I drag myself upright, drunk on pleasure. Vaughn is splayed flat out, his perfect body spent and gasping.
I feel a surge of pride. I did that. I taught him what it’s like to need someone so much you think you’ll die without them.
Maybe now he knows how I’ve felt like since he’s been gone.
I walk to the bathroom on unsteady legs, and step into the shower. Of all the things I love in this elegant triplex apartment, this bathroom is one of the best: duck egg blue marble and soft gold, mirrors and huge windows. The multi-jets massage my aching limbs with warm water. My fog of desire is already melting, leaving me energized and full of focus as I quickly rinse off under the stream.
I’m back.
The part that’s been missing since that terrible night at the gala has clicked back into place now. I’ve been reeling, trying to find something solid to hold onto in the midst of all the secrets and danger. I should have known it would be him, all along. Something about Vaughn always makes me feel better, stronger, braver. Like he’s the man who makes me the best version of myself.
I wrap a towel around me and step back into the living room. Vaughn is dressed, buttoning his shirt.
“What happens now?” His voice is even, eyes watching me curiously. He’s back to his old self again, looking devastatingly handsome, but something has changed between us.
We’re equals in this now. Both of us scared to trust. Both of us needing each other more than we can stand.
It’s all on the table, and there’s only one way forward.
Together.
“Now I have meetings all afternoon,” I tell him.
“I’m coming with you.” A look of fierce protectiveness flashes across his face. “I’m not letting you out of my sight now, not for one minute.”
I shake my head. “No. I have people keeping me safe. I need you elsewhere.”
Vaughn frowns. “What do you mean?”
“I need you on the outside, finding out everything we can about Ashcroft and Brent, what happened with your father, everything.” I walk over to him and rest my palms on his chest. “We have to figure out what happened, and who’s trying to hurt me now. Maybe they’re not connected, but everything about this company just brings up more questions. I need answers. We both do.”
Vaughn scowls, but he nods. “I’ll keep digging,” he says. “I haven’t found anything yet, but if you can get me the passwords to the archives, security clearance to look at the old records...”
“I heard someone say they keep all the old documents in a storage facility out in Queens,” I remember. “They were finding things for the gala, old photos. I’ll make a call and get you access.”
I turn away, but Vaughn reaches out to grab my arm. “Be careful,” he tells me, his voice low with intensity. “You can’t trust a single person in that place. Anyone could have pushed you.”
“You think I don’t know that?” My chest twists, just thinking that someone hates me so much that they’re capable of causing me harm. “I’ve been over it a hundred times, trying to figure out who it was. Brent, Carter, Isabelle, even Cam.”
Vaughn’s face changes. “What about me?” he asks. “Did you ever think it was me?”
I stare at him. “What? No. Not for a second.”
Relief crashes over him. “How could you be so sure?” he asks, sounding hollow. “You just found out I’d been lying to you all along, that I wanted revenge for my father. I should have been top of your list.”
I shake my head firmly. “Even when you broke my heart in two, I knew you would never lay a hand on me like that. I may not have known much about you, but I know that for sure.”
“Thank you,” Vaughn murmurs. He brings my hand up and presses it against his chest. Over his heart. “I promise, Keely, I won’t let you down again. You can trust me now.”
I look into his dark eyes, and I believe him. I know he won’t ever betray me again.
“And you can trust me,” I whisper. “You let me in now, Vaughn. Don’t ever shut me out again. The only way this is going to work is if we do it together. Total honesty. I can’t take it if you pull away again.”
He chuckles softly. “Never going to happen, baby.” Vaughn leans down and kisses me on the lips. A searing promise of a kiss. “You’re stuck with me now. We’re going to figure this bullshit with Ashcroft Industries out. And I’m going to fuck you hard every night while we do it,” he adds, with a wicked glint in his eye. “You don’t even know the things I’ve been dreaming up for that body. I’m going to make you come screaming for every second we were apart. Every part, every inch of you.
“Everywhere.”