Emily
Emily braced herself for his wrath. What would it be this time? A spanking? The time out chair? Would she have to service him again? Or would he actually take the belt to her? Or worse? She cringed away from him as she tried to remind herself why she was doing this. She needed the material on Edward. She needed to make sure she could protect herself and her employees from the fallout from that bastard's treachery.
Dane's cold eyes stayed on her. But, as she watched, they began to tremble and fill with ears. He dropped to his knees, his body wracked by a single, heartfelt sob. “I failed him,” he whispered, his words coming out as a ragged, shaken moan. “I failed him, Emily.”
She was crushed and confused. She hadn't expected him to do that. That wasn't what was supposed to happen.
“Benton's stuck there now,” he groaned, as he sat back on the floor, his body against the wall. He continued to speak, his voice softer than the wind rustling the leaves in the garden. “My brother's stuck there. He's getting proper treatment now, and he knows what he did. He just wants to die, Emily. His life is hell, just sitting on death row by himself, in an empty cell, hoping his appeals will hurry up and run out.” He stopped and looked up at her, tears wetting his cheeks.
Emily tried to look away in order to preserve some sort of hardness in herself that might help her live with the decision she'd just made, but she couldn't. She stayed focused on Dane as he poured his heart out to her. It was like a knife in the gut, or a slap across the face. What had she been thinking? Yes, Dane was probably crazy, and, yeah, what he'd done to her was pretty fucked up. But he was still a human being, and she was torturing him just as much now as he had tortured her.
“I just wanted to prove to the judges, lawyers, and press that it was the medication that made him lose his shit. That was all. And it was right there. Right in front of me. There was proof that Hymalete was responsible for him killing his family. But now it's gone—slipped through my hands.” He waved dismissively. “Sand through my fucking hands, Emily!”
She never would have thought Dane capable of tears, let alone this emotion. Clearly, Benton was the most important person in his life. If she hadn't known that before, she certainly saw it now. She finally managed to look away, biting her lip hard to keep her emotions down as she turned.
Emily had broken him. She’d broken the strongest, toughest, and craziest man she'd ever met. She felt her anger at herself stirring, immediately feeling the regret over her actions building.
She heard him sob hard, as he slammed a meaty fist into the wall.
Not knowing what else to do, she spun the chair back and got down on her knees beside him. She slipped her arms around his neck and pressed her body comfortingly into him. “I'm sorry, Dane,” she whispered. “Don't cry, okay?”
# # #
Dane
He didn't bother to fight the hug by the woman who'd just completely fucked him over. Why would he? What would have been the point? All of this had been for nothing, anyway.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered again, her voice sincere and full of regret. “I'm so sorry I hurt you,” she said, as she leaned back a little and wiped a tear from his cheek. “I'd get the files back for you if I could.”
Maybe he had finally gotten through to her? Maybe it hadn't been just the firmness that was needed, but the softness and vulnerability, as well? But it didn't matter if he'd finally chipped through that cold Ice Queen facade, or not. It was all ruined. His hopes had evaporated and disappeared into the ether. He had nothing to show any court and no evidence of any of the systemic corruption and lies by BioSphere.
“I'm sorry I did it,” Emily whispered, her eyes soft and wet with burgeoning tears as she leaned her head against his chest. “I just couldn't let you go to the press, Dane. I just—I need those files in my hands, not being leaked to someone.”
“Why?” he groaned, his arm coming up and wrapped around her body. Yeah, she might have fucked him over, but there was something about the sudden genuineness of her concern that made his body respond to her comforting touch. “Why couldn't you just help me?”
“Why?” she repeated back his question, sighing deeply into his chest. “Because I have to think of myself. The world chews up little goody two-shoes, you know that? If you want to get ahead in this world, you can only be focused on yourself and on your own wants and needs. My mother taught me that, and my ex-fiancé proved she was right. No one cares about any of us. The universe doesn't give two shits about you or me. We need to do whatever we can to survive.”
Dane leaned his head back against the wall, the tears still wet on his cheeks. He took a deep breath and let it out through his nose, still frustrated that he'd been so close. “So, you fucked me over to help yourself?”
“I fucked you over to prove that I have what it takes.”
He closed his eyes. She was just the same as him, willing to do whatever she had to do to win her war. But he knew she wasn't any more likely to achieve that victory than he was. This was all just a fool's errand, and they were just tilting at windmills. He squeezed her tighter against his chest, realizing neither of them would win this fight. Two people, against a massive, corrupt corporation and the entire criminal justice system? How could they?
“I really fucked up, didn't I?” Emily asked.
“Yeah,” he agreed ,as he opened his eyes and squeezed her tighter against him. “You really screwed the pooch on this one.” He'd never felt this close to anyone, in any context. They were like two sides of the same coin. And yeah, she was a cold, heartless bitch. But, in his arms and pressed against his body, she felt warmer than any human being ever.
She pulled back from his chest and looked up at him, her almond blue eyes lingering on his, their lips just inches apart. “Yeah,” she agreed, as her eyes flickered down to his lips for the briefest of moments. “I did.”
He didn't think. He just needed to feel her skin against his and feel her body bending to his whim and will. He had to find some sort of control in his life. He needed to feel that everything wasn't spinning away from him.
Emily's body trembled in anticipation as she bit her lower lip.
He knew what she wanted, in spite of, and, perhaps, because of what he had done to her over the last several days. He leaned down and kissed her.