LOGIN~ SIMONSunlight slipped through the gaps in the curtains. I couldn’t have cared less. Jamie was beneath me, still trembling from her first orgasm, and I wanted more. With her, I always wanted more.“Simon,” she breathed.“Hmm?”“Give me a minute.”“No.” She laughed, but the sound caught in her throat as I moved inside her again. “A minute’s too long.”I kissed the corner of her mouth, then her chin, then her throat. Her fingers dug into my shoulders. “You’re killing me.”“I’m reminding you who you are.”Her eyes opened and met mine. “And who am I?”“Mine.” I pushed deeper, and her back arched.“Fuck, Simon.”“Say it.”“I’m yours,” she whispered.Something raw and possessive stirred in me. I pulled out slowly, and her hips lifted after me. “Easy,” I said. “Turn over.”Jamie looked at me for a second. Then she gave me that smile I knew so damn well. “No.”I stopped. “No?”“I want to be on top.”Fuck. “Then get up here.”I rolled onto my back, and Jamie climbed over me. I expected her t
~ JAMIE “Sylvia called me.”He closed the door.“I noticed.”Simon studied me for a few seconds.“You’re home.”“Looks that way.”His gaze moved over my face.Then dipped briefly to my nightgown.Before returning to my eyes.“Are you staying?”The question hit me harder than I expected.“This is my home, too, isn’t it?”He nodded.“Of course it is.”He came closer but stopped a respectful distance away.“How was your morning?”I took a deep breath.“I got a job.”I saw his jaw tighten.It was quick.Barely noticeable.“You did?”“I start tomorrow.”Simon swallowed.“Congratulations.”I waited for an objection.None came.“With your résumé, I’m sure they were thrilled to have you.”I smiled a little.“Aren’t you going to ask where?”“I am. But first, I want to know if you’re happy.”That caught me off guard.“I am.”“Then I’m happy for you.”I looked at him.“Really?”“Really.”“You’re not going to try to buy the firm?”One corner of his mouth lifted.“Depends. Is the owner single?”A
~ JAMIE“I have to admit, I was surprised when I heard you’d applied for the position, Mrs. Hart.”Declan shook my hand firmly.He looked to be in his early forties, with dark hair beginning to gray at the temples and a serious expression that suited his elegant office perfectly.“Having an attorney with your experience join our firm is an honor.”“Thank you, Mr. Rhodes. I’ll do my best.”He gave me a small smile.“I’m sure you will. And please, call me Declan. No need for formalities.”“In that case, thank you, Declan.”“I’ll see you tomorrow at nine.”“I’ll be here.”He walked me to the door and opened it himself.“It was a pleasure meeting you, Jamie.”“Likewise.”As I walked away, I noticed he was still watching me.Probably wondering whether he’d hired the right person.I intended to prove he had.Dominic was waiting beside the car.He opened the back door as soon as he saw me.“Back to your parents’ house, Mrs. Hart?”I stopped before getting in.Simple question.Not such a simp
~ SIMONI shoved my phone into the pocket of my sweatpants and got out of bed. The mess with Vérité, everything going on with Abigail, and now Jamie. It was all giving me a goddamn headache. Fuck, I would’ve taken that bullet a thousand times over if it meant sparing my wife from going through any of this again. I needed a whiskey. Or five minutes without a single fucking thought in my head.I headed downstairs, making my way through the silent house.It was past two in the morning.I found Dominic near the wine cellar, speaking quietly into his phone. He ended the call as soon as he spotted me.“Everything okay?”“Yes, Mr. Hart. Just checking on the shift change.”I nodded.“And my in-laws’ place?”“Two patrol cars in the area. I’ve also got four of our guys covering the perimeter. Nobody comes or goes without us knowing.”“Does Jamie know?”“No, sir.”“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”Dominic slipped his phone into his pocket.“I’ll let you know immediately if anything comes up.”“Tha
~ JAMIEMy parents’ house was quiet when I checked the time for the third time.2:17 a.m.Wonderful. Another sleepless night to add to my collection.I was lying in my childhood bed, wearing an old T-shirt I’d found in the closet and trying to ignore a thoroughly humiliating discovery: at thirty-two years old, I’d apparently forgotten how to sleep alone.And it was all Simon Hart’s fault.My husband.Just thinking about him made me want to kiss him and strangle him. Not necessarily in that order.I picked up my phone.If I couldn’t sleep, I might as well get an unbiased opinion.I opened Google and typed:Marriage problems after two months.I stared at the search bar.“Jesus, Jamie. Is this really what your life has come to?”I hit Enter.The first result promised to explain why the beginning of marriage could be so difficult.I opened it.According to the article, the first few years of marriage were all about adjusting, discovering new things about each other, and building intimacy.
~ CHLOEThe warehouse sat on a nearly deserted industrial street where half the streetlights didn’t work.I arrived shortly after dark and parked the red motorcycle, the one used in the attack on Jamie, beside my black bike, the one I rode every day.I killed the engine and pulled off my helmet, furious that the bitch had managed to survive yet again.“Son of a bitch!” I hissed through clenched teeth.Jamie seemed to have a goddamn talent for cheating death. I’d spent weeks planning everything, paying off the right people, watching her every move. And somehow, that bitch was still alive, sleeping in Simon’s bed and carrying his last name.A black car was waiting near the warehouse’s side exit. I climbed into the back seat without so much as acknowledging the driver.“Let’s go. Now.”He glanced at me in the rearview mirror but had the good sense to keep his mouth shut.We drove through increasingly deserted streets until we reached an estate surrounded by high walls. The gates opened b







