• Willem •

Amelia paused at her bedroom door and I shook my head, ushering her forward. "The master bedroom has more privacy."

I pushed open the door at the end of the hallway and she walked in, her almond-shaped eyes squinting at the lavish decor.

I said nothing about the custom sized bed or the gold plated decor scattered around the mostly white room.

We were here so I could come clean about everything that happened eleven years ago, not for small talk.

My mistake was not telling her everything at once, thinking she couldn't handle it. But Amelia wasn't as fragile as she appeared.

The black dress she wore clung to her curves and I hated that she'd worn it to go on a date with another man.

"Would you like to change into something more comfortable so we can talk?"

She looked at me with sad eyes. "I'm fine."

I nodded and walked around the massive bed to close the balcony doors. It was getting late and the mosquitoes would soon find their way into the room.

Amelia seemed to have calmed down somewhat, but I didn't know if I preferred her feisty side or this more intense quiet side of her.

I saw her rubbing at her arm and I winced. "I'm sorry I grabbed you like that, but Xiomara set you up and I didn't want you involved in that mess."

"Okay, but the next time you decide to drag me behind you like a spoiled little brat on a leash you will get a piece of me."

"Understood." However, I couldn't stop myself from smiling. If getting a piece of her meant she would put her hands on me anyway, I was down for it.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "I'm serious, Will."

"Will?" The nickname caught me by surprise, but I loved how it sounded coming from her lips.

She shrugged. "It sounds better than Willem."

"It's a typical old Dutch name. It was also my grandfather's name. I was heartbroken when he passed. He was a lot nicer than my father ever was."

"So you and your dad don't get along?"

"We haven't for a while. Ever since my brother passed away."

Amelia still hadn't moved from the door and I wondered what that meant. If we couldn't stand comfortably in the same room, how were we ever going to make this relationship work?

Something told me that she was hanging on to this marriage by a thread and this was her way of saying goodbye.

"Would you like to sit down? Maybe have a glass of wine as well?" I asked, pointing at the mini refrigerator in the corner. I'd do anything to keep her in this room with me a little longer.

Forever.

"I'm fine. You mentioned before that your brother died of cancer. Were you close?"

"We were." I sat down on the edge of the bed and scratched at the light growth of beard on my chin.

She waited for me to elaborate and I couldn't believe how cold she was behaving considering the intimate moment we'd shared downstairs before she went on her date with fucking Hunter.

I thought we were making progress, but somewhere between then and her chit-chat with Xiomara, her attitude toward me and this relationship changed.

I continued what I was saying, my heart heavy at the thought of losing her. "My brother and I were inseparable most of the time, but Pieter lived to please my dad. When my father told him to marry Tessa, he did. She came on to me multiple times during their marriage, all while he was sick, and I regret not telling him what kind of woman she was."

"Maybe it's a good thing you didn't tell him. At least he died thinking his wife was a saint. And his brother too, although that couldn't be far from the truth."

"I don't follow."

"You left me because she was pregnant, is that correct?"

"Tessa went into labor the day after we got married. I had to see the child for myself."

"Why? Because you suspected he was your son?"

"Amelia..."

"Please, no more lies."

"You think I slept with my brother's wife? That I would betray him like that? I told you, we were close and I loved him dearly. He died way too fucking young. Colon cancer. Who the fuck gets colon cancer?"

"It's pretty common."

"Fuck that." I realized that I haven't talked about my brother's passing in a while, and now everything was floating back to the surface. It was like shitting in the ocean and expecting it not to float.

"He didn't even get to see the birth of his first child. That's why I had to go back. I wanted my nephew to know that although his father was gone, I would always be there for him."

"So, Bradley, the boy, he's your nephew?"

"I figured Hunter told you. Or was it Xiomara? None of them know the real story. I raised Bradley like my son and he knows that I'm not his biological father, but I'm the only father he ever had. He calls me dad and I let him because in a lot of ways he's my son.

