Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 163: Alone with Alec

Wyla dropped Alec and me off at his car, which he left parked near the club. Alec unlocked the doors and held my door open for me. All I could do was stare into the interior of the car.

Was this a mistake? Realistically, nothing had changed other than we missed each other. Alec had mistrusted me, and I hadn’t done anything worth changing his mind.

If I went back to him, wouldn’t it be the same? Sure, we might be okay for a while, but those thoughts would always niggle in the back of his head.

Was there a cure for jealousy and mistrust? Or was it that you trusted someone implicitly or didn’t? People worked these issues out all the time, didn’t they?

I hoped so. I loved Alec and wanted to be with him. I didn’t want to live in a house made of eggshells, forever worried that I might smile at another man too long or that a friendly conversation might be interpreted as flirting.

"Are you okay?" Alec asked.

"Yes, I guess."

"Are you getting in?"

"Alec, I don’t know if I can. Nothing has changed."

"Teela, no. Don’t be like this. It’s my problem. Not yours. I’ve got to let go of my insecurities, I guess."

It was hard to think of Alec as insecure. His confidence shown through in almost every aspect of his life from the way he managed his business to the way he practiced taekwondo. But then again, as I’d thought earlier about Wyla, no one was perfect. My perfect man had flaws, too.

"That’s not how I see it. What I see is you don’t trust me, and I don’t know how to fix that. Even if I bar King from my life, I’ll always have men around me. I work in a male-dominated industry. My best friend is a man. In fact, most of my friends are men.

"I can’t go through life second-guessing what you’re thinking. I won’t."

"It won’t be like that," Alec said. I won’t let it. I’ll get help."

"But maybe you won’t need help if you were with someone else."

Alec hugged me, and I let him. "Teela, no. I don’t want anyone else. I swear. If I can’t be with you, I won’t be with anyone for a lifetime if necessary."

"You would find someone else. Someone better, in time. Good-looking, successful men like you aren’t meant to be alone."

"I was alone a long time before I met you, Teela."

"But in time, you found me. You’d find someone else."

"This is a ridiculous conversation. Are you getting in the car or not?"

I scanned the parking lot. It was half empty of cars, and we were the only patrons at this end of the lot. In the distance, a couple was making out against the side of an SUV. Wyla was long gone, and returning to the nightclub would be the same as inviting another confrontation with King. I was so tired. I didn’t think I could stand another battle. Not tonight.

"Just get in the car, Teela. I’ll take you to your hotel. You’re not ready to come home yet. I respect your decision. I don’t like it, but I respect your right to make it."

I nodded. I could agree to go to neutral territory.

"I’ll wait, Teela, as long as it takes, and if there is anything I can do to help with King, let me know. I don’t like him, but I wouldn’t wish an addiction on anyone."

"Thanks, I will." I attempted to come up with small talk to relieve the tension and fill the silence. "How are you? How is work?"

"I bought a fish in a bowl. He sits on the credenza by the front door. Having someone or something greet me when I come home feels good."

"Really? What kind of fish is he?"

"He is a betta."

"Aren’t those the fish that can’t live with others?"

"The males have to live separately from other male bettas, or they will fight. They are also known as Siamese fighting fish. Kind of feels like how you see me right now."

I grunted. In a way, he was right. Only I was the fish who should be isolated so all the fish around me would stop fighting.

"What’s his name?"

"I’ve put off naming him. I was waiting for you. We should pick a name together."

"What color is he?"

"Red with a little purple on his belly."

"I look forward to meeting him."

"Soon, I hope."

As we neared the hotel, the small talk died off into silence.

"Teela?"

"Mm?"

"Let me stay with you tonight. I won’t talk. I want to hold you. I’ll leave before you wake up in the morning. Please?"

Oh, if only we could just hold each other and not talk, and it meant nothing more than we were comforting each other.

"Do you think we could do that without it meaning anything? Just two people comforting each other?"

"You can ask me to leave at any time, Teela. I’ll go, but I don’t want to go home alone. I miss holding you."

This was a bad idea, but it sounded like heaven if he would stay quiet. If there was no pressure to return home. If I could let go of the tension I created in myself around this man, yeah, it would be great.

I let the debate spiral through my head and my heart until it settled in the pit of my stomach like a knot of bad ideas waiting to explode.

"Let’s go to The Red Dragon instead." Working out the tension on the mat sounded healthier.

"Teela, it is almost dawn. Angie would kill me if we woke them up, and security would let them know someone opened the door before we ever set foot inside."

I sighed. "Fine, but Alec, not one word. I won’t have you guilting me into going home. I’ll go when I’m ready."

Alec made a zip motion across his mouth and pulled the car up to the hotel entrance. The valet took the car as we headed to the elevator. Alec kept his word. He didn’t say anything with his mouth, but his eyes spoke volumes. The dark depths held promises that didn’t have anything to do with laying quickly beside each other and sleeping.

"Alec Crest, don’t you dare," I warned.

Alec’s grin was both joyful and chagrin, but the eyes still held promises of a heated night full of passion that would leave me exhausted and the pit in my stomach too sated to do anything but to remain dormant.

"If you can’t behave, you can go home now." And yet I led him to my hotel room. I unlocked the door even as Alec’s hand traveled the length of my spine to rest at the curve of my waist.

As soon as we were inside, Alec pressed me to the door. His lips found mine. Alec left no doubt in my mind that he missed me, wanted me, and would always want me.

It’s too bad that wanting someone wasn’t enough of a foundation for a healthy relationship.

For just a little while, I gave in to the moment and enjoyed the feelings Alec was eliciting from me. I let him energize me and push all the heavy issues of the day to the back of my head. I was a young woman again. A young woman in love with nothing more serious to deal with than whether I wanted to ride him or to have Alec on top of me.

But then Alec pulled back languidly as if determined to leave behind a lasting impression that would haunt me for the rest of the night.

"Can I take a shower?" Alec asked.

I nodded.

I sighed in relief as Alec disappeared behind the closed bathroom door. Wow. Alec. It would be hard for anyone to think with a man like Alec in the vicinity, especially when he set his sights on them. But I’d known it would end up like this if he came to my room. I’d wanted him. I still wanted him, and he wanted me. All was right with the world when we only had to worry about physical attraction between us.

I stopped thinking and took off my clothes. Why was I punishing myself for something I didn’t do? I never betrayed Alec. Why was I suffering from the guilt? What was I doing without when Alec was willing to satisfy my needs? Even if I never returned home. Even if I never married him, as long as he was willing and I was willing, why couldn’t we enjoy what passion that came so naturally to us?

I slipped into the steamy bathroom. A thin shower curtain and a steady fall of shower water separated Alec from me. That and my own reticence to give him false hope that whatever I did tonight would lead to the outcome he wanted most.