Sinful Empire (Mount Trilogy #3)

Lachlan shakes his head. “No. I may not understand why she did it, but I believe she was honest when she said it was a one-shot deal.”

I want to believe that, but I don’t know what to think about my best friend right now. I never would have thought her capable of this, so it’s hard to trust anything else about her in this moment.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I offered her a fortune for another night, and she still said no.”

Again, the words of a man I used to fear alleviate the pain of betrayal from this foundation-rocking confession.

Then it occurs to me why Magnolia had no choice but to turn him away.

“She couldn’t give you another night because I eloped with Brett. I married him the next day based on what happened at the masquerade. Thinking you were him. The one impulsive decision of my life—”

Lachlan sucks in a breath. “I wish I’d gone to her that morning. You would’ve been mine from that night forward. When she told me you’d married another man and were beyond my reach—not part of our world is how she put it—I was furious.”

“I never would’ve married him if I’d known—”

His other arm wraps carefully around my waist, and he draws me closer to him. He guides my face down to his lips. “I wouldn’t have f*cking let you. No way in hell.”

His lips sweep across mine and I lean in, soaking up his warmth and conviction. This man changed the course of my life without even knowing he had. When he releases my chin, I meet his gaze.

“If you had to let me go because of Brett, then how did this,” I gesture between him and me, “happen?”

Lachlan’s face contains more pride than apology. “Nothing is beyond my reach, Keira. Nothing.”

I have to force myself not to smile at his arrogance. In this maelstrom of emotion and confusion, one thing is absolutely clear—Lachlan Mount hasn’t wavered at all about what he wanted. Which was me.

The pieces start to snap together.

“So you . . . you made this happen. Everything from then on was you pulling the strings.”

“Of course. When the prize is right, no amount of effort is too much.”

I can’t even hold it against him. How else would he have gotten me to fall in love with him? I can’t envision another path that would have led to where we are. Which makes this all the more confusing.

I think of how Magnolia told me to stand up for myself and not let him walk all over me. How I had to hold my own. Did she know it would keep his interest locked on me? Everything she ever told me is now called into question. While I’m contemplating this, Lachlan keeps going.

“I forced her to give me your name. I tracked you down, found out who you married. Started watching you that day. Did my research. Learned Brett’s weaknesses. Learned he conned you. And then I waited . . .”

He trails off, leaving me desperate to know where he’s going with this.

“Waited for what?”

“For you to realize exactly what he was on your own. I forced myself to stand back until you moved to sever ties.”

“Why would you wait? That doesn’t seem like you at all.” I’m trying to come up with an explanation for it, but I can’t.

“Maybe not normally, but you were different.” He tilts his head.

Still confused, I ask, “Because you needed me at my weakest to swoop in?”

He shakes his head. “No. I wanted you at your strongest.”

“But I was falling apart—”

“No, you weren’t, Keira. You were coming into your own. Don’t tell me it didn’t take a hell of a lot of courage to make the decision to end it.”

I blink twice. He’s right. Choosing to end my marriage wasn’t something I did lightly. I struggled and agonized over the decision. Even with as short as my marriage was, it still hurt like hell to admit how wrong I’d been.

“So you watched and waited. Which explains how you knew the perfect timing. When I went to a lawyer. Got the apartment. Set things in motion.” I press two fingers to my temple as more pieces slide into place. If I didn’t already have a headache, this realization would have given me one. “And that piece of shit agreed to take the money and walk, knowing that you’d come after me for it.”

Lachlan doesn’t try to deny it. “I did what I had to do to get what I wanted.”

“So this whole thing, from the very beginning, had nothing to do with the money . . .” My words come out awed at this ground-shifting realization.

He lifts a hand to tuck an errant strand of hair behind my ear.

“No, Keira. This has only ever been about you.”





Keira





“This has only ever been about you.”

The way he says it sends tremors rippling through my body, but not in fear. Never again in fear. They’re from something else entirely—the certainty that no one has ever wanted me like this man wants me. He admitted it himself. I was his addiction. He could have swooped in with his hood and his henchmen and taken me to his compound the day he found out I married Brett, but he didn’t.

Lachlan Mount isn’t just ruthless—he’s a study in perseverance. He said Magnolia was canny, but he’s a master strategist. I can’t fault the outcome, but I have to recognize the fact that I was just a moving piece in a bigger game than I realized.

“You were playing chess with my life, and I didn’t even know I was on the board.” There’s no anger behind my statement. I’m still just trying to understand this enigma of a man.

“Life is a chess game, Keira. Every single f*cking day, you make moves that determine your future.”

“And Magnolia turned me into a pawn.”

“No.” Lachlan shakes his head slowly, once again caressing my cheek. “That’s where you’re wrong, hellion. You’ve never been a pawn. You’ve been the queen from day one. The most powerful piece on the whole f*cking board.”

“What?” Suddenly I wish I paid more attention to the game of chess when my dad tried to teach me as a kid.

“A king has the most value, but without a queen, he’s a hell of a lot less powerful. Together, they have the best chance of victory.” He pauses, stroking my cheek again like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever touched. “I’ve spent my life avoiding any attachments because I thought they would create a weakness my enemies could exploit. I didn’t realize how wrong I was until you. You give me strength, and I swear to God, I’ll never let anyone take you from me.”

The vehemence in his tone should scare me, but I find it comforting. And then he says something that hits me even deeper.

“And while I’d never let anyone take you from me, right now I’m offering you a chance to ask all your questions. Pass your judgment. Make your own decision. I need to know if you can handle life by my side, Keira, because if you can’t, I have to find some way to let you go.”

The very suggestion tears at my heart in a way I didn’t know was possible, bringing a sting behind my eyes at the thought.

“If you have another question, ask it now.”

My brain is swirling a million miles an hour, and I can’t think of anything else that would change my mind. Not now.