His father died when Tessa was still in her first trimester. She and I kind of bonded over his death, but we never fucked."

"I find that hard to believe. That woman is in love with you."

"Maybe I led her on, gave her the wrong idea. After Pieter died, I took over a lot of things. I was the one she called in the middle of the night when she couldn't sleep and later when she started craving all kinds of things during the pregnancy. I made sure she and Bradley were comfortable and that they wouldn't lack anything they needed.

"So, you took over your father's business, got married to a woman you didn't know, and became a dad at twenty-one?"

I stood up and took her hands, guiding her toward the white couch opposite the bed. She was looking at me with those eyes of hers again and this time I couldn't read what was going through her gray-streaked head.

"Please sit. And allow me." As soon as she was seated, my hands went to her shoes and I unfastened the clasps around her slender ankles without any protest from her side.

And there, with my knees on the floor, one hand wrapped around the back of her leg, I intended to pour my heart out to her. I wanted her in my life and I wasn't about to let her walk away without a fight.

"Schatje, I was going to come back for your mother's funeral, but as I've told you, your father said you didn't want me there because it would hurt too much."

"I never told him that. My mother got into that accident trying to get to the wedding on time. She thought your parents were going to be there and she didn't want to keep them waiting." Her voice cracked, and I noticed that she was trying hard not to cry. "She had so much respect for your parents."

"She did, but my father changed his mind last minute and refused to attend the wedding. My mother, she's amazing, but her submissive heart would never go against anything my father said."

"Do you feel bad about that? That your mom wasn't there?"

"At the time, yes. I went against my father's wishes, sure, but I expected my mom to at least have my back, you know?"

"I'm sorry."

I sat down on the rug next to her foot, facing sideways, my arm resting on my raised knees. "You have a kind heart, Amelia. When I first met you, you looked so sad, but I could tell that you were trying to be strong for your mother. You tried to cheer her up even though it was clear she was not doing well and the doctors had declared her condition critical."

A tear spilled down her cheek, followed by another in quick succession, and she nodded. "Her last wish was to see us get married. And we did, right there in that bleak hospital room. It was the lamest and saddest wedding ever. Everyone was sad except my mother."

"I remember. Your father was grumpy as fuck that day, and man, he wasn't happy to see me. I think the only reason he got the priest as quickly as he did, was because he wanted to see your mother happy one last time before she passed away."

"He loved her, he truly did. He was never the same without her."

"Do you think your mother knew how bad the financial problems were with your dad?"

"Based on what my father's told me so far, I think it was her idea to sell you the restaurants. Why she wanted us to get married, I'm not sure. Maybe, she wanted to secure my future financially. I don't know."

"Your father brought up the restaurant proposal when your mother wasn't present. And as an investor, I needed to know how bad the damage was. It was bad, so I proposed to buy the restaurants upfront."

The next memory caused a small smile to register on my face. "We had dinner afterward and your mother joined us. I brought up getting married to you as a joke because my father wouldn't let me run the business how I wanted until I was married, and your mom took me seriously. That's how it happened."

"She was quite romantic." Amelia smiled through her tears and I just wanted to pull her close and never let go.

"What about you? Are you a romantic?"

"Hah! That's why I'm in this predicament with you right now."

"A predicament, huh? That bad?"

"Yes, is there anything else you'd like to tell me, Mr. de Vries? This is your last chance to make things right because if you give me one more reason to walk away, I'm walking for good."

"I don't want you to give up on us. Fight for us, baby, please." I took her hand in mine, my thumb tracing the wedding band on her finger as a reminder.

She curled her fingers toward her palm, drawing me closer. "You should be with your son. Even if he's in a coma, he still needs you."

"Come back with me. We'll leave on the first ferry tomorrow. I would love for you to meet him. He's a gentle soul. You won't get to gauge that for yourself, but I'm telling you, he's a great kid."

