Unmasked Heart

by Veronica Eden

  How bad could it be if I drive for a while? At least if I find a twenty-four-hour convenience store or gas station, I can figure out how to get back to the city.

  It’s not like I’ll end up on a dead end road, ripe prey for a psycho axe murder if I pick a direction and drive.

  Without a phone, ID, or money.

  My eyes widen and I laugh off the preposterous worry that flits through my head.

  Blowing out a breath, I glance in the rearview.

  My heart stops and I nearly shriek, my brain leaping to the axe murderer I imagined. But no…my heart thuds because I recognize the lone figure.

  Fuck. Cohen is standing behind the car, cast in a red glow from the tail lights and exhaust smoke.

  The bleakness of the situation bleeds over me and my chest tightens as I stare at Cohen in the mirror.

  Where can I really go?

  If I make it back to the city, that doesn’t change things. My father’s threat is still hanging over my head no matter where I am. I know he’s friends with a judge or two who would do him a favor.

  Dad controls everything and he’ll do whatever is in his power to keep me in line.

  He loves his business and his money more than he loves me.

  There’s no escaping, so I’m only making my life harder.

  I squeeze the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white.

  But does it mean I’m giving in if I go through with the wedding? My eyes lock on Cohen again. He hasn’t moved. A breeze blows through his dark hair.

  Who’s worse, Annie, the devil you fear or the devil you know?

  Swallowing, I take a deep breath. Cohen fucked me like I was something to be cherished and worshipped. If he can touch me like that, is he really going to make my life hell?

  My nails dig into the wheel and I tear them away to cover my face. Everything is so confusing. I shouldn’t forgive him for what he did. He doesn’t deserve it.

  How can I believe he had good intentions in his scheme tonight?

  I guess in a way, beneath all the fucked up parts, I can see that Cohen thought it would be a sweet way for me to get to know him without my existing feelings in the way. He just went about it in the stupidest way possible.

  Typical, impossible, wild Cohen.

  A tired laugh rolls through me.

  I have to admit, Cohen was free and more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him. That might be who Cohen has grown to be beneath the mask he wears. I’ve always known his cruel games, but if I didn’t fight him so hard maybe he would have shown me his charming side, too.

  This is insane. I’m sitting here reasoning Cohen’s merits with myself. I slide my fingers into my hair and look once more at Cohen’s reflection in the rearview.

  I have to decide what my heart wants. Will I accept the cage and resent it, or will I be granted more freedom and power by cooperating?

  The moves I’ve always made have been because I was picking my own battles, thinking I had to choose what little freedoms were afforded to me.

  All these years I have built Cohen up as the face of the true monster that haunts me, but that’s not right. In truth, it’s the anger that’s made me fight so hard. The rage I feel at my father. It was easier to filter my hatred and aggravation into Cohen.

  But now that I’m being honest with myself? Deep down, past my hurt heart and the hate I built into a wall to protect me from Cohen, it’s always been him.

  When he kissed me, my very first kiss, I wasn’t mad that he forced me. I had a crush on him back then. I was really mad because he did it first before I could.

  My thoughts swirl in my head, a mass of confusion and a new hope.

  All of it centers on Cohen.

  If I believe him, then he wouldn’t want to cage me the same way Dad does.

  He’s possessive of me and made his point about claiming me. But is that where it ends? If it is, I’ll fight him tooth and nail. I refuse to be a toy to another man after I’ve played my father’s puppet all my life.

  I have to know for sure whether he thinks of me as property or his equal before I run away.

  Movement behind the car catches my eye as Cohen takes a step closer. Heaving a defeated sigh, I shift the car in park.

  Twelve

  Cohen

  My heartbeat is pounding so hard it’s making me dizzy. Everything is falling apart like sand running through my fingers. I clench my hands in my pockets until the skin stings as I wait behind my car.

  I hung back as she went outside and stuck to the shadows as I trailed after her.

