Chapter 13
After I park the GTO back in the garage, I enter Lennon’s house through the mudroom and take a steadying breath to calm my racing heart.
I hear Dash drop his keys on the counter in the kitchen. The pain from my driving adventure is still aching up and down my left side, but I push through it and walk into the kitchen with a slight limp to see Dash standing there.
He stays quiet while he studies me and I’m not sure what he’s thinking. He swallows hard and takes a step toward me with wide eyes. “Lennon.”
My eyes water and my vision blurs. He tries to come closer, but I blink causing the tears to fall down my cheeks. I hold up a hand and shake my head. As much as I need him to hold me, I’m scared to let him right now.
“We don’t know that for sure, Dash. There’s a lot of things my sister and I kept hidden from everyone else. One of those best-kept secrets may have been London’s ability to drive like Lennon can,” I say trying to remain neutral and logical about my identity.
He shakes his head. “No, there’s a difference. I know Lennon, and I know what she looks like behind the wheel. You’re Lennon. You’re my Valkyrie. But if you need more time to believe it, I’ll wait and believe it enough for the both of us.”
This time I don’t stop him; his fingers dive into my hair, and he tilts my face up toward his as he searches my eyes.
He kisses me with every breath in his lungs, almost as if he’s trying to tell me how much he’s missed me.
It’s raw and full of emotion. It’s familiar and true.
It’s his heart holding on to mine tight enough to know there’s no letting go now.
“Dash,” I whimper as I pull back just enough to see his eyes. My body is on fire, both from the pain I caused earlier and the desire he pulls from my soul. “Take me upstairs, now.”
He doesn’t miss a beat. He lifts me easily with his arm under my knees and the other behind my back. When we reach the bedroom, he gently lays me down on the bed and devours me with his hungry gaze as if his eyes are seeing me for the first time.
He pulls his shirt off and throws it down.
Then, he leans over me on the bed as his gold necklace swings from his neck and the cross swinging from it grazes my chest. He kisses my lips and then trails his lips over my cheek and then to my ear.
He licks the shell of it and then nibbles at my earlobe before saying in a husky voice, “I wouldn’t touch you this way if you weren’t Lennon. Trust me, Valkyrie. I love you.”
A tear slides down into my hair and he licks the salty trail from my face. “If you’re not ready to accept it yet, I’ll stop now for your piece of mind. Just say the word,” he says as he helps me out of the familiar leather jacket I put on earlier.
“I’m still not sure who I am, but I do think I relate most to Lennon the more I learn and remember. I’m scared because if you’re wrong, if I’m wrong…”
He rests his forehead against mine. “I understand, babe. But I know this is not wrong.”
He starts to get off the bed and I grab his arm. “Could you forgive me, if we find out I’m not Lennon?”
He stands tall, pulling free of my grasp. “I don’t know how to answer that. Could you forgive me if that were the case?”
I squeeze my eyes shut before answering. “I’d forgive you, but I don’t know if I could forgive myself. But if I’m not Lennon, then I’m already in big trouble.”
“Why?” he asks with a furrowed brow.
“I’m in trouble because the one thing I’m sure of is I’m in love with you. No matter who I am,” I admit shamelessly.
He stares at me with his jaw muscles ticcing.
“What does that say about me?”
He leans down over me again and trails a finger over my chest. “It says your heart already knows what your mind hasn’t accepted yet.”
“And if this is just a personality side effect of my TBI and I’m not her, Dash? What will it mean for us?”
He closes his eyes. “It would mean we would both need forgiveness I’m sure we’d never find on this side of heaven.”
I nod as another tear escapes. “What are you waiting for?”
“For you to tell me you want me despite everything…all of the what-ifs,” he says.
“I do. I accept the risk I might not be—”
He cuts me off by kissing me again. He carefully helps me undress before he undresses himself. His gaze, lips, and fingers touch and taste every inch of my body until I’m panting with need.
He teases my skin with his tongue and expert fingers.
His mouth finds each of my nipples as his fingers find my center.
My legs part for him as if I’m surrendering and calling him back to where he belongs.
He has me writhing with need beneath him, and just as I’m about to explode, he removes himself from my body to scoop his jeans off the floor.
He pulls out a foil packet and rips it open before rolling the rubber down his length. Once it’s on, he slides back into the soft cradle of my thighs and kisses my chin and nose, leaving my lips for last.
“Are you sure, Valkyrie?” he asks. His dark brown eyes almost match the color of his blown pupils.
“Yes, I’m sure. I need you, Dash, please. Make love to me. Remind me who I belong to.”
He kisses me again before pulling back to stare into my eyes as he gently slides inside my center. He gives me time to adjust before he moves. His breathing is heavy, and he closes his eyes as I shift my hips.
“Are you okay? Am I hurting you?”
“No, I’m good.”
He pulls back and moves forward again slowly before working up to a steady rhythm, all the while staring in my eyes.
With each thrust, his body takes mine higher.
When I finally feel the pressure building for my release, he finds my right hand and brings it above my head before linking his fingers with mine.
