OUR BROKEN BEGINNINGS

BONUS CHAPTER

EMERSON POV

BETWEEN CHAPTERS THIRTEEN & FOURTEEN OF BOOK I

Cassandra Rose Hale.

I never imagined I could love something so much, let alone something as simple as a name, but there I stood, looking at my gorgeous wife talk about her day at work, and I was in awe.

How could someone so perfect not realize their own perfection?

She sat in her usual seat while I cooked our dinner. I wouldn't let her help, no matter how hard she fought me on it. I couldn't keep my eyes off her, or a soft smile off my lips. She was so unbelievably beautiful. All the thoughts usually swarming me were quiet. They always seemed to be whenever she was near. My mind was hypnotized by her, and it was hard to believe she was even real. Even harder to believe she was mine.

She's not yours. I reminded myself quickly.

I looked away and back toward the food sizzling in the pan. It was so easy to get used to it. To let the happiness sweep in and erase everything I knew.

Our marriage was not of normal circumstances. There were things we both hid from one another. I could always sense that she was keeping something from me. At times, it seemed like she wanted to say something but held herself back.

She had this power over me that I didn't understand. This small woman owned me, and she didn't even know it. Her eyes burned like green fire when she looked at me, and it drove me fucking mad. She tested me in every way possible, and it made me want to kiss her until she was whispering my name against my lips. Once I heard her moan my name once, I knew I would fall to my knees in front of her to hear it again—to see her unraveled before me.

I had never experienced anything like that in my life. The pure burning passion that coursed through me when I heard her whimper and moan, or when she rode my face until she was coming all over it. I couldn't even find it in myself to be embarrassed about finding release without her even touching me. Tasting my wife rocked me to my very core. It was as if I had been awoken from a coma I hadn't even realized I'd been in.

The image of her head thrown back and her legs over my shoulders as she screamed for me was in my mind far too many times a day, and the desire to do it again arose even more often. Especially when she looked at me with such wonder. She looked at me like I was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. If that was the truth, Cassandra was extremely mistaken.

I fought every day with the way I felt about her. Every time Cass laughed or looked so deeply into my eyes that my soul wanted to curl up next to hers, I wanted to scream at her that she was everything to me. That I was falling in love with her, and that it was inevitable.

"Em, are you okay?"

I looked back at her and realized I had completely zoned out. She lightly bit the inside of her cheek and a crease between her eyebrows formed. I wanted to kiss it away.

"Yes, I am sorry. My mind wandered elsewhere."

I could see her thoughts turning as she looked at me. Her voice was light, "Tell me about what your plans are for the rest of the week."

I shrugged and began transferring the food onto two plates. She got full easily and always felt bad for not finishing, so I put a little less on her plate. "There isn't really anything interesting. I have a ton of meetings with some potential investors, and a lot of paperwork waiting for me on my desk. We are behind on some numbers, so I have to deal with those."

What I didn't say was that I had also been speaking to her mother, if you could even call her that, about signing a contract. A contract that would require her to stay away from Cassandra forever. I had thought about telling Cassandra more than once, but I knew she would fight me on it. This was something I needed to do for not only her but also for me. She deserved everything. I would spend my life making sure she got it.

"I could help. You've already seen what I do in the office. Numbers are what I do all day, every day." There was such a gentle smile on her face that I felt like my legs would give out on me.

"You don't have to do that. You already have a lot on your plate," I said smoothly.

She overworked herself. There was always something to be done. Something that required her. Cassandra never gave herself a break.

She waved me off like she always did anytime she thought I was saying something completely ridiculous. I laughed because she was so stubborn, and I could nothing but adore it.

"Oh, stop. It's no trouble. Just email me all the numbers that need calculating."

I walked over to her with the two plates in my hands and placed one in front of her. She tilted her head back to look at me, and I could feel my heart quicken at the intimacy of her eyes on me. Intimacy had a new meaning when it came to her. It was all the simple things. It was when we held hands, or I brushed a strand of hair away from her face. It was when we stared at each waiting to see who would look away first. I sometimes let her win on purpose. She loved to win.

Cassandra gave me a quiet thank you and dug in. She brought the first bite into her lips, and a moan escaped her. It was the sexiest fucking sound I'd ever heard. My pants became increasingly tight as my dick hardened underneath the counter.

How the fuck did this woman affect me like this?

I ignored my erection and tried to focus on the food in front of me. It was a real possibility that if I looked at my wife and heard her make that sound again, I would fuck her on the island. Feel her wrap around me. See what noises she'd make for me when I touched her just right. See how fast I could make her come and scream my name.

"This is amazing, Emerson," she mumbled with a hand covering her mouth.

I snapped myself out of it to look at her. Her face lit up as she chewed happily. Cassandra Hale would truly be my ruin, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want her to be. There was no doubt that she had me wrapped around her delicate finger, but I wasn't sure what to do with that knowledge. There was no one else for me, and that fact terrified me beyond belief, but she was worth overcoming my fears. She was worth healing for. She was worth everything.