Stealing Her (Covet 1)

We made it to the dining room table with my suit half off, my trousers already kicked down as I deepened the kiss. “It’s just us, Izzy.”

“Just us,” she agreed. “There’s so much to think about, so much to do—”

“Right now, we make love. Tomorrow we make plans.” I silenced her with another kiss and another.

And then I was inside her, exactly where I wanted to be.

Feeling her clench around me.

Skin on skin.

Her hips were smooth as I pressed my palm against them. “I’m never leaving you.”

“Not even if it’s for my own good?”

“I’m too selfish.”

“I like you selfish.” She arched toward me.

I sucked in a breath. “I can tell.”

And then my beautiful Izzy smiled.

It was all I needed.

We would be okay.

Maybe not today.

Maybe not tomorrow.

But one day, we would be okay.

“Iz?” I whispered, feeling our bodies slide against each other, I would never get enough of her. “Marry me?”

Her lips parted, I could feel her coming apart around me, trying to focus on my words, on our joined bodies. “We are married.”

“I want to hear you say my name.” I cupped her face. “Please?”

“Anything for you, Bridge Tennyson.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Anything.”

I swallowed the ball of emotion in my throat and kissed her hard, I made promises to her that I would keep forever, and I prayed that Julian would one day find it in his heart to forgive me.

To forgive us.

Epilogue

JULIAN

“Hey!” a random stranger said as he walked by. “You’re that guy? The brother that almost died? Hey, is it true that your twin and your ex-fiancée are expecting a baby?”

I never wanted to punch another human more in my entire life. Well, maybe that was a lie, I still owed Bridge several punches with bloody knuckles.

He knew it.

I knew it.

I planned it with a smile on my face.

And he wouldn’t flinch. The bastard was persistent, at least, and he refused to leave me alone.

I almost flew to China to get away from him, but I wouldn’t put it past him to follow me there too. It was hard enough that we worked on the same floor, that he reported to me every day.

And also that he was so damn likable I wanted to strangle him and then greedily search for flaws I could expose.

He wanted to give me the family I’d lost.

And I just wanted to forget everything I did lose.

Everything he took.

Mainly Izzy.

I’d lost my fiancée and my best friend to him, and now that my father hated me, it felt like I had nobody.

“Wrong guy,” I snapped at the jerk. Then I put on my sunglasses and stomped toward the hospital room.

My mood changed the minute I saw her face. “Mom.”

“Julian!” She beamed at me then held out her open arms. How many times had I dreamed of that? Of hugging her? Of holding her? And now I got to do it on a daily basis.

“You look better today, Jules.” Mom patted the spot next to her. I went and sat down, my body angry at me for putting it through hell these past few months. I’d stopped running. I had a hard time doing anything that reminded me of my old life with Izzy, of life before Bridge.

I started lifting weights.

And when I woke up thinking about Izzy and the fact that they were already pregnant, planning for a family.

I lifted more weights.

And I imagined a world where I won in the end, where I got the girl, and she thanked me for the mountains I moved and dragons I slayed.

“I feel better.” It was a lie.

“Bridge called again.”

I snorted. “He always calls, plus I see him every day.”

“He worries about you.”

“Then he shouldn’t have fucked my fiancée,” I said rudely. And then I sighed. “Sorry, Mom, that was uncalled for.”

“Not really.” She shrugged. “He did a lot of things, but he’s still your brother and you’re still not without some responsibility. I know how you treated her.”

I instantly felt defensive.

“My point is, there’s hurt on both ends, on all three ends, actually.”

“They’re expecting a baby.” I almost couldn’t get the sentence out.

A baby.

My life.

That was my life.

Thief.

Liar.

Betrayer.

“One day, you’ll forgive him,” Mom said cryptically. “One day you’ll have to.”

I frowned down at her. “What are you saying?”

She shrugged. “Holding on to the past hurts. You have to let it go, Jules. You have no choice but to release it. You look more like him now, you know.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“It’s not a bad thing to look like one another.”

It sure as hell was.

“I’m going to go grab a cup of coffee. Want anything?” I asked, ignoring her because I needed an escape so desperately.

“Sure, one more thing, though.” Mom pulled a folder from the stand near her hospital bed. “You’re family, brothers. He needs you.” They were baby pictures. Low blow, of course she would pull that card, she was relentless and I loved her for it.