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TWENTY-FOUR
Shane
M
y blood was boiling with savage rage flowing through my every fucking vein. Ever since I met Callan, I’d been treating him like he was my brother. I cared for, hired, befriended, and trusted him with my life. In return, he’d been lying straight to my face, lusting aftermywoman. I inhaled deeply, trying to combat my towering anger. I swear I wanted to put a fucking bullet in his goddamn head right this very second. But I couldn’t do it. Not like this. Not in front of Melanie. She was watching me, pale and trembling, and despite also being furious that she hadn’t mentioned there was something between her and Callan, I couldn’t do anything to her. I loved her too deeply even though she’d hurt me.
“Get out of my sight,” I hissed, gritting my teeth.
“Shane,” Callan spoke, his tone apologetic, but I cut him off.
“I’m your fucking boss. You should never have forgotten that,” I said, low and cold. “Now get the fuck out of here. Don’t make me kill you.”
“Boss, please let me explain,” he pleaded, but with every word coming out of his mouth, I felt sick. The image of him trying to kiss my fiancée flashed before my eyes.
“Get. Out,” I deadpanned. “And don’t come near my fiancée or me. You’re fired.”
Callan breathed out heavily, glancing at Melanie, and despite it being just a fleeting glance, it made me sick to my stomach, and I was seething. He walked out of my place, not saying a word, not looking back. I closed my eyes, inhaling and exhaling several times before I gazed at Melanie, watching me with her hands shaking and eyes welling up with tears. I hated it. I hated seeing her like this, but I was also hurt and furious that she didn’t tell me about Callan.
“Speak,” I ordered. I hated myself for being so cold toward her, yet I couldn’t fight it. The rage was stronger than me.
“I wanted to tell you, Shane. I swear,” she whispered, looking at me apologetically.
“Then why didn’t you?” I hissed.
“I don’t know. I thought it wasn’t important.” Melanie rubbed her temples. A single tear dripped down her sweet cheek.
“Tell me now. Everything.”
Melanie let out a heavy sigh, swallowing hard. She focused on the vase in the hallway or just the wall. I was so numb I couldn’t tell. “Callan was my first boyfriend.”
First boyfriend?
I clenched my teeth as I shook my head, eyes closed briefly. I was jealous. Fucking jealous. He was her first boyfriend, so he had her first kiss. He gave her her first butterflies. He had her love first. And if what they say about first love was true, she had never forgotten him.
Melanie cleared her throat before speaking, snapping me out of my thoughts. “I was sixteen. It was just before my father arranged my relationship with David Leighton. Callan came to California with his father after his mother died of cancer. They moved from Australia, and my father hired Callan’s father as a gardener. Callan visited his father often, helping him. My father eventually hired Callan as his errand boy, driver, or whatever was needed. Somehow, we started chatting, hanging out together until he finally kissed me.”
“Enough,” I hissed, turning to the side. I couldn’t listen to this. I was picturing Melanie, the woman I lost my head for, kissing a man who I considered my friend. It was too painful for me. Maybe if they had told me about it right away after the first time they saw each other at the hospital, I wouldn’t have been so pissed off. I would understand. After all, it was before I met Melanie, and she had every right to have a past. I wouldn’t care. But the fact that they both kept it a secret was like a stab in the back. I couldn’t help but be suspicious that maybe they still had feelings for one another. Otherwise, why would they keep pretending they were strangers? But what turned the tide for me was Callan trying to kiss Melanie. “I don’t need details. Why did you break up?”
“Because of my father,” she admitted, and my heart dropped to my stomach.
That was the last thing I wanted to hear. She didn’t break up with him because she stopped having feelings for him, but because someone separated them. She would ask herself the question,What if?I asked myself that question.
What if Dedrick didn’t separate them? Would she still be with him?
“Why?” I asked, still avoiding her gaze, as she avoided mine.
“He didn’t like the idea of his only daughter dating someone insignificant. As you know, he had other plans for me. As soon as he found out about...” Melanie paused and took a deep breath, biting her lip as her gaze dropped to the fingers she was nervously playing with before she continued, her voice cracking. “Aboutus. He fired both Callan and his father. You know the rest of the story.”
“Do you still love him?” I looked at her. I had to see her reaction and read her body, her eyes.
“No.” She didn’t hesitate. Her tone was firm and genuine. She cast her gaze upward, and our eyes locked. “I love you, Shane.”
I threw away the gun I still held in my hand and rushed toward Melanie. I put my hands on her waist and pushed her against the wall, crashing my lips to hers, kissing her demandingly.Possessively. I couldn’t stand the thought of another man touching her as I did. I couldn’t stand the thought of my close friend touching her as I did. I wanted her all to myself. And only to myself.
“You’re mine,” I hissed in between our fiery kisses. I took her hands in mine and pinned them above her head. “You’re only mine, Melanie.” I nibbled her lower lip before trailing kisses down her neck.
“I’m yours,” she sighed, breathing heavily.
