Chapter Twenty-Nine
Bones
The place I brought her to is quiet…private…just like she deserves. A cabin tucked deep into the Smoky Mountains, wrapped in pine trees and stars, where the only sounds are the wind through the branches and the occasional crackle from the fire I lit inside.
It smells like cedar and pine sap, and I’ll remember that scent for the rest of my damn life…because it’ll always remind me of tonight.
Of her.
She’s wearing one of those soft little nightgowns that makes my blood run hot and my chest ache all at once. She doesn’t even know what she does to me. Or maybe she does. Hell, I hope she does.
She smiles when I sit beside her on the bed, the covers pulled down, the firelight casting soft gold across her skin.
“You’ve been quiet,” she says gently.
I take her hand and bring it to my lips.
“I’ve waited months for this, Sunny. Not just the sex. You. Us. The chance to be with you in every way. But I told myself I wouldn’t touch you…not like that…until I knew for certain you were healed. And mine.”
“You’ve always had me, Jack.”
I lean in, my hand brushing her cheek, and kiss her slowly. Deep. It’s not about taking…it’s about reverence. Because that’s what she deserves.
“I’ve taken more cold showers than I care to admit,” I murmur against her skin. “I’ve thought about sinking into you so many damn times, but I refused to even acknowledge it until tonight. Because it would’ve felt like stealing something precious that I hadn’t earned.”
Her fingers tighten on my shoulders. “You don’t ever have to earn me.”
“Still. I wanted it to be right. I wanted it to mean something.”
She nods, her voice barely a whisper. “It does.”
I kiss her, letting my mouth trail down her neck. Her breath hitches when my hands slip beneath the hem of her nightgown, and I pause.
“Tell me to stop,” I say, voice low and rough. “Any time. For any reason.”
She shakes her head slowly, eyes locked on mine. “Don’t stop.”
“Good girl.”
Laying her back on the sheets, I move over her like she’s something sacred…because to me, she is. Every brush of my hands across her curves, every kiss against her skin, is a vow I don’t need to speak out loud. She already knows.
When I part her legs, my chest tightens. She’s bare beneath the nightgown. Waiting for me.
Mine.
The low growl that leaves my throat is instinct. I lean in, and the moment my mouth touches her…soft, wet, perfect…her whole body trembles. I take my time, savoring her like I’ve waited a lifetime. Because I have.
Her fingers tangle in my hair, her back arching, breathy moans slipping past her lips like prayers meant only for me. I lose myself in every sound, every shiver, giving her everything I’ve held back until now.
I don’t rush. I want her undone…slowly, then all at once.
She cries out my name when I push her over the edge, her thighs clenching around me like she’s trying to hold on to something solid. I anchor her there with my hands, with my mouth, with every part of me that’s ever belonged to her.
And when she finally goes still, chest heaving, I kiss my way back up to her, brushing the hair from her face.
“I love you,” I whisper.
She pulls me close with a soft, blissed-out smile.
“I know.”
Only when I know she’s ready…mind and body…do I climb over her, bracing myself on my forearms, heart pounding hard against my ribs.
“You’re not a virgin, I know that,” I say quietly, searching her face. “But I still don’t want to hurt you. You tell me if anything doesn’t feel right. You tell me if you need me to stop.”
She touches my face with both hands, and there are tears in her eyes.
“I trust you, Jack.”
I press a kiss to her lips.
Then I press into her.
Slow.
Careful.
Every inch feels like coming home.
And when she gasps and wraps herself around me, I bury my face in her neck and swear I’ve never felt more whole.
“Don’t move,” she whispers. “Just need to adjust for a second.”
I stay frozen, every muscle locked tight with restraint, jaw clenched so hard it aches. I’m afraid if I breathe too deep, I’ll lose it. But I wait…because she asked.
Then, softer, breathless… ”Please… move.”
That’s all I need.
I pull back slowly, just until we’re barely touching, then drive forward, deeper, harder, unable to hold back the groan that rips from my chest. The headboard thuds roughly against the wall, but I don’t care. All I can feel is her. Clenching, pulsing, grounding me in ways I never knew I needed.
Every thrust is a confession I never said out loud. Every breath she steals from me is one I’d give freely.
She clings to me like I’m the only thing holding her together, and maybe I am. Because I know she’s the only one holding me together.
I slow my pace, wanting to feel every second, every heartbeat, every gasp that leaves her lips. Her hands roam my back, her nails scraping lightly down my skin like she’s trying to memorize every inch.
“Jack,” she whispers, voice thick with everything we’ve been through…pain, love, survival.
“I’ve got you, baby,” I murmur against her lips. “Always.”
When we finally fall over that edge together, it’s not wild or frantic. It’s quiet. Intimate. The kind of release that’s more about soul than body.
She trembles beneath me, her breath catching, and I don’t let go. I stay buried deep, pressed to her chest, my arms locked around her like she might vanish if I blink.
For the first time in too long, I feel peace.
“I love you,” I whisper, brushing her damp hair from her face.
Her eyes flutter open, heavy with sleep and something softer. “I know. I love you, too.”
***Sunny***
The sky is streaked with gold and lavender, the kind of desert sunset that makes you stop and breathe it in like a promise. I’m wrapped in one of Jack’s flannels, sitting on the porch of our home inside the compound, a place that once only felt like safety, now feels like safety…and home.
Laughter echoes from the clubhouse where a club party for all chapters is going on.
But out here, it’s quiet.
Peaceful.
Jack’s arms slide around my waist from behind, his breath warm against my neck. “You okay, baby?”
I lean back into him. “Yeah. I really am.”
There were days I never thought I’d say that.
Nights where the pain was so loud it drowned out everything else.
At one point after Max brought me back, I wanted to die.
The pain was just too much to handle every time I would move.
Luckily, the X-rays on my ribs showed that my lungs were safe, but in my struggle against Max, I had done some pretty severe damage to the two ribs that were broken.
And the other one which only had a small fracture at the time, broke right in half.
I shudder, remembering the exact moment it happened.
But Jack saw me through it. Held me through it. Loved me through it.
Now, I’m not broken. I’m no longer in pain.
We still have scars…both of us. But that’s the thing about scars: Physical and mental. They’re proof you survived.
“I’m proud of you,” he whispers, like a secret just for me.
Tears prick my eyes, but I smile. “I’m proud of us.”
He pulls me tighter. “You ready for whatever comes next?”
I look out over the compound, over this strange, violent, beautiful world that somehow became home.
“With you?” I whisper. “Always.”
The End