Rebound (Manhattan Ruthless #3)

by Sadie Kincaid

I hide the fact that I actually spent last night alone and sad with only my laptop and a bottle of red for company. I pretend it doesn’t bother me that he spends so much time with people who can’t stand me—that he chooses them over me, every time.

“You need to stop looking at me like that, Elijah. We don’t do that anymore, remember? Not since you moved into your own bedroom.”

If I wanted someone else, this would be easy—but she’s the one. She has always been the one.

In the twenty-one years since we started dating, I have never once cheated on Amber. She knows that … Doesn’t she? Amber and I may not have made love for over six months, but I would never cheat.

We were in love once, this man and I. We shared everything, keeping no secrets from one another, our lives woven together like the threads of a tapestry. He was my soulmate, my best friend, my lover. Our passion lit up my heart and made me shine from the inside out.

“I am tired, Elijah, yes. I’m exhausted, and I know you must be too. Why do we keep doing this? Why do we keep dancing this dance? Why don’t we just … let go?” My nostrils flare and my hand drops to my side. “What do you mean?” Her sigh speaks of bone-deep weariness. “I mean I think I’m done, Elijah. I want a divorce.”

I want to drag her into my arms and kiss her so hard she can’t breathe. I want to tell her how much I love her, how much I want this marriage to work. How much I need her.

“Let’s leave,” I say. “Right fucking now if you like. Pack a bag and head off somewhere new. Somewhere nobody will find us. I’ll give up work and my family. I’ll give up anything, Amber. I love you, baby. I don’t want this to end.”

How long would it be before you resented me for taking you away from your world? No, it’s not realistic. I’d never ask that of you. I’d never ask you to change who you are just for a shot at saving a marriage we both know is already over.” She takes a deep breath and then says, in a voice so heartbreakingly tender, “But for what it’s worth, honey, I love you too.”

Ironically, this would all be a lot easier if we weren’t married. If we were just two strangers looking for a casual fuck. Maybe … Maybe we could be? “I see there’s a wedding band on your finger,” I murmur, running the pad of my thumb over the lace of her bra, much more pleased than I should be about the fact she’s still wearing my ring. She leans into my touch, her rigid nipples begging to have my mouth on them. “Are you married?”

She immediately takes it into her mouth, licking it clean. Then her arms go around my neck, her hands twine into my hair, and she pulls me down for a kiss. This is not a gentle kiss. It’s teeth and lips and need, our tongues fighting against each other, neither of us bothering to breathe. If this were to be my last kiss ever, I’d die a happy man.

Fuck. My own husband sent me a burner phone. My own husband is offering to keep our hookups a secret. My own husband is inviting me to have an affair with him.

I feel liquid pouring over my pussy, warmer than the ice. A familiar scent reaches my nose. “Is that Scotch?” I ask. “Did you just pour fifty-year-old Macallan on my pussy?” “Yeah. The perfect cocktail—Scotch, ice, and your cunt. And now I’m fucking thirsty.”

“Christ. So fucking tight.” His hands land on either side of my head, and I turn to kiss his arm. I can’t move much, and I can’t see anything, but I can do that. “Does your husband fuck you like this?” He slams into me, fast and hard, his breathing speeding up as he chases his own release. He sure does now, I think, but I’m unable to form the words.

“The truth is, I learned to stop needing you a long time ago—I realized I couldn’t rely on you. But I never stopped hoping that you would choose me anyway.”

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Korea?” “Yeah, I should,” he responds, grinning. “But I left Luisa and Mason to handle things. Mr. Kim is a family man. He’ll understand that sometimes, you have to put work second.” This is quite a revelation for Elijah. “Sometimes,” he continues, “you have to put the most important thing in your life first. That’s you, baby. You are my world. You are my number one, now and always.

He pulls a box from his jacket pocket and opens it up. It’s perfect. “Is that … Amber?” “What else would it be, baby, but the most precious stone in the entire world? Nothing shines quite like Amber. And nothing else makes me a happier or allows me to be a better version of myself …” He swallows. “Than you.”

“Amber, I love you. I can’t live without you. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?” “Again?” I ask, smiling down at him. He grins. “Again. But this time, forever. This time, we do it the right way.”