Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
VIVIAN
Three weeks later, I watch Dominic Castellano's face as the jury foreman reads the verdict.
"Guilty on all counts."
The courtroom erupts. Castellano's attorneys leap to their feet, shouting objections that go nowhere. The gallery buzzes with reporters and spectators. Federal marshals move in to take him into custody.
But I only see Deck.
He's in the back row, where he's been every day of the trial. His left arm is still in a sling—Cade says it'll be another month before he has full mobility—but his eyes are sharp and alert, scanning the room for threats even now.
Those green eyes find mine across the chaos, and he smiles.
It's over.
The Castellanos are finished. Dominic will spend the rest of his life in federal prison. The contractors who attacked us have been arrested, and Carver is facing twenty years for his role in compromising witness protection.
I'm free.
The realization doesn't fully hit me until hours later, after the press conferences and the debriefs and the endless paperwork. Marshal Taylor shakes my hand and tells me I'm the bravest witness he's ever worked with. The US Attorney offers me my job back, a corner office, whatever I want.
I tell her I'll think about it.
Because what I want is standing in the hallway outside, leaning against the wall with his good shoulder, waiting for me.
"Hey." I walk into his arms like I've been doing it my whole life. "Miss me?"
"Every second." He kisses my forehead, my temple, the corner of my mouth. "Ready to go home?"
Home. The word still sends a thrill through me.
We decided two weeks ago that I'd move to Whisper Vale permanently. I gave notice on my San Francisco apartment and had my things shipped to the cabin. My mother's assisted living facility has a sister location in Reno, only two hours away, and I've already started the transfer paperwork.
My old life is over. My new one is just beginning.
The drive back to the mountains takes four hours. Deck drives one-handed while I control the music, and we argue about everything from dinner plans to wedding dates to whether we're getting a dog.
"I want a big one," I say. "Something intimidating."
"You're intimidating enough for both of us."
"Flatterer."
He grins, and my heart does the thing it always does when he looks at me like that. Like I'm the best thing that ever happened to him. Like he still can't believe I'm real.
We pull up to the cabin just as the sun is setting, painting the mountains in shades of orange and pink. I've seen this view a dozen times now, but it still takes my breath away.
"I have something for you." Deck kills the engine and reaches into the back seat, pulling out a small box. "I was going to wait until we got inside, but I can't."
I take the box with trembling fingers. Inside, nestled in velvet, is a ring.
Not a diamond. Something better. A deep green emerald surrounded by tiny sapphires, set in a band of twisted silver that looks almost like tree branches.
"It was my grandmother's." His voice is rough.
"She left it to me when she died. Said I should give it to someone who made me want to be a better man.
" He takes the ring from the box and slides it onto my finger.
"That's you, Vivian. You make me want to be better.
To do better. To build something worth having. "
The ring fits perfectly. Of course it does.
"I love you." I throw my arms around his neck, careful of his shoulder. "I love you so much it scares me sometimes."
"Good. I like keeping you on your toes."
We make it inside eventually. Deck builds a fire while I open a bottle of wine, and we settle on the couch in comfortable silence, watching the flames dance.
"What happens now?" I ask.
"Whatever we want." He pulls me closer, tucking me against his good side. "We could travel. See the world. Or we could stay here and never leave. I don't care, as long as I'm with you."
"I want to stay." The answer comes easily. "I want to learn this mountain. Want to help you with Guardian Peak. Want to build a life here that's ours."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." I set down my wine and turn to face him. "But first, I want you to take me to bed."
His eyes darken. "Vivian—"
"We've been careful for three weeks. Gentle. Considerate of your shoulder." I climb into his lap, straddling him the way I've been fantasizing about for days. "I'm done being careful."
"The doctor said—"
"The doctor said no strenuous activity. I'll do all the work." I roll my hips against him, feeling him harden beneath me. "Unless you don't want me to."
His good hand grips my hip hard enough to bruise. "You know I want you. I always want you."
"Then stop talking and let me have you."
I kiss him before he can argue. He tastes like wine and hunger, his tongue sliding against mine with familiar heat. His hand slides up my back, fingers tangling in my hair, angling my head so he can deepen the kiss.
"Bedroom," he growls against my mouth.
"No." I push him back against the couch cushions. "Here. I want you right here, where you first kissed me."
His pupils blow wide. "Christ, Vivian."
I pull my shirt over my head and toss it aside. His eyes drop to my breasts, still covered by a simple red bra, and his breathing goes ragged.
"Take it off." His voice is pure command, even from beneath me. "I want to see you."
I reach behind and unhook the clasp, letting the bra fall away. The cool air makes my nipples tighten, and I watch his face as he stares at me with naked want.
"Beautiful." He traces one finger along the curve of my breast, circling closer and closer to my nipple without touching it. "You have no idea what you do to me."
"Show me."
He pinches my nipple, a sharp twist that makes me gasp and grind down against him. His cock is fully hard now, straining against his jeans, and I can feel every inch of it pressing against my core.
"I've been thinking about this for weeks." I work at his belt with clumsy fingers. "Every night in that hospital bed, watching you sleep in the chair beside me. I kept imagining climbing into your lap and riding you until neither of us could see straight."
"Fuck." The word comes out strangled as I finally free his cock from his jeans. He's thick and hard, already leaking at the tip, and I wrap my hand around him and stroke slowly.
"I love your cock." I twist my wrist on the upstroke, the way I've learned he likes. "Love the way it feels in my hand. In my mouth." I lean closer, my lips brushing his ear. "In my pussy."
He groans, his hips jerking up into my grip. "You're trying to kill me."
"I'm trying to make you feel good." I release him long enough to shimmy out of my pants and underwear, then settle back in his lap with nothing between us. His cock slides through my wetness, nudging my clit, and we both shudder.
