Yours Forever (Reign 3)

“Yes,” I said, softer than I’d meant to.

A sexy grin tugged his face, that strong jaw working over a five-o’clock shadow that made me recall every scrape and feel of it against my skin.

“You never were a good liar,” he said. “In fact, I think the opposite happened. I think instead of closure…” he trailed his hand up my inner thigh, “You opened up a little more to me.”

Tremors skated over my body. The anger had ebbed since the other night, but reality hadn’t. The truth remained. He left, lied, and broke a piece of me I’d never be able to repair.

“I’ve thought of you every day. Every moment of every damn day,” he rasped.

“And were you counting down the clock until it was your turn to make a go at me again?”

“It was never like that. You know it. Deep down, you know how I feel about you.”

“How you feel about me?” I asked and took a step back. “Is that the feeling that made you leave, compelled you to stay gone, and show up only when I’d fallen in love with Cal?”

His jaw clenched. But Jack opened this can of worms.

“Oh, you don’t like that?” I asked. “Me saying the truth? That I fell in love with Cal? That while you were thinking of me, I was thinking of him. Maybe you should have thought of that before making the arrangement you did.”

“Say it then, Lana. Tell me you didn’t think of me. Tell me you don’t still. Tell me we’re done.”

His voice was so even it was chilling. Jack Powell was either the world’s best bluffer or just dared me to walk away. Problem was, I couldn’t. He was pushing, and all I could do was push back. Just like he’d taught me.

“I’m done with this conversation,” I said.

Jack smiled. “Ah, that’s a win in my book, baby.” And he was right. I couldn’t tell him I was done with him, because honestly, maybe I never would be. I loved the prick. Loved him so much I hated him for it.

But I loved Cal. So much it tore every time I took a breath.

I couldn’t fall into the pattern of what it felt like to be with either of them. Because not only was neither of them an option, but my world couldn’t handle another quake.

“This is going to get more difficult before it gets easier,” Jack said, as if he too had some direct line to my thoughts.

Of that, I totally believed him.

Chapter 9

It was past ten at night, and I hadn’t risked another conversation with either Cal or Jack since I’d left his office earlier. Instead, I’d been attempting to keep myself busy by pretending to concentrate on my thesis project.

The second-hand laptop I’d gotten was barely working, but it had enough juice to check my email and type. With school being out for winter and my proposal with the thesis board, there wasn’t much I could do until the new term started. But that didn’t stop me from trying to focus on anything other than my current situation.

I crisscrossed my legs on my bed and scrolled through my inbox. I was surprised to see an email from Erica.

Opening it, I read her message. She was safe, staying with her mother and looking at extending her sabbatical or finding a new job far away from Denver. Her daughter was doing well and the more I read her words, the better I felt about the decision to let the break-in rest. I couldn’t drag her back here to testify against Brock. I also wouldn’t risk her safety or her daughter’s. The best thing for them was to stay far away from Brock…and from me. Starting a new life was best.

With a deep breath, I closed my email. At least someone had closure. And I was happy Erica and her daughter could move on.

Stretching my arms overhead, I quickly searched the Internet in hopes for a further distraction, since thoughts of Jack’s touch and Cal’s kiss were starting to creep back in.

Tomorrow, we’d go see the attorney. See if there was any information I could get about my dad, because Jack and Cal were right, something had to be going on. Even though right now there was no hard evidence to support the theory of me being a threat of any kind to my father’s estate or money, it was something worth asking questions about.

The Internet was little help. I tried researching my father, a man and his company I should already know about. All I got were stats and Wikipedia answers. I went through the stock market and it appeared that the Case-VanBuren stock had taken a hit over the past two quarters, which was news to me. I knew the business had needed some new clients, hence the mess I’d gotten into with Jack, but the stock was hurting more than I’d realized. A reason my father was looking to sell, maybe?

A light knock came at my bedroom door. I shut the laptop.

“Yes?”

The knob turned slowly. It could be one of two men and I held my breath, wondering which one it would be.