C10, PT. 3

The elevator opened. Terry’s professional smile vanished when he spotted her strained expression. Apparently, her mask needed work. Terry braved Roth’s wrath by patting her shoulder as she passed. No one said a word as the elevator traveled down. The moment they reached the lobby, she marched toward the front doors, but Roth slipped his arm over her shoulders to stop her.

“I want to leave,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Mo’s two minutes away.”

He took her coat she was holding and helped her into it. He didn’t ask what happened, and for that, she was grateful. She bowed her head and closed her eyes as she tried to temper the storm her sister stirred up like the glitter in Bailey’s snow globe. She stiffened as her phone rang.

“Let’s go,” Roth said as Mo pulled up to the curb.

She ducked into the back seat and didn’t relax until they pulled away from Hennessy Tower. When her phone rang again, she rejected Lyle’s call and turned it off. She propped her arm on the window and took a shaky breath. They couldn’t have one family dinner without something going wrong. Was her family cursed, or was that just her? Maybe she should stop trying to bond with her sisters. Perhaps it was best they avoid one another, as they had been doing most of their lives. Why subject herself to their criticism and ridicule?

When Roth’s phone rang, she ground her teeth. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him pull it from his pocket. She contemplated knocking it out of his hand. Before she could act on her intrusive thought, the noise abruptly ceased. She turned her head as the screen went black.

She slumped against the seat. “Thanks.”

Roth nodded and looked up as the car slowed. They crossed the lobby of 432 Park Avenue hand in hand. It was still busier than normal, but this time the scrutiny didn’t bother her. They caught an empty car up to the penthouse and when she turned toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms, she came to a stop because he hadn’t released her. She hung her head, dreading the inquisition, but he didn’t say a thing, he just waited.

Slowly, he reeled her in and turned her to face him. Again, no questions, just silence. When she had her emotions under control, she looked up. That intimidating stare that chilled Ariana to the core calmed her frazzled nerves. As she took in his impressive figure, she realized how ludicrous it was to feel protective of him. He didn’t care what anyone thought of him, and didn’t need her to fight his battles for him. Nevertheless, she wasn’t going to let her sisters slander him when he’d done nothing but help their ungrateful, entitled asses. As fragments of things she should have said zinged through her mind, she buried her face against his chest.

The base notes of his cologne—incense, amber, cedar and sandalwood calmed her. Her hands slipped inside his coat and ran up his sides. Roth was right. Her sisters didn’t deserve her. She would have given up her inheritance if Roth had been willing to negotiate with money. Instead, she sacrificed something far more valuable. Thankfully, things had worked out in her favor, but that didn’t take away from the fact that she shouldn’t have taken on that responsibility in the first place. She’d always been idiotically loyal to those she loved, even when the sentiment wasn’t returned. That was her greatest flaw.

She raised her head and looked into those black sapphire eyes that saw straight to her soul. Heart quaking, she reached up and clasped his nape. He obeyed the light pressure and leaned down, eyes watchful, as she went on tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. She splayed her hand across his bristly cheek and deepened the kiss, desperate for connection, reassurance, and comfort. He tasted of coffee and pumpkin pie. He tasted like home.

She had always been misunderstood, dismissed, an oddity in her family of ambitious overachievers. She knew her family gossiped about her behind her back. This was the first time she had interrupted their routine. Hearing what they thought of her was worse than she imagined and hurt her in ways she thought she was impervious to.

Roth didn’t take over the kiss, but accepted what she gave, once again demonstrating a level of patience and care that made her want to give him everything. He accepted the bold thrust of her tongue with an approving hum, and let out a low grunt when she gripped his hair.

It was no mystery why she had been drawn to Roth. His grit, perseverance, and raw intellect, untainted by the artifice of her father’s world, drew her like a moth to a flame. He was the only one who took the time to listen to the ramblings of a lost and lonely girl. He looked at her and saw a woman, one he desired enough to risk his fortune. While they were married, he gave her more than her family ever had. He made her feel loved, accepted, desired, happy, creative, strong, capable, safe. When it came to her family, there were conditions and expectations she would never be able to meet.

When she wrapped her arms around his neck, he picked her up, and made his way to the bedroom. When he set her on her feet, she urged him to sit at the foot of the bed. He complied without hesitation. The fact that this man who rarely gave up control ceded to her will soothed the wounds Ariana inflicted.

She hiked up her dress to straddle his lap, not bothering to shrug off her coat, before she clasped his face and took his lips again. He let her feed from him. Encouraged it. And when her mouth traveled along his jaw, he tipped his head to give her more access.

She lost herself in him. The alluring madness that tempted her at twenty-three was nothing compared to what consumed her now. She didn’t think their chemistry could get any hotter. She was mistaken. Now that they weren’t holding back from each other and using desire as a weapon to best the other, it had morphed into something else. Something more. Something that terrified her with its relentless pull. Her only consolation was that he seemed to be under the same compulsion. Knowing this was temporary, that they would inevitably part made every day, every interaction special. They weren’t people who had committed to forever and took each other for granted. They had experienced paradise and knew how fleeting that phase was. Life had a fickle habit of tripping them up and tearing their plans to shreds. So, they luxuriated in the moment and gorged, knowing their time was limited.

She undid his tie and then the buttons of his shirt, tasting every inch of what she uncovered. When she splayed her hand on his bare chest, she felt his heart thudding beneath her palm. He wanted her. That was one thing she was sure of, but they both knew it wouldn’t last.

Men like him and her father weren’t good at maintaining relationships. They chased, conquered, and married because their need to possess was part of who they were. But, like any businessman, they let go of the asset once they had lost interest or got their money’s worth. Maximus’ marriages with Colette and Ariana’s mothers didn’t go beyond two years. If the rumors were true, her mother didn’t even last three months. Once Roth fulfilled his fantasies and got what he wanted from their alliance, his attention would detach itself from her and find another target. Their deadline protected her from Roth’s disinterest when it came.

**This is a raw draft of Bitter Confessions. Please do not share or distribute.

Copyright © 2024 Mia Knight. All Rights Reserved.

Inspirational images attached for this scene ;) Thank you all for posting images in the chat!!