Chapter 17 FRACTURED TRUTH -CLAIRE POV- He didn't need more . In one movement , he carried me down the hall , my legs wrapped around his waist , my arms clinging to his shoulders . The bedroom door was open , the bed unmade , the sheets tangled from the last time we had been here . He didn't bother with finesse . He dropped me onto the mattress , and I bounced once before he was on me again , his weight pressing me into the softness beneath us . I spread my legs , my body moving on instinct , and his eyes darkened further as he took in the sight of me beneath him . He reached for his shirt , fingers working the buttons with quick , furious movements , The fabric fell away , revealing the hard planes of his chest , the ridges of muscle that flexed as he moved . I reached for him , my hands sliding up his arms , feeling the tension in him , the barely leashed control . He caught my wrists , pinning them above my head with one hand , his grip unyielding . I gasped , my back arching , my body straining against his hold . " You don't get to touch me , " he growled , his free hand sliding down my body , tracing the curve of my waist , my hip , my thigh . " Not this time . " I whimpered , but I didn't fight him . His touch was fire , and I was already burning . His hand slid between my legs , his fingers rough against the sensitive skin of my inner thighs . I gasped , my hips jerking , but he held me down , his weight keeping me in place . His fingers found me , slipping through the wetness that had gathered there , and I moaned , my head falling back against the bed . " You're already so wet for me , " he muttered , his voice rough The heat built between us , desperate and consuming . His fingers worked me with skillful accuracy , bringing me to the edge before pulling back , again and again , until I was trembling beneath him . " Please , " I gasped , my hips lifting , seeking more friction . He positioned himself between my legs , the hard length of him pressing against me . For a moment , we stayed like that , balanced on the ridge of everything . He enters me in one sharp motion , and I gasp .... half pain , half surrender . But just when it's too much .... when I'm right on the edge .... I falter . My hands press against his chest . " Wait . " He stops . Eyes scanning mine . " What ? " 1/4 Chapter 17 +15 Bonus I stare up at the ceiling , chest heaving , the words clawing out of me before I can stop them . " What if I'm not the woman you think I am ? " Silence . His weight still holding me down , his breath hot on my skin - but the room turns cold . Because for once , I'm not sure which answer I'm more afraid of : That he'll lie . Or that he won't . Alexander pulls back slightly , his hands moving to frame my face . His green eyes search mine in the dim light , and I see something shift there . Something softer . More real . " Claire , " he says , his voice gentler now . " Who do you think I think you are ? " The question catches me off guard . I expected comfort . Empty promises . Pretty lies wrapped in prettier words . " Perfect , " I whisper . " Strong . Unbroken . The woman who came back transformed and ready to conquer the world . " His thumb traces my cheekbone . " You think I don't see the cracks ? " " Don't you ? " A slow smile spreads across his face, but there's something sad in it . " Darling , I fell in love with the cracks . The way you cry during dog commercials . The way you check the locks three times before bed . The way you still flinch when someone raises their voice . " My breath catches . " I know you still wake up some nights thinking about him , " he continues , his voice steady . " I know you came back for revenge , not for me . I know you're using me , at least partially , to get back at the man who destroyed you . " The words should hurt . It should make him pull away . Instead , his grip on me tightens . " And I don't care , " he says . " Because somewhere between your prearranged seduction and your perfectly planned revenge , something real happened . You started letting me see the woman behind the armor . " " Alexander .... " " I'm not trying to fix you , " he says , echoing his earlier words . " I'm trying to love all of you . The strong parts and the broken parts . The parts that plan revenge and the parts that still cry over what you lost . " The tears come before I can stop them . Hot and fast and full of everything I've been holding back . " I don't know how to be loved like that , " I admit . "Richard wanted me to be small and grateful . You want me ... whole . " " I want you real , " he corrects . " I want the woman who's brave enough to come back and claim her power . But I also want the woman who's scared she's not enough . Because they're the same person , Claire . And she's extraordinary . " He kisses me then , soft and slow , like he's making a promise . When he pulls back , his eyes are serious . " So let me ask you again , " he says . " Are you the woman I think you are ? " 2/4 Chapter 17 +15 Bonus I think about it . Really think about it . I'm the woman who loved too much and learned to love smarter . Who broke apart and put herself back together with gold in the cracks . Who came back for revenge but found something better . I'm flawed and fierce and still figuring it out . I'm exactly who I'm supposed to be . " Yes , " I whisper , and this time I mean it . " I am . " His smile is bright . " Good . Because I have plans for us , Claire Winfred . And they all require you to be exactly who you are . " When he moves inside me again , it's different , Slower . Deeper . Like he's trying to reach the parts of me I keep hidden . And maybe he is . Maybe that's what love actually looks like not the desperate clinging I gave Richard , but this steady acceptance of all my pieces , even the sharp ones . Especially the sharp ones . Later , as we lie caught up in the sheets , his fingers tracing lazy patterns on my skin , I think about the game I've been playing . The revenge I've been plotting . Tomorrow , Richard will still be married to Monica . Tomorrow , I'll still have scores to settle and wounds to heal . But tonight , for the first time in two years , I feel like myself again . Not the broken woman who signed those divorce papers . Not the transformed ice queen who came back to Manhattan . Just Claire . Problematic and contradictory and completely real . And loved anyway . " Alexander ? " I murmur against his chest . " Mmm ? " " Thank you . " " For what ? " " For seeing me . " His arms tighten around me . " Always , darling . Always . " Outside , the city glitters beyond our windows . Richard's office building stands dark across the street , and I wonder if he's lying awake too , thinking about choices and consequences and the women who shape us . But that's a thought for tomorrow . Tonight , I'm exactly where I belong . 3/4