"You're soaked." His hand slides between us, fingers parting my folds. "All this for me?"
"Always for you." I rock against his hand, chasing the friction. "Only for you."
He slides two fingers inside me, and I moan at the stretch. He curls them, finding the spot that makes me see stars, and works me with relentless precision.
"That's it." His thumb circles my clit while his fingers pump in and out. "Let me feel you come. I want you dripping before I get inside you."
"Deck—" I'm already close, the tension coiling tighter with every stroke. "I want to come on your cock."
"You will. But first you're going to come on my fingers. Then my mouth. Then my cock." His eyes burn into mine. "I almost lost you, Vivian. I'm going to spend all night reminding myself that you're here. That you're mine."
The possessiveness in his voice pushes me over the edge. I shatter with a cry, my pussy clenching around his fingers, my whole body shaking with the force of it.
Before I can recover, he's lifting me, rearranging us so I'm lying on the couch and he's kneeling between my thighs. His injured arm makes him awkward, but he doesn't seem to care. He just spreads my legs wider and lowers his mouth to my pussy.
"Oh God—" The first stroke of his tongue makes me jolt. I'm still sensitive from my orgasm, every nerve ending on fire, and his mouth is hot and demanding.
He eats me like he's starving for it. Long licks from my entrance to my clit, then focused attention on the swollen bundle of nerves until I'm writhing beneath him. His beard scrapes against my inner thighs, a rough contrast to the softness of his tongue, and the combination is maddening.
"You taste incredible." He seals his lips around my clit and sucks, and I scream. "I could do this for hours. Keep you on the edge until you're begging."
"Please—" I fist my hands in his hair, holding him against me. "I need more. I need you inside me."
"Not yet." He slides his fingers back inside me, three this time, stretching me open. "Not until you come again."
He's relentless. His fingers work my g-spot while his tongue torments my clit, building the pressure higher and higher until I can't think, can't breathe, can only feel. The second orgasm crashes over me harder than the first, tearing a sob from my throat.
He works me through it, gentling his touch as the aftershocks fade. When he finally lifts his head, his beard is glistening with my arousal and his expression is pure male satisfaction.
"Now you're ready."
He sits back on the couch and pulls me into his lap, positioning me over his cock. I sink down onto him in one smooth motion, taking him to the hilt, and we both groan at the sensation.
"Fuck, you're tight." His hand grips my hip, steadying me. "Every time feels like the first time."
"Better than the first time." I start to move, rolling my hips in slow circles. "Now I know exactly what you like."
I ride him the way I promised, doing all the work, using my thighs to lift and lower myself on his cock. He watches me with heavy-lidded eyes, his gaze moving from my face to my bouncing breasts to where we're joined.
"Look at you." His thumb finds my clit, rubbing in tight circles. "Taking my cock like you were made for it. My perfect woman."
"Yours." I pick up the pace, chasing the building pleasure. "Only yours."
"Damn right." He thrusts up to meet me, as much as his position allows, driving deeper with each stroke. "This pussy belongs to me. This body belongs to me. You belong to me, Vivian, and I'm never letting you go."
"Yes—" The pressure is building again, impossibly, a third orgasm coiling tight in my core. "Don't stop. God, don't stop—"
He doesn't stop. His thumb works my clit while I ride him harder, faster, my rhythm going ragged as the pleasure overwhelms everything else. When I come this time, it's with his name on my lips, my pussy squeezing his cock so tight he can barely move.
"Vivian—" His voice breaks as he follows me over, his cock pulsing inside me, filling me with his release. His whole body shudders, and he pulls me against his chest, holding me close through the aftershocks.
We stay like that for a long time, tangled together on the couch, the fire crackling beside us. His softening cock is still inside me, and I can feel our combined wetness between my thighs. I should probably move. Clean up. Let him rest his shoulder.
I don't want to move ever again.
"I love you." His voice is rough, sated. "I know I say it all the time now. But I spent five years not saying it to anyone. I'm making up for lost time."
"I love hearing it." I press a kiss to his chest, right over his heart. "I love you too. Even when you're being overprotective and grumpy."
"I'm never grumpy."
"You're frequently grumpy. It's part of your charm." I lift my head to look at him. "I wouldn't change a single thing about you."
"Not even the part where I proposed while bleeding out?"
"Especially not that part. It was very romantic."
"It was insane."
"It was both." I kiss him softly. "Just like us."
He shifts us so we're lying lengthwise on the couch, my back against his chest, his good arm wrapped around me. The fire has burned down to embers, casting the room in warm orange light.
"When do you want to get married?" he asks.
"Soon. I don't need a big wedding. Just you and me and the people we love."
"We could do it here. On the mountain. In the spring, when the wildflowers are blooming."
"That sounds perfect." I lace my fingers through his. "Mrs. Vivian Cross. I like the way that sounds."
"I like the way everything sounds when you say it."
I smile and settle deeper into his arms. Outside, the stars are coming out, scattered across the sky like diamonds on velvet. The mountains are silver in the moonlight, silent and eternal.
I came here running for my life. I found something worth living for instead.
"Thank you," I whisper.
"For what?"
"For protecting me. For training me. For loving me even when I was stubborn and scared and impossible."
"You're still stubborn and impossible."
"But not scared. Not anymore." I turn my head to kiss his jaw. "You made me brave, Deck. You gave me a home."
"You gave yourself those things. I just helped you see they were already there." He tightens his arm around me. "Go to sleep, Vivian. We have the rest of our lives to figure out the details."
The rest of our lives.
I fall asleep with those words wrapped around my heart like a promise.
Like a vow.
Like home.