Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
PRESENT
Moonlight seeps through the curtains of my bedroom in hazy streaks, bathing the room in a pale glow. The house has finally settled into a quiet rhythm.
Kat and I haven’t had a chance to talk because we came straight back to the house, trying like hell to pretend nothing earth-shattering just happened at the gate. We had domestic life to take care of. My worrywart dad was insistent upon knowing what’s wrong. There was a boy and two dogs to feed. Bedtime routine…
Then, I drew Kat a bath and told her to relax and let it drain from her system. I am more than happy to hold on to this coal of hate for Paul until it burns right through my palm, but I saw how much more complicated that pain is for Kat. She needed time to decompress. I could tell she was on the verge of tears all night.
Finally, floorboards creak down the hall. Tension coils tight in my chest. A knock follows—hesitant, yet certain.
“Come in,” I say, low and steady. My heart kicks harder than it should, but that’s what she does to me. Every damn time.
Kat steps inside, her silhouette a womanly hourglass. She’s wearing white pajama shorts and a camisole, along with an oversized cardigan that hangs off her shoulder seductively. Her bare legs are pale against the dim light. She closes the door soundlessly behind her, leaning back against it for a moment as if bracing herself.
“You’re early,” I say, referring to last night’s date we made for ten-thirty.
She shrugs casually, and her cardigan falls farther down her arm. “I figured we should talk before I fuck your brains out.”
My rough laugh softens the heaviness.I can see in her eyes it’s both the truth and that her humor hasn’t been lost in all of this.
She smiles, and it’s not the kind that says she’s here to talk. But it’s not quite the fucking one yet either.
I sit up straighter, patting the spot on the bed beside me. “Come here.”
She hesitates for a fraction of a second before crossing the room. When she sits, her proximity sends a warm pulse pounding in my boxer briefs.
She folds her legs beneath her, her thighs pressing together, that little slip of white fabric barely covering what’s mine.
“Do you think they’d kill us?”
The way she asks—calm, almost too real—sends a chill through me.
“I mean if they found us?”
I don’t answer.
By her expression, she already knows.
Her fingers fiddle with the knitted hem of her cardigan. “I keep picturing it,” she admits, “The way they’d do it. How easy it’d be.” She swallows. “The news always talks about how they make examples out of people.”
My stomach turns. That is not a thought she should ever have to entertain.
I grip her chin, tilting her face to mine. “Look at me.”
She does.
“If they come, baby, they die first.”
I might seem calm on the outside, but inside, I’m already there—standing in front of her, shielding her body with mine, fists bloodied, bones shattered, whatever it takes.
She won’t die.
She won’t be an example.
I’ll burn this whole fucking world down before I let that happen.
I drag a hand through my hair, my pulse is a war drum. I’ve seen the worst of humanity—Enzo and Rio have pulled back the curtain for me more times than I can count. Monsters don’t care about fairness. They don’t hesitate. They don’t stop.
But neither do I.
Paul showing up today only makes me more certain—this isn’t over. This isn’t just about Nic’s fraud. This fire, this threat? It has her father’s fingerprints all over it.
Kat’s dad wasn’t some doting parent coming to check on his precious daughter. He was sniffing out an angle.
I reach out, covering her hand with mine. “It doesn’t matter what these people want because they’re not going to get it. You’re safe here. Enzo and Rio have turned this over to the feds, but they’ll have a team at GhostEye working on it, too. I know my brothers. They’re the best of the best. This won’t last forever.”
Her eyes meet mine, shining with unshed tears. “And then there’s my father. Santi, he… he showed up here. How did he even know I was here? For real? Is he the one who put all those cameras up at Julia’s? How would he have known? You and I haven’t talked for years.”
Her words shake, but her eyes stay sharp. She’s thinking, putting the pieces together. That’s my girl.
It does have me wondering—was Paul tracking her all along? Did he always know where she was, just waiting for the moment that suited him? Or did he follow the trail from the farmhouse, asking the right people, applying just enough pressure?
Kat wipes a tear off her cheek like she’s angry at it. “I keep trying to make sense of him coming here and what he wanted. Maybe he suspects he could be taken down for Nic’s crimes and is trying to get ahead of it? Maybe he’s scared. Or maybe he’s known what Nic was doing all along and is guilty, too.”
I don’t like any of those options.
“Kat, listen to me.”
I slide closer, caging her in with my body, warmth surrounding her. I cup her cheek, slipping my fingers into the silk of her hair, tilting her face up until there’s nowhere to look but at me.
“Whatever your father’s motives are, let GhostEye, Gabriel, Anton… let the fucking feds deal with it.” I soothe her the best I can. “You’re here.”
I wrap myself around her, claiming space, taking up room, making sure she feels it—feels me.
“You’re in my arms now, Kat. That means nothing—no one—gets to touch you. Not the past. Not the danger. Not even your own goddamn fears. And if something comes for you? It’ll have to go through me first. I don’t run. I don’t fucking break. And I sure as hell don’t let anyone take what’s mine.”