He watches me as I release around him squeezing every ounce of pleasure I can and it’s the most intimate thing I’m sure I’ve ever experienced.
Then, he falls apart on top of me, still never taking his eyes off mine as he bites his lower lip while slowly moving through the last waves of his own pleasure.
When our breathing returns to normal, he kisses me before moving off the bed to clean up and brings back a warm washcloth for me.
He pulls his boxers back on and then finds a pair of panties and what looks like an oversized T-shirt from the dresser. He helps me get dressed and then we lie together for a few minutes before I lift my head off his chest.
“I need to tell you something.”
He sits up and I prop up on the headboard.
“Lennon was being threatened. She had a stalker.”
His brows furrow. “What do you mean? I mean, you both have had some less than friendly fan mail at times. You’ve both been in the spotlight at different times.”
“I found notes and they’re bad.”
Dash jumps up from the bed and starts to pace. “Why wouldn’t you have told me?”
“You mean why wouldn’t she have told you?” I ask.
He raises a brow at me before returning back to pacing.
“I don’t know why she wouldn’t tell you. Why I wouldn’t if I’m her. Maybe I thought I could handle it, or…I don’t know. It also looks like Hendrix was about to propose to London.”
Dash stops and stares at me for a moment before scrubbing his hand down his face as his chin dips toward his chest.
“No wonder he wanted to believe you were London so badly.”
“You mean like you want to believe I’m Lennon,” I say.
His shoulders drop. “Did anything click when we made love?”
“Yeah, I’ve never felt a connection like that before. It was incredible. But you have to understand it still doesn’t mean I’m Lennon, Dash.”
He ignores me. “So, where are these notes?”
“Before I show you those, there’s more,” I say quietly, knowing he’s going to be so pissed at me.
“What else could you have found in the few hours you were alone?” he asks.
“I got a text from an unknown number, and it seems it was also from Lennon’s stalker.”
His eyes go wide. “Excuse me, what?”
I nod. “It said he knows who I really am. I think it means he has our necklaces, because he stopped after he caused the wreck and took them to hide who we were. Think about it. If we have nothing that would set us apart from the other except those necklaces, it makes sense and it means they know intimate details about us.”
He gawks at me with his mouth wide open in disbelief.
“Why didn’t you call me immediately? And why would you leave without telling someone or at least taking your phone?” he demands, angrily.
“I dropped it and forgot to pick it up. I was checking that the doors were locked and closing the curtains because I felt like I was being watched…and I was.”
He doesn’t appear to be breathing when he asks, “What do you mean you were being watched?”
I swallow hard, unsure how to soften the blow I’m about to deliver. “I turned for the kitchen and the back door was wide open, and I found another note on the counter.”
“What!” he shouts as his chest rises and falls rapidly.
He scoops his jeans off the floor and pulls them on. Then, he pulls his cell phone from the pocket. “We need to call Jimmy. He needs to know what’s going on.”
He points at me. “Congratulations, you never get to be alone again. At least, not until this asshole is behind bars.”
“While you speak with your police friend, I need to check in with Hendrix.”
Dash furrows his brow but steps out of the bedroom to talk to Jimmy.
Hendrix answers on the first ring. “Hey, beautiful. I was just thinking about you and was picking up my phone to call you.”
I smile. “Sorry I haven’t called sooner. How is your shift so far?”
“It’s a quiet night at the ER, but don’t repeat that or we’ll jinx it. How have you felt today?”
“Um…not sure how to answer. I’m fine, but I’ve been at Lennon’s house today.”
“You…what?” he asks in a surprised tone.
“I’m still here actually, but I’ll probably go back to the apartment to sleep. Something happened.”
“What, London? You’re scaring me.”
I close my eyes at the sound of him calling me London because tonight, it doesn’t feel right.
“Someone broke into the house while I was here alone,” I start.
“You were alone? Why the hell were you alone?”
“I told Dash to give me a few hours by myself here. But I found hidden notes, well, they were threats in the closet. And then, someone sent a text to me saying they know who I really am. I think it’s because they caused the wreck and knew exactly who we were by our necklaces, and I think he or she stole them after the crash. ”
“I’m coming to you now. Don’t go anywhere,” he snaps.
“No, finish your shift. Like I said, I’m going back to the apartment to sleep since it seems this person was much closer to Lennon than London. Did London say anything to you about feeling uneasy or that Lennon did?” I ask.
“No, nothing.”
I don’t tell him about my joy ride and certainly not about my feelings for Dash or what we did tonight.
“Dash is talking to his police officer friend right now to update him. I’m sure I’ll be questioned tomorrow. But don’t worry, I’ll go back to the apartment shortly. Dash will stay so I’m not alone.”
“Of course he will,” he mumbles.
“Hendrix,” I start.
“We don’t know for sure who you are yet. Don’t push me away, please. He’s not the only one with his heart at stake.”
I squeeze my eyes shut again.
“I know. But you’re forgetting something. I care about both of you. I have an intense connection with each of you. So, no matter which of your hearts gets broken, mine will break with it, and I wish it didn’t have to happen to any of us.”