Undersold(55)

His eyes met mine, and I saw something there I hadn’t seen before. It was pain, an old pain, and one that festered and had stayed buried for so long, now brought out to the surface.

“It feels good to talk about this. For so long I’ve hated my brother, and hated myself for covering it all up. But I’m done living my life in the shadows. I’m done trying to pretend like I’m just a normal person. If I’m going to have a life with you, it’s time to stop running away.”

My breath caught in my chest.

“What do you mean?” I asked quietly.

“No more sneaking around. No more secrets. Tell whoever you want. Tell the world, I don’t care. I’ll still pay off whoever tries to leak information on my brother, but I’m not letting his mistakes consume everything that I am. I’m not letting him destroy what I have with you.”

I leaned forward and kissed him deeply. I could feel the pain behind him, the tension in his body, but also the relief at having finally revealed his secret shame.

“Thank you for telling me that,” I said as we pulled away.

“I want you to know every inch of me, like I want to know every inch of you.”

“In that case, I have to tell you something too.”

He smiled. “And what’s that?”

“I have another brother, named Derek.”

He nodded. “You haven’t mentioned him.”

I shook my head. “He’s a drug addict. An asshole. We don’t talk to him much. He hasn’t been a part of our family for a long time. But he showed up to the funeral, right from rehab, and seemed like he wanted to change. It’s not the same situation as you, but I understand having a stain in your family. We tried so hard in those early years to help him, my brother John especially. But after all the lies and the stolen money and the broken promises, we gave up.”

Shane’s eyes widened, and he nodded. “I can’t believe we have such a similar story.”

“I know, it’s crazy. I guess I understand what you’re saying. I know where you come from.”

He leaned forward to kiss me again, and I felt my passion rise. Every inch of him was a part of me now, and I was still so hungry for what he had to give me. When he pulled away, it was like a part of my self had moved away.

We stayed like that for hours, until John came home. We ate dinner together, and Shane seemed to get along well with John. We told each other stories, and remembered my Dad. Shane listened, and shared his own stories, completely at ease. We laughed, and we ate, and I held Shane’s hand under the table, and I couldn’t imagine being any other way.





EPILOGUE


Dinner was good, but being out in public with Shane Green was better. People whispered, of course, and some people outright stared. I wasn’t used to being the center of attention, but his confidence took over any room he entered and made the place his own. This was our first public date since we got back from my Dad’s house a week ago, and it was comfortable in a way I hadn’t expected.

“How is everything?” he asked, breaking me out of my reverie.

“It’s great,” I said, meeting his powerful gaze. He smiled back and reached out to take my hand. His fingers never failed to send a shiver of desire down my spine.

He had said he wanted to loosen some of his control, but that wasn’t entirely true. He may have changed the old rules, but he made new, more exciting rules to take their place. I was still his, body and soul.

“Good, I’m glad.” He looked over his shoulder, then back at me. “Is it just me, or are people whispering about us?”

I laughed. It was so obvious that people were staring, and I knew he was trying to make sure I wasn’t freaking out.

“I hadn’t noticed, actually.”

“Oh good, it’s just me then. What a big ego I have.”

“That’s not the only big thing you have.” I smiled and he laughed.

“Miss Woodall, we’re out in public.”

“So what, Mr. Green? Doesn’t change how bad I wish I could suck you off under this table right now.”

His eyes smoldered into mine and I felt a shock of desire run up my core.

“Maybe give the good people a real show,” he said.

For half a beat, his strong gaze and serious expression almost convinced me to drop to my knees and take him in my mouth right there. But before I could go ahead with my crazy plan, he laughed and looked around. Our waiter came over, and placed our meals in front of us.

As the waiter left, Shane lifted his glass of champagne. “To us. Our first real date.”

My eyes widened a bit. “Second date, actually.”

He shook his head. “No, I’m counting this one as the first. To new beginnings.”