I watch as Dion, Ares, and Luca dance with their wives, their faces lit up with the kind of happiness I once felt too. Faye laughs at something Dion says, and I lift my champagne glass to my lips, knocking it back.
I miss it. The easygoing conversations, the laughter, the intimacy. I miss having a person of my own. It’s strange how much I still love the memory of Celeste while hating the reality of her.
“You’re Faye’s brother-in-law, aren’t you?” someone asks, and I glance to my side to find a familiar-looking blonde standing next to me. “I volunteer at the Staccato Foundation with Faye. We met once, briefly.”
“Macy,” I recall, offering her a kind smile. “You’re a botanist, right?”
She smiles back at me and holds out her hand. “Would you like to dance? You look a little lost, just standing here at the edge of the dance floor.”
I instantly seek out Celeste, only to find her watching me intently from the other side of the room, her gaze tormented. “I’d love to,” I say as I take Macy’s hand and pull her into a dance. It’s uncontrollable, my urge to prove that I don’t want Celeste, when she’s all I can think about. Something about the ceremony today fucking enraged me, reminded me of everything she destroyed, everything we could’ve had. Seeing the way my family responded to her presence reignited the hatred I thought had dulled.
“Would you like to tell me what’s wrong?” Macy asks, her gaze roaming over my face. “I’ve been told I’m a good listener.” I force a smile as we sway to the music, uncertain I could even articulate the problem if I tried. “I suspect it has something to do with the beautiful curly-haired woman that’s staring daggers at me. You were together for the photos, but you’ve been as far apart as possible at any other time. It’s telling, you know? If you didn’t care, you two wouldn’t go so out of your way to avoid each other.”
I smile and lift a brow in surprise. “Either you’re awfully perceptive, or my fiancée and I are being a little obvious.”
Her eyes widen a fraction. “Fiancée, huh? No wonder she seems increasingly agitated. You two must’ve argued.”
I sigh and shake my head. “I wish it was that simple.”
Macy laughs, her gaze endearing. “It is that simple. All that matters is you both still care. So long as you do, anything is fixable. The real problems don’t start until either of you genuinely stops caring about the other, and from where I’m standing, you’re not at risk of that happening anytime soon.”
I raise a brow, intrigued. “What makes you think she still cares?”
Macy laughs and throws me a knowing look. “Watch.”
I just about keep from flinching when she cups my face the way Celeste always used to, pushing herself a little closer to me than I’d like. “I’m betting less than ten seconds,” she whispers, beginning to count down from ten, her eyes on mine. There’s something so reassuring in her gaze, as though she knows what it’s like to be where I am. “Six,” she whispers, just before I feel a hand wrap around my arm and pull us apart.
Celeste moves between us, her gaze wild and her breathing uneven as she grips my arm tightly. She looks at me like she isn’t quite sure what she’s doing, but can’t help herself. “Zane,” she says, my name a plea on her lips. She looks so fucking beautiful with her rosy cheeks and those fucking eyes that tell me she’s still mine.
Macy throws me a victorious look and steps back with a smile on her face. She winks at me before walking away, and Celeste tenses at the sight of it, her gaze following Macy until she disappears in the crowd.
“What was that for?” I ask, no venom in my voice for once. I pull my fiancée against me, my arms wrapping around her as we begin to dance together, the way we used to.
Celeste lifts her head, and the pain in her eyes fucking guts me. It makes me hold her a little tighter, my heart beating a little faster. “I forgot that you have a thing for blondes,” she murmurs, her voice breaking. The torment in her eyes takes me back five years ago when she first asked me to admit that I’d cheated on her with Lily.
I thread my hand through her thick, curly hair and pull her closer. “Not here,” I warn, my voice hard. “Don’t even dream of ruining this for Dion and Faye.”
Celeste pushes against me and steps away, but I grab her wrist and hold on to her tightly, unable to let go when she looks at me like that. She parts her lips to argue with me, and I level her with a pointed stare as I pull her along and out of the venue, ignoring my siblings’ worried stares as we pass them.
The warm evening breeze makes her curls dance as we walk back to our room, both of us silently seething. She glares at me as I unlock the door and brushes past me, her breathing irregular. “Weren’t you the one who told me that cheating wasn’t an option?” she snaps, her tone filled with accusations as she turns to face me. Fucking hell. She looks like a fucking goddess in the darkness of our room, the moonlight illuminating her silhouette. I wish she wasn’t so fucking enchanting. “I suppose it doesn’t count since we won’t be married until next week, is that it? Just what is your definition of cheating, Zane? Enlighten me. How far would you have taken it if I hadn’t intervened?”
