Chapter 124

Chapter 124
Eloise

It had been days since Mike came to me with his apology, days of me tossing on my bed, clutching my pillow, wondering if forgiveness was too generous a word to give a man who had once gambled with my trust. The air in my house had grown stale from replaying the same memories: the sting of Damon’s words, the confusion that crawled into my heart, and Mike’s face when he admitted what happened years ago.

I couldn’t carry it alone anymore. My pride was starting to feel heavier than my heart. So I picked up my phone and dialed the one person who never sugarcoated anything.

“Ava,” I breathed when she answered.

“You sound like a storm about to break,” she said, her tone already bracing for confession.

“Can you come over? I…I need you.”

She didn’t ask why. “Give me twenty minutes.”

By the time she arrived, I had already made tea, though neither of us touched it once we sat at the kitchen table. Ava leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs, her expression the mix of friend and judge she always carried.

“So,” she said, tilting her head, “you’re ready to talk about Mike?”

The name alone made my chest tighten. “I can’t stop thinking about him, Ava. About the way he looked at me when he apologized. He seemed…broken. And I know Damon wanted me to believe Mike is my enemy, but…” I shook my head. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

Ava folded her hands, her nails tapping lightly against each other. “Eloise, listen to me. I’ve watched you and Mike. Whatever mistakes he made in the past, I know that man loves you now. He would cut himself open just to keep you warm.”

Her words pierced me. “But the bet—”

“That was years ago,” Ava interrupted firmly. “And Damon knows your pride is the easiest weapon to use against you. Don’t you see? He wanted to plant doubt. To separate you two. To make you believe you’re unloved so he could swoop in.”

I looked down at my hands. They were trembling. “So you think I should forgive him?”

“I don’t think.” Ava leaned closer, her voice softer now. “I know. Eloise, if you don’t, you’ll regret it. Because for all the walls you build, happiness won’t come from protecting your pride. It’ll come from choosing love when it scares the hell out of you.”

Tears blurred my vision, and I blinked them away. Ava’s words sank into the deepest part of me, loosening the knot I’d been carrying.

By the time she left, the silence in my house didn’t feel heavy anymore. It felt like clarity.

I didn’t even change my clothes before I grabbed my keys and drove straight to Mike’s office. The elevator ride up felt endless, my heart beating like a drum. But when I reached his floor, his assistant looked up with a guilty expression.

“Mr. Donovan hasn’t been in for a while,” she said carefully.

My stomach dropped. If he wasn’t here, then…

I drove to his house. The sky had darkened by the time I parked in front of his tall gates, and my hands were sweating as I pressed the bell.

The door opened. Mike stood there, hair disheveled, shirt unbuttoned halfway as though he hadn’t cared about appearances in days. His eyes widened, shock flickering before relief consumed him.

“Eloise…” His voice cracked on my name.

The next second, I was in his arms. He hugged me so tight I could barely breathe, swinging me off the ground as though afraid I might disappear if he let go. His chest heaved against mine, his heartbeat wild and desperate.

“I thought—” His voice broke. “I thought I’d lost you.”

I buried my face against his neck, inhaling the familiar scent of cedar and something uniquely him. “You haven’t. I forgive you.”

He froze, pulling back just enough to search my face. “You…you mean that?”

I cupped his jaw, brushing my thumb against his rough stubble. “Yes. I’ve been sitting with my pride, and it’s exhausting. I don’t want it anymore. I want you.”

The relief that washed over his features was raw, unguarded. His lips crashed against mine before I could breathe another word. The kiss was desperate, claiming, a release of every ache and fear we’d both carried. I melted into him, clutching at his shirt as he backed us into the house, slamming the door shut with his foot.

He pressed me against the wall, his mouth devouring mine, tongue stroking deep until I whimpered. My legs wrapped around his waist instinctively, and he carried me with a low growl, his hands gripping my thighs as though I belonged there.

He didn’t stop until we reached the bedroom. With a rough motion, he laid me on the bed, his body hovering above mine, eyes blazing like fire.

“You don’t know what this means to me,” he murmured, kissing down my neck, nipping at the sensitive skin until I gasped.

“Then show me,” I whispered, pulling his face back to mine.

And he did.

Mike’s mouth trailed lower, teeth grazing the curve of my collarbone before sinking just enough to leave marks, marks that claimed, marks that branded. He took his time, biting every inch of my body as though mapping me with his teeth and tongue. Each graze sent a shiver down my spine, my back arching off the bed.

When he finally pulled at my blouse, his hands were both gentle and urgent, peeling it away slowly, savoring every new line of skin revealed. My bra followed, and the moment my breasts were bare, his mouth closed around one, tongue circling before sucking hard. My gasp echoed, my fingers tangling in his hair, holding him to me as heat pooled between my thighs.

He switched to the other breast, biting softly before soothing with his tongue, his free hand kneading, teasing until I was writhing beneath him.

“Mike…” My voice was already breaking.

“I’ve missed this,” he growled against my skin, moving lower, leaving a trail of kisses down my stomach. His hands slid beneath my skirt, dragging it down with excruciating slowness, until it joined the pile of clothes on the floor.

My panties were next, and when he tugged them away, his eyes darkened at the sight of how wet I already was. “God, Eloise…” His voice was a prayer, a curse, a plea.

He lowered himself, his mouth finding me. The first stroke of his tongue made my body jolt, my thighs trembling around his head. He licked, kissed, sucked, relentless in worship as I moaned, gripping the sheets until my knuckles turned white. His tongue slid deep, teasing, coaxing, then flicking over my clit until I was gasping his name like it was the only word I knew.

My release built fast, shattering through me in waves, and he didn’t stop until I was shaking beneath him, tears at the corners of my eyes from the sheer intensity.

When he finally rose, his lips glistened with me, his smirk both wild and tender. He stripped off the rest of his clothes in one swift motion, and my breath caught at the sight of him—hard, ready, every line of his body coiled with restrained hunger.

He climbed back over me, kissing me deep, making me taste myself on his tongue as he slid into me in one slow, devastating thrust. My gasp was swallowed by his mouth, my nails digging into his back as he filled me completely.

The first stroke was slow, deliberate, letting me feel every inch of him. Then he pulled back and slammed into me harder, deeper, until the bed shook beneath us. My moans turned into cries, his name breaking from me again and again as he drove into me, wild and unrelenting.

“God, you’re so wet,” he groaned against my ear, his voice hoarse. “So perfect. Mine.”

“Yes,” I gasped, meeting his thrusts, the sound of our bodies colliding filling the room. “Yours, Mike. Always yours.”

He kissed me again, biting my lip, then buried his face in my neck as he pushed harder, deeper, until I thought I’d break apart. The pleasure consumed me, building higher, fiercer, until it ripped through me again, my body clenching around him. He followed with a guttural groan, thrusting deep one final time before collapsing against me.

We lay tangled in sheets, our bodies damp, hearts racing, breaths ragged. His arm wrapped around me, pulling me against his chest as though he’d never let go again.

I smiled against his skin, my fingers tracing idle patterns over his chest. For the first time in what felt like forever, happiness didn’t feel like a battle. It felt like surrender.

Jennifer was in prison. Damon awaited trial. Jadeline was gone. Lucian was penniless.

And here, in this bed, silence finally felt safe.

I had chosen love over pride. And for once, peace wasn’t something I had to fight for, it was something I allowed myself to feel.