Her lips curve into a faint, bittersweet smile. “You always know what to say.”
I brush a strand of hair from her face and honor her with words I’ve never said to anyone else. “You bring out the best in me.”
The mood shifts between us, and she reaches her hand down to my cock which has been half-hard since she walked in the room. “And which part is the best of you?”
My deep growl vibrates against her lips. “Are you suggesting I’m just a hot body and a pretty face, Michi ?”
“I’m suggesting there’s more than one way to make me feel better.”
The words linger between us, unguarded and exposed. Then she leans in, her lips brushing mine—a kiss that’s soft yet charged with a fiery need. I pull her closer, my grip firm, as if daring the world to try and touch her while she’s in my arms. Her fingers tangle in my hair, igniting something primal, and the kiss intensifies, stripping everything else away until it’s just this—just us, locked in a moment that feels like it could burn forever.
I pull her down to the bed, and she straddles me. Her cardigan slips off her shoulders, and I reach up to lower one of her pajama straps .
“You, Katinka, are my Greek goddess.”
She rolls her hips, and my dick is instantly thick with need.
“Oh yeah, which one?”
I’m losing control fast. She is so fucking gorgeous. “Athena, obviously.”
I pull off her top baring two perfect teardrop-shaped breasts. I lick my thumb and circle her nipple. “Goddess of wisdom, art… and war.”
She lowers onto me, her perfect breasts pressing into my skin.
She cocks an eyebrow. “War?”
“You’ve been fighting your whole life.” I slide my hand under those loose shorts and ease my fingers around the front and smooth the seam of her pussy. “Time to claim your victory. You want my cock?”
She rocks against my fingers, soaking them.
“You’re so vain.” She presses down onto them for more friction. “Your dick is my reward?”
I smirk. “My body’s your kingdom, baby. Do with it as you please.”
At that, she throws me a brave, feisty look and kicks off her shorts. Mine follow right the fuck behind.
Then, she spreads those womanly thighs nice and wide, hovering everything I want right above my rock hard dick.
She raises her eyebrow. “Now that I’m naked. Please me,” she commands.
I trace my thumb along her pussy lip. My eyes flick up to hers.
“Come up here and settle those pretty knees up on the pillow.” I coax.
She hesitates .
A dark grin spreads across my lips. “You talk a big game … you afraid of what I’ll do to you if you sit on my face?”
Her breath stills and she’s thinking hard.
I bite my lower lip. “No need to be afraid anymore. There’s nothing but love in this room.”
When that four-letter word enters the space between us—she freezes.
She’s suddenly gone pink. “What do you mean?” Her pupils blow wide. “Love?”
Like there’s ever been another word for this. It’s been there since the start, through every fight, every mile between us, every damn second I spent without her. Still here. Still unshakable.
“You heard me.”
“I thought we were taking it slow.”
I drag my hands up the backs of her thighs, fingertips grazing the plush curve of her ass.
“Love doesn’t follow rules. It just shows up and takes what it wants.” I squeeze her peachy cheeks tight. “And right now… it wants you.”
She hesitates. Not because she doesn’t want it—but because she does.
She doesn’t wait long to shift up my body, heat and slickness dragging over my skin.
“That’s it,” I murmur. “Let me taste that pretty pussy.”
She braces against the headboard, thighs trembling.
I growl. "Sit."
She lowers onto my mouth and I groan—deep, savage—dragging my tongue through her folds, tasting her like I’ve been starving for it.
She’s dripping. Coating my lips, my chin. I dig my fingers into her ass, spread her wider, drag her down onto my face where she belongs .
Her body is melting onto me but she still hesitates.
“Can you breathe?”
“Breathe? I’m taking care of another vital need. I’m hungry, baby. Now ride my face like you’re hungry for something, too.”
She rocks forward, fingers twisting in my hair, thighs clenching around my head.
“Oooh…right there.”
Fuck, yes. I give her what she asks. I drag my tongue over every inch of her perfect, messy cunt.
She grinds, chasing the pressure, using me, owning me.
Good.
"Take what you need."
Her breath turns ragged. She’s so close…
I bite her thigh just hard enough to make her jolt.
"You like me fucking you with my tongue. Michi?"
“Yes,” she pants.
"Fuck my face… fuck it hard, fast… however you want it…”
I suck her tall clit between my lips, my fingers dig into her thighs— and that’s it.
She shatters.
I lick her through it, drinking her in, sucking her just enough to keep her locked in this moment.
When she finally collapses forward, head resting on a pillow, body spent, I run my hands up her spine, tracing every dip, every soft curve, grounding her.
Slowly, she slides back down my body, her glorious tits painting my chest. She hooks her luscious thigh around my hips.
“That was very good indeed, cowboy.” She’s dazed.
I smirk against her mouth. “How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not done with you. ”
She lifts an eyebrow. “No?”
I bite her lip, dragging my teeth over the soft flesh, tugging just enough to satisfy this feral need inside me to devour her.
