Instantly, he stilled to the voice just thundered in the entire floor. Fuck! Everyone around the emergency room yelped and gasped in shock. Then it went silent, except for the constant ear-splitting beeps and alarms of the machines, he didn’t realize it had been there before.Bryce gathered all his strength to stand up and face the demon from his nightmare. “W-with the doc—”Before he could finish his words, Dax’s fist connected with his jaw. Bryce’s head snapped to the left he thought his world spun around him. He felt his ass hitting the floor with a thud. Everyone let out another gasp. The pain from the punch wasn’t even close to the pain he felt for Clary.“Give me a single fucking reason not to take her away from you, Chase!”He couldn’t answer. All he could do was stare in horror at Dax.“Funny and pathetic. You can’t even open your mouth, can you now, huh, Chase? Because the moment you let her out of your sight, you lost that fucking right.”“It was—” Bryce could taste his own
A few moments later, he heard strong and rushed footsteps approaching.“She will be transferred to the private room. Don’t worry, I’ll pay the bills.” It was a way for Dax to mock Bryce.“Thanks.” He stayed calm and let Dax’s words hit his chest painfully.“I’ll drop by later. I have a meeting to catch up. You might wanna see your daughter now.”When Dax’s footsteps faded, he stood up and shuffled toward the room where Clary was tended. He felt hands squeezing his own, and it broke his heart even further, but it had to be done.If he learned one thing from this unshakable circumstance, it was to learn to make a tough choice. Let his brain make the right decision.Dr. Callie smiled at him. “She’s sleeping right now. I advise you to let her rest for the whole day without too many visitors once she’s transferred to her room. She had enough for today, Bryce.”“Thank you, doc.” His voice was barely audible.The doctor nodded at him, nonetheless.“We will transfer her to her room after you
It was nothing but sex.You were a huge distraction. This has to end now. I don’t need you.She hated crying. For her, it was a sign of weakness. Yet, here she was. It was out of her control. She wiped the tears on her face, but they kept falling from her eyes as those words continued echoing in her mind. She ran away from the emergency room with only one goal—to be far away from this place as quickly as possible, but it didn’t go as she planned when she heard her name calling behind her.She halted as if her feet were glued to the ground while her brain was screaming at her not to stop.“Charleigh!” the old man called her name again. She knew it was Bryce’s grandpa Matthew who carpooled with her to the hospital. With respect to the old man, she squeezed her eyes shut before she turned around. Grandpa Matthew’s face twisted with sadness. He sighed deeply and shook his head. “Don’t listen to him. He is confused and afflicted. Give him a little time to pull himself back together. S
Charleigh sniffed and rolled the window down. She acted like she didn’t care. She actually didn’t. She couldn’t care less right now. “What do you want, Dax?”“I thought this was your car.” He was still wearing the same suit and tie. She had guessed his meeting ended pretty quickly. “Can we talk?”“About what? Haven’t you done enough? Hurting someone didn’t give you so much satisfaction that you also want to hurt me again?” She crossed her arms over her chest, not bothering to look at him.“I didn’t know you liked him…that much.”“Why do you even care? I can like anyone I want, even a freaking monkey for as long as it is loyal to me.”“I know I screwed up and hurt you, Charleigh, but my offer was sincere. No hidden agenda, I promise. I want to start over with you.” That caught her attention. She turned her head to him, narrowing her eyes into slits. Jesus, this man had giant balls! Was he fucking kidding her? Did she look like she was interested? What was with him that he couldn’t get
Charleigh arrived back at her apartment pretty late, and she was exhausted. Her stomach kept grumbling, but she didn’t even have the strength to heat the meal in her fridge. She lost her appetite when she saw the desk in her small office where she let herself get engrossed to finish the plan she did less than forty-eight hours ago. Now, she wasn’t expecting Bryce would even take a look at it. Her effort had gone to waste. Just like the feelings she invested in the wrong man.She curled up in her bed alone. Last night she was busy moaning, writhing, and screaming as she and Bryce had lost in their own world. Right now, she felt nothing but heartache, muscle pain, and a headache, her constant reminders that what happened between them was real and over.Her phone suddenly vibrated. Her hope spiked that maybe, it was Bryce ready to apologize, but to her disappointment, it wasn’t him. Her brows furrowed to see her brother’s name flashing on the screen of her phone.“Wow!” She threw her ha
Bryce had been staring at the monitor for quite longer than necessary, then back to his daughter, who was still asleep soundly in her bed. His eyes burned from crying, and his body was exhausted, but Bryce couldn’t just shut his brain off and took a nap. He was scared that Clary would wake up while he was sleeping, and he couldn’t miss seeing the most beautiful blue eyes again. That was two days ago.Clary was released from the hospital, but Bryce hadn’t taken a proper sleep since then. He was still pretty shaken up by the lake incident.It was supposed to be a perfect day for them, and he and Charleigh until his life took a different turn. He felt his chest burst open as pain radiated through him. He blinked repeatedly when his eyes felt like on fire.He took a deep breath then he felt that someone was watching him. He let his head turn, and Grandpa Matthew was leaning against the doorjamb of Clary’s room, unimpressed.“Sleep tight, sweetheart.” He held Clary’s tiny hand and pressed
