Page 48 of Bittersweet Redemption

“Ooo, yep, you’re in a situationship.” Kellan looks at Riley like she just said the most insane thing he’s ever heard.

I laugh. “Yeah, sure. You know, I just enjoy her company. I like having her around the house. She’s a hard worker and a great mom, and she always tries to have a smile on her face. She’s not a bad person, Kel.”

“She’s a liar,” he counters.

I shrug. “Maybe. But we all tell lies sometimes, don’t we?”

“Not lies that could ruin someone else’s life.”

“My life isn’t ruined. Look at me. I’m here having dinner with my brother and his wife. I’ve got a job that I love. My own house. I’ve got a situationship,” I look at Riley, who is beaming with happiness, “that I’m enjoying. And I like her kid. My life is great right now, Kel.”

He lets out a frustrated sigh. I get it. He’s pissed that I was locked up for ten years for something I didn’t do. I’m pissed about it too. But I’ve got a second chance, and I’m not going to waste it holding a grudge. Is it karma that I’m hooking up with Willa after what she did? Maybe. But life is funny sometimes.

“Kellan.” Riley puts her hand on his. “It’s his life. He’s your brother. You just need to support him.”

“I do. I am. I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.” He lets out a frustrated sigh and runs a hand down his face.

I smile at him. “Last time I checked, I was the big brother.”

Kellan rolls his eyes. “Whatever, man.”

“I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.” I look over to Willa, who has a huge smile on her face as she watches Roman play some space creature game. I glance around and see more than just my eyes on her. “If you’ll excuse me. I need to go stake my claim.”

I slide out of the booth and stalk toward Willa. When she sees me coming, her smile grows even wider. She’s just as happy to see me as I am to see her. If that’s not something to strive for, then I don’t know what is. I walk right up to her and reach out, wrapping my fingers around her throat and pulling her into my mouth.

I’m claiming her right here for everyone to see. Everyone in this restaurant now knows she’s mine, but I’m also doing it so that she knows she’s mine. We haven’t talked about what we are, and we may never talk about it. But she’s mine. She knows it. I know it.

When I pull back, it takes her eyes a second to flutter open. “What was that for?”

“Just making sure these fuckers know who you came here with.” I spin her around and pull her into me, wrapping my arms around her waist. We stand there, entangled, watching Roman play this ridiculous video game until Kellan tells us the food is ready.

Chapter 24

Willa

I packed the last of our things into our suitcase. Today we’re moving back into our house. It’s bittersweet. I’m so proud that I could rent such a nice house for Roman and did it all on my own. But I’m really going to miss being around Kai. Sure, I’ll be right next door, but it’s not the same as waking up and knowing he’s just down the hall or waiting up at night to hear his car pull up so I can sneak out of my bed and into his.

We haven’t talked about what we’ve been doing, we didn’t talk about the kiss he gave me in the middle of a crowded restaurant, and we didn’t talk about what happens when Roman and I leave here. I don’t know if we only started this because I was convenient for him. But I’ll be crushed if I have to sit at my house and watch another woman walk into his.

I didn’t want to be attached to him. That was never the plan. It was supposed to just be sex. But here we are.

I zip the suitcase and stand it up. We’ve already made a few trips to the house with the rest of our stuff, so this is the last of it. Ro’s at school, and when he comes home, I’ll have everything in his room unpacked.

“This is it,” I tell Kai as I roll my suitcase down the hall. He stands up from the edge of the couch. Neither one of us knows what to say right now. It’s weird. The vibe has been off in the house all morning.

“So. . .” he starts but then trails off.

“So, this is it.” I try to put on my bravest smile and bite the bullet to ask what I really want to know. “Are we—I mean, is this thing between us over?”

Without hesitation, he says, “No, it’s not fucking over.” His voice sounds almost angry. He takes a few steps until he’s right in front of me. “I don’t know what it is about you, Willa. I can’t get you out of my system. And I don’t think I want to get you out of my system.”

“You don’t?” I look up at him. His warm hazel eyes stare down at me.

He tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his touch alone sending a shock through my body. “No. I don’t. I want you all the time. Any way I can get you.” He hesitates for a second before continuing. “This is going to sound really cheesy, so don’t laugh, but I want you to be my girlfriend. I want to take you out. I want to do things with you and Roman. I want more than just sex with you. I want to give this a shot, a real shot.”

There is no way I could wipe the stupid smile off my face. I feel giddy inside. I prepared myself for the worst with this conversation and ended up getting more than I could’ve imagined. He wants me to be his girlfriend? How did we go from him hating me to him wanting to take me on dates? My brain is on excitement overload, and my cheeks start to cramp from how hard I’m smiling. “I’d love to be your girlfriend, Kai. Do you want to write me a note, and I’ll check the box for yes?”

“Shut up.” He leans down and shuts me up with his mouth. I open up for him like I normally do. The suitcase handle falls from my hand as Kai backs me up to the wall. His body pins me in place while his lips trail down my neck until he pulls my top down and exposes my breasts. His mouth wraps around my nipple, and he sucks hard.