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CHAPTER 101

Author: Natalie May
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56

CHRISTIAN

I shook Brad’s hand and walked across the beach. Hazel was sitting on the sand, a sketchbook on her knees, pencil in hand, but she was motionless. The breeze picked up the strands of her hair, blowing them back like ribbons of dark silk. I sank down behind her, pulling her back into my embrace.

“Hey.”

She tilted her head back, observing me upside down. “Hi. What were you talking to Brad about for so long?” A frown crossed her face. “Please tell me you didn’t ask about buying the resort.”

I snickered at the expression on her face and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “No. I think he has a buyer. I was thanking him for letting you come back, and we were talking about other things. Where he is moving to, stuff like that.”

She pursed her lips and shrugged, turning back to face the water.

“What are you sketching?”

She held up the book. “Nothing. I’m enjoying the view.”

I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her tight. “It’s a great view.”

“Mom and I used to build bonfires, coo
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    I woke up, the fluttering of panic fast in my chest when the spot beside me was empty. I sat up, throwing the blanket back and striding out of the bedroom. I relaxed when I spotted Hazel on the beach. She stood, facing the water, holding something to her chest. I glanced over, confirming the fact Sandra’s urn was gone from the mantle.My wife was saying goodbye.Returning to the bedroom, I grabbed my pants, tugging them on. I picked up my T-shirt and yanked it over my head as I hurried outside, crossing the beach. The weather system they had predicted was already making its presence known. The waves were higher, hitting the sand with loud slaps. The wind was picking up, and I knew, soon, the rain would follow, and the storm would make my wife nervous.I reached her side, enveloping her in my arms.“I was waiting for you.” She said.“You should have woken me up.”“I wanted a little time. I knew you wouldn’t be far behind me.”“Are you sure?”She smiled up at me, the glimmer of tears in

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    THE PASTCHRISTIAN, 5 YEARS AGOI sat stiffly at the table in the overly fancy restaurant my assistant had booked, wanting to be anywhere but there. A flurry of conversation and laughter continued around the table where the company staff sat with me, enjoying the vibe and their dinner. The sounds of cutlery and the occasional clink of wineglass against wineglass accompanied their satisfied laughter. I normally wouldn’t do something like this. I was perfectly okay with paying for the dinner and having them go enjoy themselves on their own—I figured they would even be more comfortable without me here— but Grandfather thought it was good rep. He thought I needed to bond with the staff outside of the office, and somehow, he managed to convince me to have a group dinner with them. On the bright side, I’d expected them to be all awkward with me being there, but they seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves. Me on the other hand… my head was clouded with thoughts of her. Hazel…It was one

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    It was getting closer to December. The temperature had dropped considerably lower and it was officially jacket, coat and gloves season. Snow peppered the roads and buildings in a beautiful white coat. I sat in the driver seat of my car and reflected as I drove. The day at the office had gone by pretty fast, I had a ton of meetings, and the whole time, my mind was clouded with thoughts of my beautiful wife. If someone had told me at the beginning of the year that I would become this obsessed with her, I would have most definitely laughed in their face, yet here I was, completely smitten by her. I couldn’t wait to get into the warmth of our home and linger over a warm, hearty supper with my daughter and wife, watch a movie and crawl into bed with my wife, with full intentions of not sleeping.A small smile stayed on my face the whole way home. I parked in the driveway, not even bothering to go into the garage. I felt the snow crunch under my shoes as I walked into the foyer and shook of

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    HAZELAfter I walked out of the doctor’s office, I took a cab to Chistian’s office instead of heading back home. I was still feeling a little dizzy, but if I was being honest with myself, I’d started feeling dizzy the moment the doctor had started talking. One time I’d been prescribed antibiotics for my sore throat when I was twenty-years-old, and I’d ended up at the emergency room. As it turned out, I was allergic to penicillin. Giving my blood was a whole other…experience. To say I didn’t like needles, doctors or hospitals of any kind would be an understatement. Because of all that, I could do nothing but feel dizzy, thinking the worst. As to why I was standing in front of the Walker building near Kerry Park, I didn’t have a straight answer for that. I walked through security, got in the elevator with six other people, and got off on Christian’s floor. I walked up to the red-haired, blue-eyed receptionist, the same one I’d seen at The Lark and the one time I’d been there.“Hi. I wan