Bryce felt something heavy inside his chest that he couldn’t shake away. Never a moment did the image of Charleigh smiling, laughing, moaning beneath him didn’t visit his mind. The caramel-colored eye brunette never concealed what she truly felt for him, even up to the last moment she looked into his eyes before she dashed out of the emergency. That was one of many things he loved about Charleigh.Yeah, he loved Charleigh. He never doubted that.A tremor of fear ran down his spine. After Bryce screwed it up, she probably moved on, and someone as beautiful and smart as Charleigh would never wait and give another chance to someone like him. She deserved better. Because he was an ass, he was paying the price.When they were gone to the room, Bryce sank to the couch. He instantly remembered how they met—it was through his dog. He petted its fluffiest fur, and it started to whine at him. He couldn’t believe he blamed Lotus for his stupidity.“Hey buddy, do you think she hates me?” he asked
“Are you sure about this?” His brother’s voice was laced with sadness as he picked up the resignation letter Charleigh placed on his desk. “I know I pushed you hard, and I am a terrible boss, but it doesn’t have to be like this.”“And a terrible brother.” She rolled her eyes.He nodded in agreement. “And a terrible brother. I thought if I promoted you, you would stay with us.”“I can’t work with him. You know that. And lately, he’s always around.” She was referring to Dax. They always bumped into each other in the firm. Lately, he visited the firm often for an unknown reason. Probably to annoy Charleigh and show her he won again. She told Tripp about everything back at Hopes Spring, to the last detail where Dax threatened Bryce and wanted to win her back.“I’m sorry, sis.”She walked closer to him, wrapped her arms around her brother, and kissed his cheek. “Don’t be. I might consider your father’s offer. Not so bad, right? What do you think? Not to take over his position, though.” Sh
Having a hard time processing the gratitude, Ari drank her wine in a gulp.“I don’t deserve the kindness you give to me,” Tripp continued. “What I deserve is resentment from you, Ari. Please, tell me if I am doing this wrong. If you want me to change. I’ll do everything for you, for us.”“You talk too much.” She knelt, cupped his head, and kissed him hard, wet, and wild. Her tongue was forcefully seeking an entrance.When Tripp didn’t give it to her, she tugged his bottom lip until he opened for her with a groan. She knew Tripp wanted to say more, but she wanted him to stop—he’d been trying too hard for them to make this work, and he deserved a reward of some sort.And she had to stop him because if she didn’t, she might end up blurting out the words at the tip of her tongue right now.She was the kind of woman who thought before she put it into action, but with Tripp, her mind was busy thinking how good she would feel underneath him, on top of him, against him, behind him, in all ang
“Don’t you wanna join me?” Her eyes lingered on the growing dark brown stubble of her husband. After they made love three days ago, she couldn’t help herself not to feel it against her fingertips. When she told him she liked the roughness against her skin, he kept it unshaven.He was an eye candy in his shorts. He might have felt Ari staring at him. His strong jaw locked hard, became more prominent from her angle. His mouth was pressed in a determined line as he chopped the bell pepper expertly like a chef.She knew Tripp used to control even when they made love. He liked to dominate and was always successful with little to no effort. Was there a time that Tripp had ever lost his control? She didn’t have to know for as long as he would lose control of her. She didn’t mind at all.“Are you just gonna stare at me?” His brow arched, reaching his hairline. His smile was meaningful—as if he just read her thoughts. “I thought you wanted to go to the dock.”“I’m going. Are you sure you don’t
“Thank me later.” Charleigh kissed her on the cheek. “Open your trunk.”Tripp left to take the things he brought with Charleigh. When he came back with the duffel, Ari was already in the car. Once he was done, he went to the passenger’s seat.Ari’s hands were on the steering wheel as if she was about to say something but held the thought. Her emotion was making her weep, and she did not want to cry like an idiot.“You okay?” Tripp asked, still confused when Ari kept silent in her seat. “Look, if this is a bad idea, we can drive home. Forget this thing happened. I’m totally cool with it.”Ari looked at him for a few seconds before she cupped his head and kissed him like she always wanted. She drunk in the surprised gasp slipped from Tripp’s lips. His mouth opened to welcome her, and she devoured him, slipped her tongue, and tasted every corner of his mouth. His taste and coffee exploded in her tongue and she wished it would last.Tripp groaned and moaned as she sucked his bottom lip an
“You scared the heck out of me.” Shell-shocked, she stared at Spencer with wide eyes, her palm on her chest.With the look on Spencer throwing at her, she didn’t have to be surprised—it was like everything was slowly clicking into its places. Spencer looked assertive as if she knew more than what she saw. She heard everything. She figured it out all by herself.Ari’s secret was over. Now she was in deep trouble.“Spence,” she said breathlessly, her heart still pounding.“I can’t say that I’m surprised.” She looked upset as she leaned against the locker. Her eyes filled with judgment.“I can explain.” She held Spencer’s arm.“Don’t tell me crap that this is not what it looks like, Ari because this is exactly what it looks like. Are you even planning on telling me?”“Of course, I was planning to—”“But, he told you not to tell any soul, right? Because for him, everything is just a game, a deal. You’re his pawn, and you know that. Yet you’re falling for his crap.”Her eyes widened again.