  When I saw her steal my keys I snorted. That valet will be out of a job for leaving my keys out when he stepped away for a break.

  I found it ironic and fitting that Annie was going to run from me, from this, from us in my own car.

  Earlier I had decided to drive to the party picturing taking Annie for a drive up to the mountains after our night together. I imagined holding her hand to my lips as I wove through the mountain roads in the quiet peace of pre-dawn. I wanted to see the sunrise of the New Year with her by my side at a cabin I bought a few years ago, the one I’ve been fixing up for her.

  The car idles for so long that my pulse calms. The gripping fear that she’s slipped out of my grasp fades and at last I will my feet to move so I can fix this.

  She’s not leaving. That’s the shred of hope I keep repeating in my head.

  When I swallow it burns. The gravel crunches under my feet.

  With my heart sitting in my throat, I brace my hand against the roof above the driver’s side. I really thought Annie would peel away and kick up the gravel in her tail lights.

  The window rolls down. Annie keeps her eyes on the empty view in front of her.

  Even with the tear tracks smearing her makeup, I think she’s beautiful.

  “You look good behind the wheel.” I want to bite back my words when she peers at me out of the side of her eyes. She quirks a brow. I pat the roof of the car. “It’s mine.”

  Annie takes a moment to process that and after a beat she huffs, rolling her eyes.

  “Of course it is.”

  I lick my lips. The cold air dries them out. “Annie.”

  She sighs and swings her gaze to me, her hazel eyes piercing in the low light glowing from the dash.

  “I shouldn’t have done what I did.”

  “Damn right.”

  “I’m sorry.” I shift to lean my arm against my Lexus so I can bend down to her level. I shove my pride deep into my gut and prop my forehead against my arm. “I swear to you, Annie, I’ll keep my promise. Colton might not exist, but I do.”

  Her lips work, but she remains silent.

  “If you really want to get away from this, you can.”

  That gets Annie’s attention, though she makes a good effort of playing it cool. I catch her eyes widening in the dim light.

  It’s like unstitching every rusty wire I mended my broken heart with. Fitting I’m undoing it all over again for Annie. It’s always been for her.

  “I don’t want to force you, sweetheart. I’ll help you get away if that’s what you need.”

  I bite the inside of my cheek when I’m finished.

  All I can do is hold on to the hope that a small piece of her heart will always remain mine if I let her go.

  They say if you love something, free it. I hate it because it hurts, but I need to show Annie that she matters more to me than even my own selfish desires.

  “The last thing I want to do is control you, Annabeth Noble,” I swear.

  Annie makes a small sound and blinks rapidly.

  “We don’t have to be what they expect us to be.” I nod toward the estate. “We get to decide. And together? We’d be so good.”

  Annie still listens silently. I almost laugh. Of course Annie doesn’t take it easy on me. I shouldn’t have expected anything to be easy with her.

  “I’d never treat you like your dad does,” I murmur.

  Her breath catches and she turns towards me, dr
opping the pretense. I grab hold of the lifeline of optimism, reeling myself in. It spurs me on and the real truth spills from my lips.

  “I’ve only ever wanted you as my partner. My equal. I’ve always seen that…” I touch her face gently, grazing her cheek with my thumb. “So can you, Annie?”

  “I don’t know, Cohen,” Annie whispers. “I shouldn’t forgive you.”

  There is conflict in every line of tension in her body. She twists her fingers in her lap and a wrinkle appears between her furrowed brows.

  Somewhere over the course of the evening, I found I like making Annie laugh more than I like making her angry. I want both. I want to be the man that makes her laugh and earns her fire.

  I blow out a breath and shake my head.

  “I’m the same person that had the mask on all night. The same one who whispered all that stuff to you. After I took off the mask, I was going to take you to the cabin if you wanted to see it. I wasn’t lying. About any of it.”

  “But couldn’t you have done that without tricking me!”

