Chapter 22 #2
“Because I love you.” The words burst out of me.
“Because every day without you for the past five years has been torture. Because watching you with our daughter, seeing the amazing mother you are, the strong woman you’ve become—it just makes me love you more.
Look, I know I have to earn your trust back.
But Isabella, I need you to know—” I moved closer, close enough to see the tears clinging to her lashes.
“I’m not going anywhere. I choose you. Every day, every moment, I choose you.
And I’ll keep choosing you until you believe it. ”
She was looking at me like I’d broken something inside her. Like she wanted to believe me, but was terrified of the consequences.
“I can’t lose you again,” I whispered. “I can’t lose either of you. You’re my family. You’re everything.”
“I’m scared,” she admitted. “So scared of trusting you and having you destroy me again.”
“Then don’t trust me yet. Just…give me a chance to prove I’ve changed. To prove I’ll never make the same mistake twice.”
I reached up slowly, giving her time to pull away, and cupped her face in my hands. Wiped away her tears with my thumbs.
Just then, a scream cut through the air.
Our heads snapped towards the pool area. Adele.
We both turned and ran.
The lounge chair where I’d left Adele sat vacant, her stuffed dragon abandoned on the cushion.
“Mommy!” Adele shouted again, and then I saw her.
The sight was horrific. Adele was in the pool. A man in a waiter’s uniform had her by the shoulders, holding her under the water. Her small hands were fighting weakly, splashing.
The world went red.
My howl tore through the air, primal and deadly. I felt my wolf pushing to shift, to take over and rip that man into pieces.
The assassin looked up just in time to see me launch myself across the pool deck.
He didn’t even have time to scream.
I hit him with the full force of my body, knocking him out cold. He fell into the water, but I didn’t bother to check if he was dead or alive.
I moved straight for Adele, carrying her out of the pool.
My daughter was limp. Unresponsive. Her lips were blue.
“No, no, no.” Isabella dropped to her knees. “Come on, baby. Breathe. Please breathe.
I watched as she performed CPR. Chest compressions. Rescue breaths. Everything there was.
But nothing.
“She’s not responding!” Isabella’s voice was rising with hysteria. “Dimitri, she’s not—”
“Keep going. Keep trying. I’m calling for the helicopter.” I fumbled for my phone, dialing Edmund. “We’re going to the safehouse. Now. Have medical standing by.”
Isabella continued CPR, her movements becoming more desperate, more frantic.
“Please, baby. Please. Mommy’s right here. Come back to me. Come back.”
The helicopter arrived in minutes that felt like hours. Medical personnel took over, loading Adele onto a stretcher with oxygen, with monitors, with equipment I didn’t understand.
Isabella climbed in after them, her face a mask of terror, and I followed.
The safehouse was ready when we arrived.
Three doctors swarmed Adele the moment we landed, including Dr. Lucy, who’d examined Adele last time for a concussion.
They rushed her into an already set up room, and before they closed the door, she gave me a reassuring look, one meant to calm my trepidation. It did. But only a little.
And then we waited.
Isabella paced the hallway. She wouldn’t sit. Wouldn’t speak.
I sat in a chair just outside the room, with my head in my hands, silently praying. I’d only just gotten to know my daughter. I couldn’t lose her.
Hours passed. Or maybe minutes. Time had lost all meaning.
Finally, Dr. Lucy emerged.
“She’s stable,” she said, and Isabella collapsed against the wall with a sob of relief.
“We’ve cleared her lungs. Her vitals are good.
She’s breathing on her own. But she needs rest and monitoring for the next few days to watch for complications.
I can send a nurse to do that, if you will allow that, Mr. Ravencrest.”
I shook my head, not trusting whoever that nurse is or anyone at all. This house was the safest place for Isabella and Adele, and I wasn’t going to compromise that. “No. You’ll come every day to check on her. Just you. I’ll pay you double for your services if that’s what it takes.”
Dr. Lucy nodded slightly.
“Can we see her now?” Isabella asked.
“Of course. But she’s sedated. She won’t wake up for a while.”
We followed the doctor to the room where Adele lay in a bed that looked far too big for her small body. She was hooked up to monitors and IVs, but her chest was rising and falling steadily.
Isabella went to her immediately, taking her small hand and pressing kisses to her fingers. “I’m here, baby. Mommy’s here. You’re safe now.”
I stood at the foot of the bed, unable to move. Unable to process what had almost happened. And in silence, we watched Adele through the night.
