My Fault (Culpable Book 1)

A MONTH LATER

“Don’t you dare open your eyes,” I warned her as I brought her to the middle of the room. Having her there gave me a joy I couldn’t express in words. The change she’d made in my life was a new beginning in our relationship, but that was something I needed, and it would wind up being a good thing, enabling us to spend all the time we needed together.

“You know I hate surprises,” she reminded me, wriggling around. I smiled to myself.

“You’ll like this one,” I said, posting myself behind her. “Okay…now!” I took off her blindfold.

She looked astonished as she saw what lay before her. We were in the entryway of the penthouse condo I’d just bought, and she could see the doorways to the bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room. It wasn’t big, just enough for one person to live comfortably, but it was a nice apartment. A family friend had decorated it to my taste, and it looked amazing. The brown and white tones gave it a homey, modern feel. I’d had a fireplace built in the center of the living room in front of the chocolate-colored sofa where Noah and I could watch movies and relax by ourselves. The kitchen was compact, but it had everything we needed, including an island perfect for two people to have breakfast together. There were thick rugs on the hardwood floors and a huge window with amazing views of the city. At that moment, the dark night meant the lights were glowing like a carpet of stars.

Noah’s mouth was open slightly as she looked around in amazement.

“So…what do you think?”

She shook her head. She needed a moment to find the words.

“Is it yours?” she asked, walking to the sofa and resting a hand on the back of it. When she turned around, she had an expression I would struggle to describe: confused, worried maybe.

“I mean, I’m going to live here, but you’re going to spend most of your time here with me. That’s why I bought it, so we could be together without anyone coming between us,” I said, walking over. I liked seeing her there. Her presence made it feel like a real home.

A second later, a smile crossed her face.

“It’s amazing!” she shouted. But I could see in her eyes that she was hiding something.

I stroked her hair, tucked it behind her ears, and took her face in my hands.

“What is it?” I asked. Her expression worried me.

She shook her head and exhaled.

“It’s just that I’m going to miss seeing you every day,” she said, leaning her head against my chest. I was going to miss her, too: I loved getting up and having breakfast with her, I adored seeing her before she’d fixed her hair, always ready with a smile, and, of course, I loved knowing she was safe and sound behind our locked door. All that would change now that I was moving, but it had to be that way, I knew that. Living with my father and being in love with his stepdaughter was madness. We almost never felt fully comfortable, we were almost never alone with each other, and now that I had my own place, I could see Noah all the time without parental supervision.

“I will, too,” I said, “but it’s something we need to do. I can’t stand seeing you every day and not being able to do this when I feel like it,” I said, kissing those perfect lips. “Or this.” I kissed her deeper, my tongue wrapping around hers with all the passion she awakened in me. She responded right away, and in a split second, desire had taken over my body. That was the effect she had on me. “Or this.” I picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around me, giggling.

“Or this,” I said, tugging off my T-shirt with one hand.

I groaned as I felt her hands on my shoulders and neck. I walked to what was now my new bedroom, with its huge bed and incredible views, dropping her on the soft pillows and unbuttoning her white shirt.

“I think you’ve convinced me. I like your new place.” She sighed, letting me kiss every centimeter of her skin.

“I knew you would,” I said, reaching her lips.

At that moment, I realized that this woman would be beside me forever. I loved her above all else, and she had rescued me from the black hole my life had been before I’d met her. It had taken us time to understand, but now we were together and would work to make our relationship grow. Our lives hadn’t been easy, and that was why we understood each other so well. At a critical moment, in the eye of the storm, we had each been the other’s lifesaver, and that was not something easy to find.

A few hours later, when I had her sleeping in my arms, I realized something very important. The lights were out, the shades drawn…and Noah was sleeping with a look of utter relaxation on her face, without a trace of fear. I realized then that I had helped her, too, that I also had caused a radical change in her life. That had been my fault.