  “You wouldn’t have listened. You’ve always seen what you wanted to see in me.” I thump my head against my arm and stare at her. “Annie. I’ve been in love with you ever since we were kids. You’ve had my heart in your grip since that first kiss. It’s yours. Hate me, or forgive me, or ignore me forever. Do whatever you want with it.”

  Annie gasps and grasps the open window with both hands. She sniffles and after a few harrowing moments where I think my heart will claw up out of my throat to land in her lap, she gets out of the car. I fall back a couple of steps to give her room and close the door behind her. She wipes her eyes and sucks in a deep breath. Propping her hands on her hips, she lifts her chin and stares me down with a serious expression.

  “You mean all of that?”

  I nod and she purses her lips to the side.

  “What if I want to keep studying for my degree? What if I want to go for my masters or become a psychologist and leave everything about our world behind?”

  “Of course. I’d never stop you from doing what you want.”

  “You’d really call off the arranged marriage and let me go?” Annie asks it in a small, mystified voice that makes my stomach flip. “If you’re lying right now, I promise you’ll sorely regret it.”

  “I swear it.” The budding hope surges through me and I make another leap. “Be the queen to my empire?”

  “Our empire, you mean.” She raises her eyebrows.

  A sardonic smile settles on my face. I bark out a breathy laugh, elation sparking and expanding my chest.

  Annie will challenge me every day, the way she’s always done. I love her for it. I crave it. I can’t imagine a life without her pissing me off and turning me on in the same prissy breath.

  I hold out my hand. “Yes, dear.”

  She smirks, looking every inch like my fierce golden queen. I can’t tear my eyes away from her, afraid the mirage is too good to be true if I blink.

  Annie puts her hand in mine and my heart soars as I thread our fingers together.

  “Besides.” Annie taps her chin. “Who says it wouldn’t be me ruling the court, anyway? I don’t let anyone control me. Maybe I’ll have to take over for our dads and Albert Mastriano.”

  My smile stretches into a wicked grin and my cock twitches in interest.

  I picture her seated on a throne of her own making, the queen on the board controlling the Mastriano mob operation and the public business empire.

  Shit, the mental image is beautiful, and it makes me want to have her right here against my car.

  “Oh, sweetheart,” I murmur. “I have no doubt you’re going to rule the whole damn world.”

  “You’re going to make tonight up to me,” Annie declares. She squeezes my hand. “Starting with getting me the hell out of here. I hope you know where we are, because your car’s GPS controls are a piece of crap.”

  I pull her close and wrap my arms around her, holding her tight and take a minute to breathe her in.

  “No more running?” I ask. “We’ll do this together.”

  “No more running,” she agrees.

  Leaning back, I cup her face between my palms. “Good.”

  I press my lips to hers and swipe my tongue against her lips. She parts them for me and I deepen the kiss. She snakes her arms beneath mine, stealing my body heat while she snuggles closer. A shiver wracks her body as she gives me as good as I give her.

  Everything in the universe aligns with our kiss. The fake stars decorating the party have nothing on kissing Annie beneath the real deal.

  When we part, I smile at her and tuck her hair behind her ear. She stretches up, using her grip on me for leverage, and plants a peck on the tip of my nose. I gather her close once more and she presses her cold nose against my neck.

  “Be the man who charmed me tonight,” Annie breathes against my skin. “But…be the man that drives me crazy, too.”

  I drop a kiss on top of her head and nudge her. “Want to get out of here? For real this time.”

  “How far is the cabin?”

  “A few hours from here.” I check my watch. “If we leave now, we’ll make it by dawn.”

  I take her hand and lead her around the car, opening the door for her. Once I get in on the driver’s side, I reach for her hand again and bring it to my lips.

  “Watch the sunrise with me?” I mumble against her knuckles.

  “Just this one, or are we talking every sunrise from now on?” Annie teases.

  I put the car in gear and rest the heel of my palm over the wheel as we drive away from the estate into tomorrow, hand in hand with the woman I love.

  We’re in this together now. There are no masks to hold us back.

