𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝘿𝙪𝙤 ; 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙨 𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙗𝙮 [ BOOK 2 ]

SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN; GROUNDBREAKING INTERACTIONS

There was something about Caroline that made Alfie feel so young inside, but not in a childish way. She awoke the pure side of him, the best side, all the facets of him that only require love to be healthy and whole.

Should he have eternity to be with this woman, he would sink into serenity, just content to be close. Their energy vibrated in such a unique way, each the perfect compliment of the other. Alfie was not simply in love, he was well and truly smitten.

Any other could only be a poor reflection, no more substantial than a shadow of the real thing. Caroline was what made his heart strong. Her smile alone burnished his soul into a beauty it could never have achieved on its own. Before they met he was one, now he was half, yet somehow so much more than he ever was before.

"The war." Caroline drawled into his ear, sending shivers down his spine. "It's over."

Alfie shifted his position as his eyes trailed down her form. "The second you've got your fill and you're straight back to talking business."

"Well, I told you this was a colleague interaction, didn't I?"

"Something about the way you rode my cock tells me otherwise."

She reverently rubbed her fingers along the silken mattress. She pressed her cheek to the cool, velvet pillows. The comforter was thick and irresistibly soft, like a billowing cloud. With a seductive smirk playing on her lips, she toppled over the quilt and straddled Alfie once more, pressing kisses against his bare collarbone.

"Well spotted, mister Solomons."

Alfie grunted, holding her waist with a firm grip. "You're going the right way for round four."

"And your old bones are too weak to comply?"

He jokingly mocked. "What is it with you and age?"

Absentmindedly, Caroline recoiled as the sudden image of Thomas flooded her mind, and when she came back to reality, she recalled that she and Alfie made love several times in the home she and Thomas raised their children.

The guilt sat not on her chest but inside her brain. What she had done she could not un-do. She could make amends in subtle ways, but confession was out of the question, even to her priest. Only in her silent prayers could she speak her heart to God and beg for his mercy. 

She didn't feel like she deserved the love of Jesus Christ but she clung to it and hung the shreds of her sanity on it. She prayed that one day she would feel removed from her sin, washed clean of it, but the guilt was a stain on her, an ugly scar. She had to believe in redemption and rebirth, she had to leave her deeds in past and move on.

"That geezer ain't worth another bloody second of your time." Alfie gently turned Caroline's head to make her lock eyes with him. "Right, yeah, I know he's the father of you children and all that but seriously, Caroline. He's a complete toss pot and you know you deserve better."

"Do I?" Caroline's eyes cast regret. "Or do Thomas and I deserve each other?"

***

Thomas knew by the look on her face that she'd gone against her own values and beliefs, but now that they had unofficially separated, it didn't matter, however, with a clenched jaw, he swallowed his pride and sent a nod of acknowledgement her way, welcoming her into party. Though, it wouldn't be long before his revenge struck, and it wouldn't be minor, rather, catastrophic.