I slam the door closed behind us and reach for her, my hands wrapping around her shoulders as I shove her against the door, our bodies flush together. “Shut up, Celeste,” I growl, my lips hovering over hers. She fucking infuriates me. No one has ever affected me the way she does, and fuck, she’s still every bit as maddening as she’s always been.
Celeste is breathing as hard as I am, her eyes flickering from my eyes to my mouth. “Make me,” she whispers, her lips brushing against mine with every word. Her hands slip into my hair just as I suck her bottom lip in between my teeth and bite down, my touch punishing. She gasps, and then she’s kissing me back, the taste of champagne on her tongue diluting her natural sweetness.
She moans when my hands roam over her body, and I tear my lips off hers to kiss her neck. “You’re truly insufferable,” she breathes, even as she tugs at my suit jacket, tearing it off impatiently.
I kiss her just below her ear and grab her hips to lift her up against the wall, loving the way she instantly parts her legs and wraps them around me, a needy whimper escaping her throat as her fingers move to my waistcoat. I hold her up with one arm and use the other to push her underwear aside, pleased to find her dripping for me already.
She whimpers as I drag two fingers over her pussy leisurely and pull back to look at her. The way she looks at me makes me fucking weak. “Zane,” she pleads, and I smirk as I push my fingers into her before curling them. She moans beautifully, and fuck, I’ve missed the sound of her.
“Look at you,” I whisper, fucking pleased. “You’re so wet for me, baby. You want my cock, don’t you?”
Her lips part as I slowly finger-fuck her, and I enjoy watching the desperation in her eyes grow. Having her at my mercy like this is fucking unreal. Celeste reaches for my shirt and undoes the top few buttons, but I wrap my hand around her wrist and drag it down instead, to the waistband of my pants.
“God, I hate you,” she whispers as her gaze roams over my half-unbuttoned shirt and the bow tie that’s still wrapped around my neck, her expression entirely in contrast with her words. She looks at me like nothing else exists, the way she used to.
I narrow my eyes and push against her g-spot, punishing her for her lies. She moans, and I smirk. “Trust me,” I tell her as she pushes down my suit pants, taking my boxers with them. “I’m not particularly fond of you either.”
She looks into my eyes as she grabs my cock and lines me up perfectly. I push the tip in, my eyes falling closed in pure bliss. It’s been so fucking long since I had her, and fuck, I can’t believe I’ve got her back in my arms. “Look at me,” she demands, her tone tinged with desperation. “If you’re going to fuck me, you’d better look at who you’re with, Zane.”
My eyes flutter open as I push an inch into her. “It’s always you, crazy girl,” I whisper. “It’s always been you.”
Her lips part, no doubt to argue with me, and I smirk as I thrust into her, taking her hard and fast. Her eyes widen, and I moan her name, fucking delirious. She’s even tighter and hotter than I remember. “Fuck, Celeste,” I groan as I grab her hips, keeping her in place as I pull back, only to slam back into her harder.
“Oh God, Zane,” she moans, her eyes flickering with something — something that used to be mine.
Hearing my name on her lips makes me feel so fucking unhinged, and she knows it. She pulls on my hair, and I give her what she asked for, fucking her into the door with every bit of repressed anger. “For someone who claims to hate me, you sure do love my cock.”
“Shut up,” she snaps, her grip on my hair tightening as she pulls me closer. Celeste’s hands slide down to my shoulders, and she holds on to me tightly, her eyes on mine as her moans increasingly become more needy, her pleas incoherent. Watching her chase an orgasm used to be my favorite hobby, and fuck, if I’m not careful, I’ll find myself addicted to her all over again.
“Please, Zane,” she moans. “I’m so close.”
I grin and move my hand between us, brushing against her clit as I fuck her slower, taking her right to that edge. “Come for me, beautiful,” I whisper, and she parts her lips as her pussy clenches around my cock, over and over again, until she’s got me groaning, my eyes falling closed as I come right alongside her. “I forgot how good your pussy feels.” I lean into her for support, and her arms wrap around me, her touch soothing.
I lean back a little to kiss her, this one different to the ones that came before it. For the first time since she came back, I kiss her the way I used to, back when she used to be mine, and she responds in kind.