Her smile was faint but it was there, and it transformed her face amid the somber conversation.

There was something mysterious and deeply sensual about her, and her very presence thrilled me, compelled me.

"He sounds like a lovely kid."

"I didn't want to choose between you and him for the second time, but you're right. He needs me, and I can't give him that at the moment because I'm trying to sort out my feelings for you."

"Look at us, we're getting better at this communication thing. From radio silence for eleven years to talking about our feelings." She laughed. "Progress."

"Stay here with me tonight."

She bit her bottom lip and stared down at me before answering. "Okay."

My heart hammered in my chest, and a sense of joy and wellbeing washed over me. I got to my feet and pulled her up with me.

"You can wear one of my pajama shirts," I suggested, going into the walk-in closet, her hand in mine. I was not letting her leave this room. Or my life after this.

"Silk pajamas? You wear silk pajamas to bed?" She ran a hand over one of the many pajama sets hanging in the closet.

"Don't knock 'em until you try 'em." I handed her a black set. "The pants might be too big, but you can try and see if it fits. The spare toothbrushes are in the cabinet on the left."

She disappeared into the bathroom and I changed into a matching set, leaving the buttons at the front completely undone.

I heard her first before I saw her. She'd removed her makeup and the nakedness of her full lips reminded me of how much I enjoyed kissing her.

Instead of acting on my instincts and grabbing her into my arms, I stood frozen as she passed me and headed straight for the bed.

She wasn't wearing the pajama pants and the silk shirt alone hit right under her butt. Her brown legs were left bare for me to admire.

I wish I could have seen her changing into it. I wanted the pleasure of watching her slowly removing her clothes after a long day for the rest of my life.

I wanted to hear her sigh of relief after she'd removed her bra, allowing her nipples the freedom to stand tall and proud.

I wanted to caress her soft skin in a million and one ways. I wanted to kiss her goodnight and good morning every day.

I wanted her.

"I've never slept in the same bed with a man before," she said looking down at the sheets as if they were something foreign.

Padding across the plush carpet, I stood across the bed from her. "Are you the type who kicks him out of your bed right after? Or, maybe you don't use the bed at all?"

"What? No. It's just that I've never... You know what? Never mind. Let's just get into bed before I change my mind."

I pulled the comforter back and then turned on the air-conditioning to cool the room.

We climbed into bed and immediately our ankles touched. My body reacted on automatic, and a matter of seconds later, my cock was as hard as a rock.

I hadn't gotten laid in over a year and it showed. I hungered. Desired. And there was only one woman alive to satisfy that insatiable need.

The woman didn't have to do much to seduce me. Her eloquent personality and her unshakable beauty were all it took.

Her supple body settled in next to me under the sheet and she turned to face me with her bright eyes.

"Tell me something, schatje, has a man ever made love to you?" I suspected my wife was probably still a virgin.

Glancing down at the space between us, she bit down on her lip again. If she kept doing that, I was going to kiss her, and I didn't think I was going to stop there.

"I mean, I've fooled around with guys before, one guy mainly." She dropped her head back on the pillow. "I feel so stupid for waiting. Why did I wait?"

I reached for some hair in her high bun, loving the texture of her natural hair gliding between my fingers. "Maybe it never felt right."

"And strangely, it feels so right with you."

"So, you admit you want to have sex with me?" I teased. "You want to have your way with me, don't you, schatje?"

She stared at me blankly, but I knew she was dying of embarrassment on the inside.

"If you want to have sex with me, all you have to do is kiss me right now. I'll take care of the rest."

She leaned forward and I damn near fainted. Her soft lips brushed against mine, timidly at first, and then fervently.

I opened my mouth and she followed suit, the tip of her tongue reaching forward to explore mine.

My instincts told me not to take her, not to claim her, at least not yet. But, maybe if I did, she'd want to stay longer than the twenty or so days we had left.

Was I thinking about binding Amelia to me through sex?

Dammit, yes, I was.

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