The Missing - Kiersten Modglin (the reading strategies book TXT) 📗

The chance of our lives.

Her scent overwhelmed me, her bare skin pressed to every inch of mine.

“Why do you have to leave?” she begged, trailing a finger across my bare stomach and underneath the covers. I felt her fingers wrap around me, making me rethink my decision. Maybe I could stay. Maybe I could tell my wife I’d had to work even later than planned.

Instead, I looked over at her, the beauty beside me, and smirked. “I have to get back home, you know that.”

“Barrett,” she whined, in a way I couldn’t help finding sexy. “Please. Stay with me.” She pressed her lips to mine, and I tasted myself on them.

I closed my eyes, wanting desperately to find a way to stay, but I couldn’t. For a brief moment, I lost my senses, but regained them just as quickly. “I can’t keep her waiting much longer. She almost came by the office last time and found out I wasn’t there. We were too close to getting caught.”

She tucked her cheek against her shoulder, staring up at me with doe-like eyes. “Would it be that bad if we were caught? That would mean we could be together. Your wife would finally know the truth about everything…” Her hand hadn’t left the place she’d put it moments ago, and I felt myself hardening under her grip. “About us.”

“It would, Jessica. It would be the worst thing. If my wife knew about you, about us, she’d ruin me. She’d get half of everything—my company, my fortune, I’d have to sell the house and split the profits. I can’t let that happen.”

“So this is all there is for us?” She was heartbroken, and I couldn’t blame her. Given the chance, I would’ve walked away from my wife and chosen Jessica years ago. But I didn’t have the choice. We’d been young, dumb, and in love when we’d gotten married, and I’d felt sure a prenup would come across wrong. Now, I was paying for that. It wasn’t like we were happy anymore. She knew it. I knew it. But she was sticking around for the same reason I let her. A divorce would be devastating, financially, to the both of us.

I reached down, forcing her to loosen her grip. “I will tell her about everything. I promise you I will, but I need time to figure out how to do it. These things are delicate.”

She stared at me as if she didn’t believe me, but she didn’t argue. It was what I liked about her most of all. She never argued. Didn’t nag. She’d have questions. Requests. But never arguments. I was in complete control with her.

Unlike my wife who needed to have control over every aspect of our lives.

“I hate having to sneak around,” she said, rubbing her cheek against where she lay on my bicep.

“I do too,” I admitted.

“When do you think it’ll end?”

“I wish I knew…”

“I love you, Barrett,” she whispered uncertainly. “I love you so much. I’m terrified you’re lying to me. That you’re never going to leave her.”

I rolled over, running a thumb across her cheek. “Hey…” I whispered, willing her to look at me. “I love you, too. You know that, don’t you? I’m crazy about you. I always have been. From the moment you walked into my office. Sitting across from you every day, sitting across from you and being unable to touch you, was torture. And now, having you not there is even worse.”

“So tell your wife and spare yourself some torture. It’s your company. You’re rich. Hire the best lawyer and take it all back from her.”

“You don’t understand how this works. I can’t just take it all back. We’re married, and there’s no prenup. Her name is on everything, too. I have to be careful with the way I approach it.”

She blinked, studying me. “You’re scared of her.”

“I’m not scared of her,” I argued. “I’m scared of losing the life that I’ve built. Because if she knew about you, she’d take everything. More than that, I’m scared for you.”

“Scared for me? Why? Is she dangerous?” she asked, furrowing her brow.

“Not physically, maybe, but she is powerful. I wouldn’t put anything past her. I just need you to be patient with me, okay? This will have to be enough for now,” I said, but she didn’t respond right away.

“I’m not afraid of her,” she said finally, then pressed herself up so she was resting on her elbow. “I mean it, Barrett. If you want…I could help you get rid of her.”

I swallowed, because there was no hint of a joke in her eyes.

“What do you mean?”

Once she’d told me, I almost regretted asking.

Almost.

Chapter Five

When Barrett got home from work, I was, as he’d requested, unshowered. I had taken off my clothes and dressed only in a silk robe. I’d been lounging on the bed, watching a reality show and drinking a margarita when he walked into the room. His body was heavy with stress, his shoulders slumped, but when he saw me, he straightened. His eyes trailed the length of my body, and the right side of his mouth turned up.

“Welcome home,” I said, batting my eyelashes at him as if I didn’t know what the fuss was all about, though I recognized the hunger in his eyes. I placed my drink on the nightstand. “How’d it go?”

“Fine,” he said, kicking off his shoes and walking toward me. He grabbed my hand and tugged me toward him. I obliged, shimmying myself onto my knees and crawling across the bed. I sat in front of him on my knees near the edge of the bed and grinned, toying with the string on my robe.

“I waited for you,” I said. “Like you told me.”

The scarlet of his cheeks deepened, and his eyes filled with hunger. “I see that…”

I placed a hand carefully on his chest, leaning forward to kiss him. The kiss was soft at first, then filled with urgency and passion.