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    I grabbed her hips, guiding her. Pushing her up and pulling her back down. She sobbed my name, her back arching as her release washed through her. I watched as she lost herself in the moment. I had forgotten how beautiful she was in her release. The way her entire frame shuddered. How she bit her lip and lowered her chin as if sinking into the feeling. The breathiness of my name falling from her lips. And how it felt when her muscles fluttered, tightened around me, taking all I had—giving me so much more.My body strained, the urge to thrust and grind against her eclipsing everything else. An orgasm hit me, obliterating everything in its path. I saw stars, the ecstasy was so great. I opened my mouth in a soundless scream, and somewhere, deep inside, I felt a flex, the pinching of muscles not used for so long now gripping, then vanishing as fast as they had engaged. A long, agonized sound escaped as my entire being surrendered. The pain, the pleasure, the sweet torture of it all.Hazel

  • A vow of hate   CHAPTER 165

    CHRISTIANThe taste and feel of my wife chased away the last lingering remnants of my dream. Hazel wasn’t walking away. She was right here, with me, in my arms.Right where she should be.I kissed her deeply, seeking out her tongue with mine, stroking hard and deep. Reclaiming her mouth. Reclaiming her. I yanked her tight to my chest, pulling off the towel she had draped around her body. I pushed down the blanket that covered me, needing to feel her. I dragged her over my lap, groaning at the feel of her weight pressing down on me. Still kissing her, I slid my hands over her silken thighs, parting them and settling her so she straddled me.She pulled back, gasping. “Is this okay?”“Fucking yes, it’s okay.” I pressed my mouth to her neck, licking up the damp, elegant column of her throat. “It’s fucking perfect.” I murmured. “You’re so perfect for me, Haze. And I’m such an idiot. Everything that has happened, it only made you stronger, but not me… I got weak.”She grabbed my face, holdi

  • A vow of hate   CHAPTER 164

    Valerie’s feet kicked in excitement as we turned down the street. I smiled at her in the rearview mirror.“Daddy waiting!” she crowed.I felt both excitement and trepidation as I pulled into the driveway. I wanted to come home so much, yet I was afraid of what was going to happen when we were alone. Would Christian continue moving forward, or would our presence once again cause him to slide backward? Once he got over the initial pleasure of seeing his child, would he again find her, and me, more of a bother? I wasn’t sure I could take it if that happened. I couldn’t watch the man I love disappear into the shell he used to be. But a small voice in my head kept telling me he wouldn’t. The gifts, the notes, the calls, and texts from him were all sent by the man I loved. He had made sure I knew how sorry he was feeling and how hard he was working to come back to us. He even opened up and expressed his worries, finally letting me know the depth of his fears. Finally letting me understand w

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    Hazel loved the spa. She sent pictures of them all enjoying the treatments, sipping champagne, even funny ones of Valerie getting a baby massage and having her toes done with the girls, holding up a glass of apple juice. They made me smile, even as my heart ached. I sent flowers to the hotel for Hazel. I added a box of her preferred chocolates. When she went back to mom and Grandpa’s, I sent a chef to make her favorite meal. A basket of bath products to indulge her love of soaking in the tub. I sent it with a stuffed bear, fluffy and cute with a card attached, reading: "Snuggle this until you’re home. I’ll take his place when you’re ready. All my love—Your Christian". One night, lying in our bed alone, I turned on some music. I shut my eyes and listened as the soothing voice of Neil Diamond played in the darkness. A song came on, and for some reason, the lyrics hit me as they never had before. “The Story of My Life” spoke of the depth of his love for the woman in his life

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