Despite a lot of patients coming tonight from food poisoning at the birthday party going wrong, Ari was in a good mood to work long hours.The ER staff awwed with wide eyes that confused Ari before she heard a male voice behind her asking her name.“And that’s me. The Miss Arizona.” She laughed at herself before she turned around, giving the same reaction as her friends. “Wow! Where are you?” She managed to joke as she searched for the guy calling her name. She could not see anyone behind the huge bouquet of different flowers in red.The guy pushed the bouquet into her. “This is for you, miss.”Ari managed to hug the flowers, her back hitting the counter as air emptied her lungs because the bouquet weighed like twenty-five kilograms. Now she couldn’t see the face of the man. “Are you sure this is mine? There are probably twenty Arizona Sky in this town, you know.”“That’s for you, ma’am. The only Arizona Sky I am sure I know of is in Grand Canyon,” the delivery guy scoffed. “And this
“Wow.” Ari stopped in the middle of her small dining room, scanning the surroundings as if she were brought to the five-star restaurant. “Did you ever rest?”Tripp had his way of making his marriage work even though his dinner date offer was turned down more than twice. Charleigh was at his disposal when he asked for help with the groceries.After two hours, he was cooking a simple lobster bisque, a side salad, and of course, Brice’s famous raspberry chocolate cupcakes.“Have a seat, beautiful.” He ushered her to the chair.“How did you make this possible?”“I have some help. Charleigh did me a solid.” He kissed the top of her head once she was seated.“I should change to something nice.” She suddenly felt shy with the candlelit, flower arrangement, and now that Tripp started to play jazz on his phone.“I’d rather have you naked for my dessert.” He smirked. “Your clothes are just fine. I just want to have dinner with you even though we have to spend it at home.”The words naked and de
FuckHe was quicker on his feet, licking the juices around his mouth. “Does your dad have a key to your house?” Why did he have to ask? He didn’t know. He felt that they didn’t have privacy anywhere they went, even in her own home.“Stay here. Close the water and don’t move. Don’t make a noise,” she warned him. The panic in her voice was obvious. She quickly grabbed the towel from the rack and wrapped it around her body.She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Before she could get out of the shower, Tripp cupped her face and kissed her hard, plunging his tongue into her mouth, swirled inside, and invaded to let her taste herself.Ari squirmed as her taste flooded her tastebud. She felt the hot liquid pooling between her thighs and she had to let go of a shuddering breath to ignore the ache.“Relax. You can’t hide this look from your father, Ari.” He gave her a quick kiss on her lips one more time before he let her go.“Thanks. You’re helping me a lot. And I bet I just stroked you
“I-I don’t need to go.”Ari stared at him in shock, her heart beating so fast that might break out from her ribcage.“Fuck!”“Yeah, fart! Are you sure you’re okay? Did you just have chest pain?” She wanted to ask if he had a history of a panic attack or if he had a heart defect. She almost died in panic.For an ER nurse, what happened in the car was nothing compared to the cases she handled in the hospital every day. She’d handle and seen worse, but in Tripp’s case, it was different. He was her husband. Now she felt it in hand when wives panicked when their husbands collapsed in front of them.Tripp wiped off the sweat from his forehead while she increased the air condition in her car.“I thought I’d die.” He chuckled out of his stupidity. Jealousy was an ugly quality, but he couldn’t help it. The fact that he had the most beautiful wife, he wanted to make sure that no one would touch her but him.“And you think it was funny?” Her voice was filled with sarcasm and a hint of sadness.H
Around seven, he went to the cake shop to buy some coffee and pastries that Ari loved.“Tripp, come on in.” Bryce pulled the door for him. “How’re your ribs?” There was something in the way he asked—something not so like him.Tripp sensed something mischievous. “Still cracked. Can you give me two cups of coffee?” Then he paused. He knew Ari liked coffee, but he didn’t know exactly what she preferred.“She preferred black.”“Right. Thanks.”“Apple cinnamon, brioche?”“Yeah. How much?”“On the house, Tripp.”Before Tripp could argue, something caught his eye outside the shop—his wife. His heartbeat accelerated just by a simple glance. Ari hadn’t noticed his presence since he was inside, and she wasn’t alone. His teeth almost cracked when he saw who she was with. The peaches fucking dude Tinsley. He knew he was being melodramatic.He felt a grip on his shoulder that he was sure it was Bryce. “Calm down.”“That guy is getting under my skin,” he said through gritted teeth, not looking at B