Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ashlynn
After being alone for nearly a month, Steele’s arm wrapped around my waist was exactly how I wanted to wake up. The second my eyes opened I registered how close he was, enveloping me with the smell of his masculine cologne and the bit of scotch that always seemed to linger, even though he hadn’t consumed a drop since he’d pulled me from that club in London.
He was still asleep. Every time I’d slept in his bed before, with the exception of when he was badly injured, I’d woken up to his hot stare on me. But instead, he rested comfortably, the gash on his forehead stitched up neatly and his lip much less swollen than it was yesterday. His stubble was already coming in, and I knew that he’d easily have a thick beard if he stopped shaving for a few days. His five o’clock shadow seemed ever-present, long before the early hours of the evening.
The sheets were bunched below his waist, and I could just make out the hollow of his hips. His chest was still scarred from his encounter with my father, but the lines were fading and didn’t bother me as much as they once did.
If he could forgive me, I needed to forgive myself.
I traced the scars on his chest, thinking of how we got here. From the moment he first skimmed his hand over my bare stomach, he’d wanted me. And if I was honest with myself, I’d wanted him the second he pressed his lips to mine.
And now I had him.
His hand grabbed the wrist that was tickling his chest, and then he curled his fingers around mine before bringing them up to kiss them.
“Bonjour, mon amour.” His voice was husky and dry from sleep. The look he gave me was smoldering. His eyes were heavy and lidded, but his lips curled into a sly smile.
He wasted no time, pulling me towards him by my waist and then rolling me on my back as he leaned over me. I suppressed a moan as he licked my throat. I couldn’t imagine waking up to this every morning, but I knew I wanted to. There was only one thing left to say. I’d wanted to say it last night, but every time the words were on my lips I’d pulled them back, afraid of the implications.
But it wasn’t as if I was going to be leaving any time soon, and I knew that Steele wanted me for as long as he could have me.
I took a deep, shaky breath. Steele immediately stopped kissing me, sensing the sudden change in my pulse and my erratic breathing.
“Ash?”
“I love you,” I blurted out, the tears moistening my eyes as the words finally came forth.
Steele’s eyes widened. I thought that he was naturally intense, but it was nothing like the way he looked at me now.
He gulped, opened his mouth, and then shut it again, as if his voice would scare away the words I left hanging in the air.
Instead, he wrapped his arms around my entire body and then reversed our positions, resting my naked body on top of his as he squeezed me possessively.
“I’ve known it all along, my love. But thanks for saying it. Now hold on to me tightly, because I intend to claim every single part of your body and make it mine.”
If it hadn’t been for Cooper’s health, we wouldn’t have left the bedroom. But after another two rounds, we grudgingly pulled ourselves away from the bed. Steele wanted to check on him again, and then he promised me a huge American breakfast, which I wasn’t going to let him forget.
“Should we shower together?” Steele asked, winking as I watched him move towards the bathroom.
“It saves time,” I answered, following him. I loved watching him move, his strong muscles supporting his large frame. He started the shower, getting the temperature just right, and then fixed his eyes upon me.
“I’ll never forget the first time I saw you naked.”
My mind flashed back, remembering how I’d let him stare at my naked body when I was showering. So much had changed since then.
“I let you watch. I was planning on seducing you to earn my freedom.” I stepped into the shower, the warm water easing the soreness from my body. Steele had made good on his word to claim every inch of me, and I could feel the result in my muscles from their constant tightening.
Steele moved into the shower with me, his eyes captivated by the way the water dripped down my body. “And now?”
“I’ll never be free of you,” I whispered against the dripping water, turning to cup his cheek.
“Good girl,” he said, and then I watched with wide eyes as he got down on one knee, the water running down his face and dripping in his hair. “I told you if I ever proposed, I was going to do it naked. Ashlynn, will you marry me?”
I looked into his eyes, and a peace came over me as the warm water enveloped both of us. He bit his bottom lip nervously, and my heart melted.
“Yes.”
Epilogue
Ashlynn
The second I gasped aloud, Steele ran into the bathroom. His eyes went wide as soon as he saw the pregnancy test in my hands.
“Are you serious?” he asked, coming up behind me to peak over my shoulder. My nerves were all over the place, and I tossed the pregnancy test on the counter and threw up in the toilet.
“That answers that,” he said, looking from the counter to where I collapsed on the bathroom floor. “You’re carrying my baby. We’re getting married tomorrow.”
If I hadn’t been feeling so crappy I would have slugged him. “I might not have a family, but I want a wedding.” My father was locked away in federal prison for a variety of charges, some true, some not. He wouldn’t be getting out anytime soon.
“I’m your family. And now we’re going to have a baby. That’s all we need.”
I looked up at him, his height even greater now that I was on the floor. “I want to have a wedding. I want a white dress. Even if we don’t have any guests, I want it to be something special. Even if it’s just us.”
