonely. One night, fresh out of college, I figured I’d go to a bar and attempt to meet someone. See if we could fulfill each other’s needs without an emotional connection.”

I laughed dryly. “Can you imagine a guy using that as a pickup line? The girl wasn’t impressed and not so politely informed me I’d be far better off finding what I needed at an escort agency.”

Snow’s back went ramrod straight.

“Her words stuck, and I did what she told me. For years, when things got really bad”—I tapped two fingers against my temple—“up here, I’d contact an agency and have them send someone over. I never touched them and only ever allowed their mouths on me, but it doesn’t make me feel any less shameful.”

Snow’s eyes darted back and forth, and she nibbled on her lip. Her expression was completely blank. My stomach seemed to drop to my feet, and my heart gave up. I’d lost her.

“I swear, it stopped the moment I met you,” I said quickly. “It should have stopped sooner; I just didn’t know how to deal with the shit inside my head.”

She was quiet, deathly so, for a few long, long moments.

“I never told you what happened between me and Anthony,” she finally whispered.

I shook my head.

She nodded slowly. “The day I lost my job, I came home with a fragile, bruised ego only to find my boyfriend in our bed with two women hepaidto have there.”

Fuck!

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“Snow, I—”

She held up her hand. “I felt a lot of things that day—ugly, demeaning things. I was angry, sad, and hurt—all at once. I looked at Anthony and saw someone I didn’t recognize. I saw a monster.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. Sharp, stabbing pains shot through my ribs and pierced my heart. I welcomed it. Welcomed the pain.

The couch dipped, and I knew she was walking away from me. My lids squeezed tighter. I didn’t want to see her go.

Instead of hearing the door shut behind her, warm hands smoothed over my jaw, and her soft body crawled onto my lap. I took a breath, and sweet, flowery strawberries assaulted every single one of my senses.

“I don’t see that when I look at you,” Snow whispered, touching her lips to my skin. “I see a little boy who witnessed an awful thing and had no one to guide him through his trauma. I see a young man so determined not to become his father that he deprived himself of basic human connections.”

Her thumbs brushed over my lids. “Will you look at me?”

Seconds ticked by as I mustered the courage to face this beautiful woman. Slowly, ever so slowly, I opened my eyes. She was right there. No disgust. No hate. Just understanding.

My heart swelled, ready to burst out of its confines.

“You couldn’t be like your father or grandfather, even if you tried. You’re too good, Liam Maxwell.”

I didn’t deserve this. Didn’t deserveher.

Before I could say that, she pressed her lips against mine. The kiss was slow and sweet, our sweetest one, and yet it felt huge. Like we’d reached some point of no return and there was no going back.

We stayed exactly like that for a while. Until Snow tore her mouth from mine and kissed her way down my throat. Her fingers found the buttons of my shirt, deftly undoing them one by one.