Chapter Four

"I'm not a kid, Callan. I know what I'm doing. I'm very sure about this," I said, kissing him again.

This time he opened up, sucking my whole lower lip between his, not giving me a chance to think, as if telling me there was no going back now. I tried to meet his pace, our tongues rolling together, and I knew I shouldn't compare, but the way he kissed was wild, intoxicating, nothing like Corin.

My hand slid into his hair, pulling him deeper into the kiss even as I felt myself starting to lose my breath. My heart was beating so loudly I was certain he could hear it, every nerve in my body screaming that this was wrong. Of course I knew it was wrong. But I had already started, and some reckless, furious part of me refused to stop now.

Since Corin wanted to make a fool of me, I would show him I could do exactly the same.

The sound of a ringing phone cut through the room, and we pulled apart.

Callan stepped back slightly, breathing harder than his usual composure ever allowed, and I reached for the table to check the screen.

Corin.

I chuckled softly, low and humorless, and let it ring.

Callan looked at me, something like surprise breaking through the blankness he wore so easily. "You're not going to take that?"

"Corin gets agitated when I don't answer right away," I said, watching the screen go dark. "He can wait."

"You're really serious about doing this right now?"

"We can't back down now," I said, holding his gaze. "You already agreed."

"What's your plan?" He leaned back against the wall, arms loose at his sides, watching me with that same unreadable expression he always wore. I couldn't tell if he thought I was insane, or reckless, or something worse, and for once I found I didn't care. Whatever judgment sat behind those eyes, I was done letting anyone's opinion of me decide what I did next.

I was going to live the life Corin had taken from me across every year of dating him and every year after.

My mind flashed back to college, to a friend pulling me aside and telling me, carefully, gently, that she'd seen Corin with someone else. I remembered how certain I'd been that she was wrong, how completely I'd believed my prince charming would never do something like that to me.

Foolish girl, I thought, and almost laughed at how far away she felt now.

"What's your plan," Callan asked again, quieter this time.

"Any rules?"

"No rules. This is strictly professional. Beneficial to both of us." I made myself say it plainly, the way he might have said it, matching the same detachment he always carried so easily. "I'll have an affair, and I'll make sure to leave enough behind that he suspects it. Corin's always been possessive about who I see, who I talk to. It'll drive him out of his mind." I paused, feeling the next part rise in my chest with something closer to grief than anger. "And I've wasted years serving him, being exactly what he wanted me to be. I want my career back. The day he finds out about us, I'll expose his affair too. Then I'll divorce him." I looked up at him. "What you do about Bianca is your decision."

Callan pushed himself off the wall, closing the distance between us slowly.

"Bianca has Corin's backing," he said. "And mine, whether she deserves it or not. It's made things easy for her. There's a role coming up, a popular series, casting soon." His voice dropped, more certain now. "I'll get it for you. I'll help you build this the right way."

"You don't have to do this, Callan."

"It isn't only for you." Something flickered behind his eyes, quick and sharp. "Bianca will be furious watching you step into the spotlight she's always assumed was hers alone."

He was close now, close enough that I felt his breath warm against my face, close enough that every rational thought I owned seemed to scatter the second I looked up at him. My eyes dropped to his mouth before I could stop them.

I didn't want to examine what that meant. I only knew that when Corin's call had interrupted us the first time, the flash of anger I'd felt hadn't been about Corin at all.

As if he'd noticed exactly where my gaze had gone, Callan bent and kissed me again, slower this time, deliberate.

I didn't hesitate. I claimed his mouth back immediately, my hands finding his collar and pulling him toward me. My phone rang again somewhere behind us and he made a small motion to pull away, but I only tightened my grip in his hair, refusing to let the distance between us open even an inch.

His hands found my waist, lifting me until my feet left the floor, and I wrapped my legs around him without thinking, without one single thought left in my head that had anything to do with Corin, or Bianca, or the family waiting somewhere outside this room to judge whatever we became.

He carried me toward the bed without breaking the kiss, and for the first time in longer than I could remember, I let myself stop thinking entirely.

He dropped me on the bed as he left my lips and trailed kisses down my neck.

His hand moved to my breast making my breathe hitched immediately he squeezed my left breast softly.

Ahhh a moan escaped from my lips before I could stop it.