Page 52 of The Tempo of Truth (The Monsters Duet #3)

I reached out a hand and put it on the center of his chest. He was definitely thinner since he wasn’t spending every single day in the gym.

“Revenge is hard work. You can’t lift your foot off the back of your target’s neck for even a second.

” And I wasn’t a naturally malicious person.

I had to dig deep into parts of myself I’d long ignored to play the game of payback with those who’d wronged my family and interests.

Ky sighed and reached out to touch the pale skin underneath one of my eyes.

I knew the color was a faint blue, and I looked a bit like a corpse bride as of late.

It couldn’t be helped. I had to give my all to avenge him and to let those who doubted me know I wasn’t playing around when it came to my family or my company.

“What if I tell you that you don’t have to do this for me anymore?” Ky brushed a bit of hair out of my face and stared at me intently. “What if I want you more than payback, Winnie?”

I blinked in surprise. I recently told him that I wanted him more than the truth. I knew what a huge deal those words were. I opened my mouth to respond but couldn’t make the words work. It never occurred to me that I might hold an equal weight in this man’s life as he held in mine.

“You already have me, Ky.” I’d been his since we were teenagers, and he just refused to acknowledge it.

He smiled faintly and traced a line over my frowning eyebrows and down the bridge of my nose.

“I want all of you. Not just your currently exhausted body; I want your smile when you watch Lowe discover something new. I want your eyes and the way they light up when you see me. I like your mind and the clever way you trick me into doing whatever it is you want. I want your hand to hold when things get overwhelming and hard. And I want your heart. I know I’ve been reluctant to take it each time you’ve been brave enough to offer it to me, but I’m not scared anymore.

” He lowered his head and kissed the center of my forehead. “Give it to me, Winnie.”

I tugged on a handful of his T-shirt and pulled until we were eye level.

“What brought all of this about?” Before Lowe was born, for years, I’d been trying to show him how well I could love him.

I wanted to know why he suddenly noticed my efforts when his focus should be on healing from the loss of his friend and savior.

Ky pressed a soft kiss on my lips. “Realizing how much I’m like Lev these last few weeks has been pretty eye-opening.

My mom told me that all I know how to do is fight, just like Lev.

It’s why the two of them never worked out.

I think she really loved him, but he was too busy fighting for whatever opportunity came next.

He ended up alone, with nothing but a group of guys who were always too busy trying to get up after being knocked down to remember him.

No kids. No one who loved him with their whole heart.

I think he had the chance to have everything, and he foolishly passed it up because he was afraid.

I don’t want to look back and regret letting something spectacular get away because of my inferiority complex.

I don’t think I’ll ever be worthy of being loved by you, Winnie, but I’ll always feel unbelievably lucky that you do. ”

“Love isn’t transactional, Ky. It’s never been about worth or who has more to offer. You showing up for me and Lowe, that means more than any of the money the Hallidays have in the bank.” I got to my feet and gave him a quick hug. It felt like we could both use a bit of comfort at the moment.

His wide palm slid down my back, and his lips brushed against my ear. I shivered in response and pulled back to look at him. His dark eyes were gleaming, and, for the first time in ages, he didn’t look like a man waiting for the world to kick him while he was down.

“I ran into that asshole, Byrd, on my way up to see you.” I frowned, belatedly realizing one left and the other arrived shortly after.

“I didn’t hurt him…much. I knew if I let that piece of shit matter to me more than you and Lowe, I’d end up locked up somewhere.

If I allowed that to happen, there would really be no way to salvage our relationship.

I love you and our son. And I finally understand that I have to love myself…

more than I hate that guy or all of the stuff that happened to me in the past.”

My heart skipped a beat, and my eyes widened. Ky choosing to show the ultimate self-control was his highest form of affection. I knew better than anyone what a loose cannon he could be when pushed to the breaking point.

“The biggest thing I lost all those years ago wasn’t my career or my reputation; it was myself.”

I let out a pent-up breath and backed him up so that his ass was resting against my desk, and I was plastered to his front. “I’m so happy you finally found yourself, Ky.”

He chuckled, and the sound delightfully rasped against my ear.

“Now that neither of us is lost, we should leave those cages we’ve been stuck in behind.

While you might always be a captive bird because of who you are, I’m happy to spend the rest of my life being your familiar forest. I’ll always give you a place to fly free. ”

For the first time in weeks, I felt like I could breathe, and I didn’t need to wield both a sword and a shield. I could follow this fearless man anywhere and trust that I would be safe.

I gulped back a ton of emotion and teased him. “How about we fuck on this desk and I let you destroy my corporate image the old-fashioned way?”

One of his hands skimmed over the front of my shirt, and the nipple hidden behind the silk instantly pebbled into a point. His lips grazed my cheek, and I fought the urge to rub against the bulge at the front of his jeans.

Ky made it clear that whether I was at home in an old jersey or dressed in silk and a tailored suit, he found me equally appealing. I’d been so busy lately; I’d definitely been lacking in the “fuck-him-so-good-he-forgets-about-anyone-else” department.

The one area we never struggled in was our sexual compatibility. We clicked in bed, no problem. But even that area was struggling at the moment because our lives felt like they’d been put through a blender.

I jumped up, and he caught me with a hand under my butt. My skirt was too tight to wrap my legs around his waist, but I managed to coil one around his thigh and cling to him like a snake searching for warmth on a big tree. I kissed him fully.

Wildly.

Madly.

Eternally.

Freely.

I threw my whole heart and soul into it.

I tasted every single part of his mouth and lost myself within the slick slide of our tongues and the click of our teeth.

It was as heated as a make-out session could be.

Unfortunately, it was soon interrupted by Jeremiah calling me to the meeting that had already been delayed once.

Even head over heels in love, there were responsibilities I couldn’t walk away from.

Ky set me away from him and reminded me to eat the snacks he brought. He told me he and Lowe would be back to pick me up for dinner at a reasonable time, so there would be no more showing up at home after midnight. I watched him walk away, my heart as soft as melted butter.

All I ever wanted was someone strong enough to stay by my side and who loved me for me, not my last name.

Ky was always the one I set my sights on, but I never dreamed he’d find his feet enough to figure out how to be a perfect partner.

I knew there was still a long way to go and that he still needed to find fulfillment outside of his family, but this was the first time he seemed like he was on the right track.

I no longer feared he’d walk himself into the sea and disappear like that night in Portugal.

I cast a longing look at my desk, making a mental note to schedule a free lunch period so Ky could help me break it in properly.

The truth was, he impacted every area of my life, and the place where I stood at the top, untouchable and unbending, was no different.

I needed someone by my side who understood that when the crown I had been given became too heavy, I needed a hand lifting the weight or else my back might break under the pressure.

I needed someone who would let me rule without interference, even if the kingdom tried to run wild and pull me off the throne.

I needed a powerful partner who could raise a strong son because the world we lived in was enough to break even the best of us.

I could teach Lowe how to be a Halliday, but it would be his father who taught him how to fight, and how to be anything but a Halliday.

Both of us would teach him how to love and be loved, so he would never need to question if he was enough.

Lowe would be loved when it was hard.

When it was easy.

And maybe most importantly, when it didn’t feel like love.

We would show him just how important it was to fight for those faint, fleeting feelings. Because recognizing all the different ways love could look was more valuable than all the money the Hallidays had sitting in the bank.