The days blurred together after that. We took turns sitting with Adele, watching her sleep, monitoring every breath. Isabella barely left her side. Neither did I. Dr. Lucy came in every morning and evening to check on Adele.
That was how it was for the next three days.
By the third night, Adele’s breathing had grown stronger, and Dr. Lucy assured us she was out of danger. Only then did I notice the tension begin to leave Isabella’s body. She started to feel more at ease.
That evening, after Dr. Lucy had left the house, Isabella came to my room. I was just finishing a phone call with Edmund, tightening already-tightened security measures. She sank into the bed, and she allowed herself to cry, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
I went to her immediately, pulling her up and into my arms.
“It’s my fault,” she choked out. “I should have left the pool area. I shouldn’t have let my emotions get the better of me. I should have—”
“No.” I held her tighter, my voice soft.
“No, this is on me. I left her alone. I thought we were safe. And I have never been so terrified in my entire life. The thought of losing her…it undid me. But more than that, it made me realize how I want to let her know the truth. How badly I want to hear her call me Daddy. How I want us to be a real family, Isabella.”
She looked up at me, and I wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“But we’ll only do these things when you’re ready.” I pursed my lips. “If ever.”
We stood there, holding each other. For the longest moment, neither of us spoke. Isabella just stared at me. And then she did the last thing I was expecting…she pushed up from the bed and pressed her lips to mine.
I froze. But only for a second. Then the familiar wave of desire that flared whenever Isabella was near me took over, and I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close, deepening the kiss.
When she pulled away, her breathing was uneven. She tilted her head up to look at me, thick lashes fluttering, desire flickering in her gaze. But there was something else behind it.
“It’s impossible to hate you when you always know the right things to say,” she whispered.
I frowned slightly. “Is that why you kissed me?”
“No.” A small smile tugged at her lips. “I kissed you because I love you. Adele was right earlier—you do make me happy, Dimitri. But with that happiness comes moments of doubt, of fear…and I’m tired of living in that space. I want to trust you again.”
My wolf stirred inside me, triumphant. It was all I’d ever wanted to hear.
I cupped her face, drawing her closer until there was barely air between us. “Then trust me,” I murmured, my voice rough with emotion.
She pushed forward to kiss me again, and this time, I met her halfway.
I tugged at Isabella’s shirt, and she flung her hands over her head, easing off it. Thankfully, she wasn’t wearing a bra.
I wasted no time dipping my head and latching onto her nipples.
She sighed and moaned at the same time, wrapping a hand around my neck and pushing herself into me. But not long after, she began to stir restlessly, nudging me.
“What do you want, Isabella? Hmm?” I lifted my head to look at her.
“I want you to fuck me.”
I smirked. “Not just yet, baby. I intend to savor every last drop of you first.”
She inhaled sharply at my words.
I worked the buttons of her jeans. Frustrating as it was, I managed to get the damn things off. Then her panties went off next. I guided her toward the edge of the bed, sat her down, and then dropped to my knees.
Fuck.
My cock strained against the zipper of my pants. I was impossibly hard. And the sight of Isabella’s pussy—so wet for me—made me want to rip out my cock and thrust into her right this minute.
But I wanted to please her first.
When my tongue connected with her folds, Isabella let out a gasp.
I flicked her clit with my tongue, her moans turning into cries.
But when I slipped a finger into her, she started to writhe.
I pressed a hand over her waist to keep her in place while I continued my work, alternating between her clit and wet pussy.
“Oh God, Dimitri,” she groaned as her orgasm built.
“Not yet, Isabella,” I said, removing my hand. I climbed onto the bed, resting my elbows on either side of her head to prop myself up. And then I slid my tip into her entrance.
“Fuck, Isabella.” She was so damn wet, it took everything in me to control my release at that point. I wasn’t sure how long I’d last. I was pretty fucking turned on.
We moved together slowly at first. Then more frantically. We bucked together, her hand finding my hair as she balled it into a fist. Her other hand clawed at my back, her nails digging in and making my pumps fast and furious.
Her moans were louder, her muscles tighter. She was close. I thrust into her harder and deeper, and her hips angled higher as I hit her G-spot.
“Fuck, Dimitri,” she cried out, throwing her head back as she clenched and uncoiled around me.
Watching her unravel tipped me over the edge. “Isa…” I said through clenched teeth. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as I found my release.
Sweat beaded along my back as I dipped my forehead to hers. Our rapid breathing slowly returned to normal after a few minutes.