Free Stepbrother Romance 2 - Consumed: A New Adult Alpha Billionaire Romance by Tawny Taylor Page B

asked.
    “Anything you want to. I need to cool off for a minute, before things get out of control. I told myself I would not let that happen again.”
    Would not let that happen again? What did he mean by that? Sex?
    Sighing, he let his head fall back and closed his eyes.
    Okay, this was it. My chance to gather my thoughts and ask the questions that had been ping-ponging through my head. Without the distraction of throbbing, pounding need blasting through me.
    “Why are you divorcing your wife?” I asked as he swung an arm over my shoulders and tucked me against him, holding me gently but firmly. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes and just enjoyed the moment. It felt so good being in his arms. So right. Especially like this. In the dark, quiet night. With nobody around to judge us or tell us what we felt was wrong or dirty. How I wished it could be like this all the time, that we could be free to be together.
    “Why do you want to know? Are you worried it’s because of you?”
    “No. Yes. Maybe a little.”
    He cupped my chin, turned it until I was looking at his face. “It isn’t because of you, Shayne. At least, not entirely.”
    Not entirely? What did that mean? “Will you tell me why?”
    He stared into my eyes for several seconds, searching for something. I wasn’t sure what. Then he released my chin and dropped his gaze. Whatever he was about to say, it was painful. He couldn’t look me in the eye and say it. “My wife never loved me. She only loved my bank account.”
    That didn’t exactly jive with what I’d heard, and I wasn’t going to let it go. After all, Kent was the one who said we could talk about anything. I needed the truth. All of it.  “Zack told me you were married a long time ago. Before you became wealthy.”
    “That’s true. But even then she knew I would accomplish more than the guy she really loved. He didn’t graduate from high school. He’s not the ambitious kind. After the hell of her upbringing, she needed money and financial stability to feel safe. But she wanted love too. And I guess she couldn’t have them with one man, with me. So she went to him for love and married me for the money.”
    Then she had been unfaithful? Kent’s wife? Since the beginning of their marriage? Long before I’d had sex with him. Yes, there was more than one side to this story. Just as I’d hoped.
    As far as his wife falling in love with the other man, I was trying hard not to be judgmental, because I knew a man with no money could be just as kind and loving and good as a man who had more than enough. But it sounded like she’d fallen in love with the wrong guy for more than one reason. Kent had proven to be more than a bastard with a big dick and an even bigger bank account. A lot more. Surely she should have seen that by now.
    Obviously my mother didn’t know about Kent’s wife’s lover. I had a feeling Kent’s pride had kept him from telling her. And everyone else, for that matter. He’d rather they thought he was a total asshole than admit he’d married a woman who didn’t love him.
    How sad was that?
    I grabbed his free hand and gave it a squeeze, wanting him to know I was there to support him, to give him the love he had been missing for years. “Where is she now?” I asked. “Why haven’t I seen her?”
    “She’s been living with him for a couple of years. In the condo I pay for, on the other side of town. They’re expecting a child. But I hadn’t bothered to divorce her, not even when I learned she was pregnant. I didn’t see any reason to.”
    “Really?” This blew my mind. This man was financially supporting not only his estranged wife but also the man who was fucking her. And she was pregnant. And, to top it off, hadn’t my mom told me this same woman had demanded I move out of Kent’s house? That had been one of the reasons why Kent had bought me a house. He’d done it in response to her demand.
    Why? Was this guy for real? Was he truly that