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“For what?”

“For shutting down. For making you think—” I swallowed. “I don’t know how to say it. I just... I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize, West,” she whispered. “We broke a lot of rules this morning. And I knew when the spell wore off, it might make you feel?—”

I snorted, cutting her off. “I don’t regret it. I just don’t know how to handle it. I’ve always been the fixer. The planner. I can solve every problem my family throws at me, but I don’t know how to be the man you make me want to be.”

She pulled back just enough to look at me, reading my sincerity. Then her hand slid down my chest, eyes locked to mine.

“Tell me why you’re really here,” she whispered. “What do you want from me?”

“Whatever you’re willing to give.” She blinked, and I gave her the rest of the truth. “Maybe it’s because you’re my wife, but you feel like a free pass. You feel safe because you know better than to expect a happily ever after from me.”

Her mouth tilted, not quite a smile. “Not sure if I should be offended or not.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you were.”

Her hands slid lower, stopping at my waistband, but she didn’t undo the belt.

“I told you I wasn’t going to sleep with you for what you could give me. I told you I wasn’t some whore the town would gossip about?—”

“I know.” I stepped back, guilt clawing its way in. “That’s not what I meant. That’s not what I’m trying to?—”

She stopped me with a look, then took my hand and backed toward the house.

“This isn’t about what I can get from you,” she said, voice soft but unshakable. “This is about what you need from me. If you think I’m a free pass, fine. Because you deserve to feel something, West. You deserve to feel free.”

When we reached the deck, she paused by one of the loungers, yanked the cushion off the seat, and dropped it at my feet. Her gaze never left mine as she lowered herself to her knees and whispered?—

“Let me make you feel human.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

BLUE

I hadn’t expectedWest to show up, but I wasn’t surprised either.

And if I was being completely honest with myself, I would’ve admitted I went to the lake house hoping he would come. Because even though we left things unspoken, even though the air between us had grown thick with distance and tension, we both knew there was something unfinished. Something inevitable.

Seeing him again, the way he looked at me with raw honesty and unguarded vulnerability, only made me want him more. He wasn’t trying to charm me or seduce me, he was just being real. Admitting things out loud I knew damn well terrified him.

And still, he came.

It may have been reckless. It may have gone against everything I claimed I wouldn’t do when this whole mess started. But in that moment, I didn’t care. I wanted to give West what he needed.

And more than that, I wanted him to need me.

Because for all the power, wealth, and control West Brooks carried in the rest of his life, I was the only one who couldgive him this. Something he couldn’t buy. Something he couldn't delegate or plan.

I wasn’t naive. I knew part of the reason he felt safe with me was because of the NDA in our contract. He knew I wouldn’t break it. And truthfully, that suited me just fine. Because what we were doing? What we were together? That didn’t belong to anyone else.

"Let me make you feel human," I whispered as I sank to my knees in front of him.

He swallowed hard, eyes never leaving mine. He didn’t speak. Didn’t move. Just watched as I ran my hands up the inside of his thighs, slow and purposeful, until I reached his waistband. I unfastened his belt, undid the zipper, and freed him.

His cock was already hard and warm in my hands. He let out a low hiss when I wrapped both palms around him, stroking slowly, deliberately, loving the way his body reacted to such a simple touch.

"You’re a good man," I whispered, then licked the bead of pre-cum from his tip.