“Now that you’re nice and wet, it’s time to ride my cock.”
Her body says wrecked, but her eyes say more.
Her smirk is pure sin. She straddles my hips. Her heat alone is enough to make me cum. The rough sound that escapes me is somewhere between amusement and pure wreckage.
She opens her legs wider for me, and I stare at her perfect cunt. Pink and glistening, ready to take me. She wraps her fingers around my cock, and drags the head through her slick folds, teasing both of us.
She rolls her hips, coating me in her wetness, and I enjoy the sight of our bodies connecting in the most intimate way possible.
I grit my teeth, fighting the instinct to slam into her, to take what’s already mine.
“Kat.” It’s a warning.
I need her now.
She gives me what I need and sinks down, tight, hot, inch by inch, I’m consumed by her until she’s seated deep, stretched around me, her body gripping me like she never wants to let go.
My head slams back. “You’ve ruined me, woman.”
I should let her have control…
Fuck that.
I sit up and turn her over, forcing her hips down on the bed with a firm palm, making her take me deeper.
Her nails bit into my shoulders.
I trace my fingers along her stomach, along those gorgeous stretch marks, proof of her resilience, proof of her magic. I want her to feel me deep inside her, to know she has all of me.
Something raw flashes across her face. Like no one’s ever touched her like this before.
Not since that tree anyway…
Thinking about having her again makes me wild. I flip her and wrap my arm around her waist to bring her up on all fours.
She arches, offering herself up. I drag my dick out just long enough to sink my teeth into her ass—branding her.
She moans loudly, shoving her face into the pillow.
I pump my fingers in and out, taking my time… just to make her ask me for it again.
“In… now…” She can’t even speak in full sentences.
That’s exactly where I want her.
I pound back into her relentlessly. The air is thick with heat, sweat, sex—and fuck, I live for it. But I’m on the edge, barely holding on. I hoist her hips up to drag her higher and angle deeper.
Her thighs start trembling.
“You coming, baby?” I grit out.
A sharp gasp rips from her lips as she comes around me, her pussy clenching so tight I see stars. I fuck her through it, chasing my edge.
She’s barely holding on?—
I wrap my hand around her throat. “Take every fucking inch.”
“You’re so deep,” she whimpers.
Then everything snaps.
I explode inside her, slamming against her curvy ass, my body locking down as I fill her with everything I’ve got .
When I finally collapse beside her, I gather her into my arms and we both catch our breath.
I’m overcome by all that’s happened today. And I have to remind her, not with a joke, not when we’re about to get dirty. Now, in this quiet moment when she knows without uncertainty, my words are real.
“I love you, Kat.”
She stills.
“I always have.”
Her lashes flutter, but she doesn’t speak, and I’m glad for it. Because she needs to understand what this means.
“I love you like it’s my religion,” My chest is so full it could burst. “The way people worship God. The way they curse Him when shit goes wrong… but that faith is always there. That belief. That feeling.” I grip her tighter. “That’s how I love you. How I’ve always loved you.”
She exhales sharply, something breaking open in her eyes. “You love me like your religion.”
Her fingers trail up my jaw, over my lips.
“And I love you like my salvation.”
It’s as if the whole world pauses for this moment. The storm outside, the shadows of her past, the danger that still looms—they all fade, leaving just us.
I cup her face in my hands, brushing my thumb along the curve of her cheek. “Then we save each other,” I murmur. “You and me, against whatever comes next.”
She nods, her eyes shimmering. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
I drop my forehead to hers. “You’ll never have to find out. I’m not going anywhere.”
For a while, we stay like that, tangled in each other, the weight of the world battering against these walls, but unable to touch us here. Tension drains from her body and she melts into me.
This is what I’ve been fighting for—not just to keep her safe, but to give her a place where she doesn’t have to carry it all alone. A sanctuary. And maybe, selfishly, it’s the same for me. Because holding her like this, I know I’ve found where I belong.
She’s drowsy, nearly drifting off. “You know, Santi… I’ve never felt this before. This safe. This sure.”
I kiss her temple, the words I want to say lodged in my chest. I don’t tell her that she’s my safe place, too, that she’s the only thing that’s ever felt sure in a life full of chaos. But I don’t need to. She knows it in the way I hold her, in the way I pull the blanket over us and keep her close, determined to protect my most sacred thing in the world.
Eventually, her breathing evens out, her body soft against mine as sleep takes her. I lie awake, watching the rise and fall of her chest, marveling at the miracle of her presence.
Kat sleeps, curled in my arms, innocent and trusting. I should let myself believe in this. Believe that she’s mine, that she’s safe, that I can keep her this way.
But I know what’s coming.
If I can’t put an end to it, then what kind of man am I?
What kind of partner? Friend? Father figure?
Owen’s foster application sits in my desk drawer, waiting. My name is on it. A name that means nothing if I can’t be the man he deserves.
So no, I don’t want the fight… But I’ll invite it if that’s what it takes to end it.
Because after this? There won’t be a question left about the kind of man I am.