His eyes quickly shifted from wide-eyed excitement to tender softness. Before I could protest, he swept me up in his strong arms and carried me back to our bed. The sheets were now pink satin, and my mother’s afghan was draped over a chair. Steele didn’t care what I did with the room, as long as I slept in it every night. He placed me on the bed gently, and then started to remove my shoes.
“What are you doing?”
He went to the closet, ignoring my question. He came back quickly with a nightgown. “I’m putting you to bed.”
“It’s only eight o’clock!”
“I don’t care. My babies are going to get some rest.” He tried to hand me the nightgown, but I refused.
“This is not how the next nine months are going to go, Daniel.” As usual, my use of his first name weakened his resolve.
“Fine. But I get to dote on you. Bring you whatever food cravings you have.”
“Deal.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about this pregnancy, but I was sure about my love for Steele and our future. He’d already stepped back from the illegal aspects of his business and separated it from his other ventures. Cooper was now fully responsible for the darker side of importing, and Steele now just ran his hotels and restaurants and imported boring items instead of priceless world artifacts. Now that he was out of that line of work, I felt safer and more secure. At first I wasn’t sure if he would agree to it, but once I explained that we could never have a family if we were constantly looking over our shoulders, he’d supported me.
I moved to the couch, grabbing the afghan and snuggling up. Steele moved right next to me, holding me close to his chest. I could hear every thump of his heart, and for the millionth time I was so thankful that neither myself nor my father had stopped it from beating.
“Ash, how do you really feel about this?” He kissed the top of my head and then weaved our fingers together.
A million thoughts scampered through my head, but while there was some fear, there was also excitement. We’d been together for several months, and while we had our share of arguments, we were strong.
“I’m okay. Really. I’m nervous, but I think we can handle it. How are you?”
He ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m excited. I’ve never had a family before, so the babies I make with you will be my first. They’ll inherit my title, my property, my money. It’s more than I could have wished for.”
At only three months pregnant, I didn’t waddle down the aisle, but I definitely didn’t feel like the model bride.
Martha was a flower girl, and Henry was the ring bearer. As they pranced ahead, I stood back, looking out before me.
The estate had been decorated beautifully, and it hardly looked like our house. Instead, the entire garden area was transformed, with large archways of flowers lining the white runner. There were only a handful of people there to witness the ceremony, but that was fine with me. I didn’t want a big fuss.
I walked forward, my mother’s dress trailing behind me. Steele had gone to great lengths to acquire it, especially considering all my father’s property had been seized. It was a soft ivory color, satin and form-fitting. If it hadn’t been for the severe bouts of morning sickness, there was no way it would have fit. I was curvier than my mom, and also pregnant. But the first trimester hadn’t been kind to me, and I’d lost ten pounds. Steele was incredibly stressed about my weight loss, flying me to a world-renowned obstetrician in Germany even though I tried to convince him it was normal.
He was so attentive to both of us.
The aisle was decorated with soft pink rose petals, and I felt my stomach flutter as I looked ahead, seeing Steele. Cooper was standing next to him, leaning slightly on a cane. He’d healed well, but the break in his leg was severe and he was undergoing physical therapy to walk normally again.
Steele’s eyes met mine, burning and intense. I was used to seeing him in formal attire, but he looked so handsome in his black tuxedo that it took everything in me not to run to him. He didn’t seem to blink as he watched me walk towards him, his gaze more intense than I’d ever seen it. It was full of promises and love, passion and devotedness.
He was everything I never knew I’d needed. I’d spent so much time convincing myself that I shouldn’t be with him, lost so much time fighting our attraction, our friendship, and then, finally, our love. It took two near-death experiences to make me realize it, and at times I didn’t know how I could have been so blind. In retrospect, it could have been my parent’s unhealthy relationship that soured me, or even just my isolation and lack of ability to converse with other people about my feelings.
But it didn’t matter now. We were finally there, at the end of the path, ready to become man and wife.
As soon as the rings were exchanged and the vows pledged, I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.
With Daniel.
Steele
Ashlynn was incredible. Her labor wasn’t easy, or short. I’d never seen her more scared or nervous, her body shaking with exhaustion. But at the end of it, she gave me something I never thought I’d have.
A daughter.
The second she was passed over to me, I marveled at how a squealing little infant could change me so completely. But, given who her mother was, I shouldn’t have been surprised.
These two girls had changed my life and formed it into something good. From the ashes came my true family. My Ash. And my new daughter.
Ember.
A name to match the fire and passion she would inherit from her mother. She would turn the world on its toes, fight every obstacle in her path, and possess so much beauty and grace that she would seem ethereal. Just like my Ashlynn.
My wife.
My daughter.
My family.
The only things in this world that were truly worth possessing.
Thank you for reading Power and Possession!