Surrender (The Forbidden Series Book 3) by Michelle Betham Read Free Book Online Page B

rest my hand against his cheek and smile, leaning in to kiss him gently, and I pray that I’ll feel that heat, that rush of something utterly overwhelming but it doesn’t come. And I don’t even think I needed it before, we were fine – before. For over a year I’ve been happy and settled and content with everything I had. All I’d ever wanted was Jon. All I’d ever wanted was a life with him. But then Kris arrived, and with him he brought another dose of gut-wrenching reality; his appearance has made me remember why I’d needed to leave that old life behind and find something new, something different. And I just don’t know whether going back to the old has been the best thing for anyone, no matter how much I still thought I loved Jon. No matter how much he still thinks he loves me.
    ‘He isn’t doing anything, Jon.’
    And he isn’t. This is all on me.
    And I know I should ignore it.
    I know I should forget and move on.
    But I know now that the one thing that had really been helping me move on was the one thing I walked away from…
     
     
    Neal
     
    I don’t know if I should go after her – Helen. I don’t know if losing her is what I really want. Because, when Kira leaves New York and heads back to Maine I’m gonna be alone again, and I’m not sure I can face that. And then I almost laugh at the fact I even thought that, Jesus, am I really that selfish that I’d consider spouting Helen more crap about how I really am over Kira this time and this was nothing more than a blip that I honestly, truly can deal with now? I told myself I had to make a choice, didn’t I? And none of those choices involve Helen. I think even she finally realises she can’t be with me now, she deserves more than that. More than me. So I have to make my choice.
    I lean back against the wall, my eyes fixed on Kira as she finally lets go of Jon and turns to her brother, leaning in to him as they talk. Watching their body language, she doesn’t seem in any way uncomfortable with him considering they haven’t seen each other in such a long time. But there still seems to be a part of her that comes across as a touch wary, which is unsurprising, considering the way she led me to believe her family treated her. And once again I feel as if there’s just too much of this woman I still don’t know about, but, instead of that making me want to back away, all it does is intrigue me. Yes, she lied, she kept secrets; she shut me out of so much that was important in her life, but there were reasons. I still don’t really know Kira Blu, because we never had the time it takes to truly get beneath someone’s skin. But I want to know her. I want to know everything. I want us to spend a night having the kind of mind-blowing sex we got so used to, and then I want to sit up until the sun rises and talk, about everything, until there isn’t a thing left in her world I don’t know about.
    I want that.
    It’s gonna happen.
    If it freaking kills me…
     
     
    Kira
     
    ‘I’m sorry. For turning up like this, out of the blue. Must have been pretty tough, huh? Me just walking into the bar like that. And I never meant to…’
    ‘Kris, it’s OK. Really.’ I look at my brother and throw him a small smile. ‘I think I needed the wake-up call.’
    He takes off his jacket and slips it around my shoulders as we stand on Joey and Benni’s terrace, staring out over the most stunning view of Manhattan.
    ‘I used to have a view like this,’ I say quietly, pulling his jacket tighter around my shoulders as the cold night air hits me. ‘When I lived here.’
    ‘With Neal?’
    I look at him again, but there’s no smile this time. ‘Yeah. With Neal.’
    He reaches out and takes my hand, squeezing it gently. ‘Things could have been so much easier kiddo.’
    ‘Don’t go there, Kris. Do you not think I’ve gone over all the what ifs a thousand times since I ran? It doesn’t do any good. What happened, it happened, and I can’t change any of