“We all have a lot of nasty secrets, sweetheart, and you can just be another one,” I whispered between kisses. I wanted her. I knew her being a secret side piece would be a terrible idea, but fuck it. I was willing to play fucked-up games to have her again.
Before she could answer, I deepened the kiss. She moaned softly as I threaded my fingers through her hair. I fucking wanted to tell her about Laz more than anything, but I was goddamn terrified. Enzo had sacrificed everything for this, but what was the point? I was realizing there was no point. In one version, I thought she’d hate me for having a kid with someone else. In the other version, she’d hate me for keeping it from her.
I was fucked.
And I wanted her like this before I couldn’t have her again. It was fucked up and selfish, but I’d learned a long time ago I wasn’t the hero. I was the villain.
“I want you, Rosalie. I’m close to losing you forever, but fuck, I want you,” I said, breathless against her lips.
“Ethan—”
“Shh, pretty girl,” I whispered, kissing her again. “Please. Can-Can I have you?”
“Will you stay?” she asked, breaking off my kiss and staring up at me. “If I do this with you, will you stay?”
I cradled her face, my heart in my throat.
I knew the answer to it, and it was killing me.
“Ethan?” she choked out. “Will you?”
I blinked quickly, realization coming over me. “I-I won’t.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “Why?”
“You’re not my girl anymore,” I said softly. “We’re… I…” I took a step away from her. I couldn’t do this to her. To Anson. To her guys. Fuck, to Cole. Once upon a time, she was mine, but this was the ever after, and she wasn’t part of my story anymore.
I wouldn’t let her be. For Enzo. For me. For Laz. For… her. I’d fucked everything up when I was weak, but I wasn’t that guy anymore. Enzo needed me. My son needed me.
Rosalie… She didn’t need me anymore. She was protected and loved.
“Ethan?” She stepped closer to me.
“I-I can’t,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I care about you, Rosalie. I just… can’t.”
“If it’s about Enzo’s son, I wouldn’t make you cut ties. I would never?—”
“It’s about me and the things I’ve done,” I said softly.
“I don’t… I don’t care about any of that. Do you love me?”
“Fuck, you know the answer to that.”
“Then say it,” she said, voice trembling. “Tell me.”
Fuck, what could I do? I wanted to scream the words to the moon and back, but motherfucking hell, it was all too much. I knew that I should give her the option. That I should tell her the truth about Laz. She was too good to hate me, but what if she did? I still hated myself for it, but I had Laz. He was my world. So then, if I loved him, why did I hate what I’d done? It had been a conflicting issue over the years, and as I stared into Rosalie’s eyes, it only made it worse.
“Ethan?” She reached for me.
I took her hand and brought her back to me, my lips crashing against hers again.
I didn’t even hear the door open.
“What the fuck is this?” Cole demanded, storming into my room and tearing Rosalie away from me.
He tucked her neatly beneath his arm and glared at me.
“Why the fuck are you kissing my girl, E?” Cole snarled, his blue eyes flashing.