  “Every sunrise.”

  “Hmm.”

  She pretends to think about it. I tense and count my heartbeats while she makes me sweat it out.

  When I think I might pass out from holding my breath for so long, she grins.

  “Deal.”

  Epilogue

  ANNABETH

  TWO YEARS LATER

  The rose-colored lipstick suits me more today. I smile softly at my reflection in the mirror. My hair is woven into an elaborate up-do of braids and curls, speckled with tiny sparkling crystals that look like stars.

  My phone lights up on the vanity and my eyes flit over it, reading the encoded text message. Everyone else will see another congratulations message, but I read the meaning beneath.

  Victor Noble’s holdings under suspicion. Investigation proceeding.

  The soft smile on my face curls up at the corners as satisfaction glows from within my chest. Dad will finally get everything he deserves. I didn’t believe Cohen when we were coming up with the finer points of our plan during a stay at our cabin, but he swore—swaying in slight drunkenness with a beer bottle in his hand and his bare chest lit by the ambient light from the fireplace—it was going to work.

  I’m glad Cohen can prove me wrong like this.

  He proved me wrong about this morning, too. As I put the finishing touches on my bridal ensemble, my cheeks heat at the memory of how I woke up this morning: Cohen’s head between my thighs and his wickedly talented tongue working me over. When he was finished taking me apart he growled against my skin, “Just wanted to make sure you remember until I see you again.”

  I laughed and promised I’d see him in a few hours.

  Our honeymoon plans involve holing up in the cabin, our secret hideaway where we can shut out the world and just be. It’s become our haven where we shed all of the masks we wear. I can’t wait to have Cohen to myself again.

  “How are you feeling, Annie? Nervous?” Gloria Decker brandishes a fresh bottle of champagne across the room. “I was so sick with nerves on my wedding day. I swear, you’d think I was preparing for a lie detector test instead of meeting Morris at church.”

  I laugh and wave her off, nodding to my phone. “It’s not nerves. Cohen was saying he can’t wait to see me.�
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  Despite my initial wariness, Gloria has been great during the planning process. And I did have her with me when my dress was fitted.

  Charity’s no longer around. She wisely divorced Dad after I slipped her a heads up that the authorities were putting him under a magnifying glass. Dad hasn’t found a replacement because Cohen has a few loyal guys that keep tabs on Dad and his dates for me. Once Dad makes a move, I take care of it and warn them off before he can get his claws in them.

  I’m systematically taking away everything that makes my father happy until he’s left with nothing as payback for the hell he put me through.

  Anyone on his side better stay out of my way.

  I’m out for blood.

  The pop of a cork draws me back to the present. My maid of honor, Margot, cheers and dances over to Cohen’s mom to help with mimosa refills. Margot’s a friend I met last semester before I finished my undergrad. I’m still deciding whether I want to apply to grad school to keep pursuing my interests. Cohen supports me, no matter what I do.

  “Cheers, girls!” Gloria calls, toasting with a pale mimosa that’s mostly champagne.

  I grin over my shoulder at everyone’s antics.

  Gloria’s grown on me in the last couple of years. She comes over and squeezes my shoulder, meeting my gaze in the mirror.

  “You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” I lick my lips and tilt my head back to look up at her. It’s nice to have her here with me. “Cohen’s a good man. I love him.”

  Gloria’s expression softens and she cups my cheek. “You two make each other so happy. It was meant to be from the start. When you were kids, I used to say to Morris that fate tied your souls together.”

  A burst of emotion washes over me and I wave my hands in front of my watery eyes to keep my makeup in place.

  “Ahh, sorry about that, dear,” Gloria chuckles. “I can’t help it. I’m an old romantic.”

  Once I have myself under control, I rise from my seat at the vanity. “It’s time.”

  The women in the room grant me last wishes and my stomach flutters with butterflies. I have one more surprise for Cohen today. I reach out and grab a length of delicate black lace from the vanity and pin it into place over my eyes.