Chapter 54
Lachlan paused at the bedroom doorway, taking in the sight of Britt standing at the window.
She wore one of his shirts that barely covered her round ass, her silhouette illuminated by moonlight as she gazed out at the Caribbean waters.
The familiar curve of her neck, the way she tucked her hair behind her ear—it struck him with an almost physical force that she was truly here. Alive. With him.
He'd spent the last forty minutes holding Paloma after she’d finally fallen asleep.
She acted unfazed by the trauma of being kidnapped, but he knew she was putting on a brave face so he wouldn’t worry.
He’d already put in a call to Fallon to come to the island and assess his daughter’s mental state.
The last thing he wanted was for Paloma to suffer long-term effects from what that fucker, Wesley Thomas, had put her through.
Britt turned as he walked into the room. “How is she?”
“Sorry for kicking you out, but I knew she’d never wind down and fall asleep with you in the room," he said softly. He raked a hand through his hair. "Took three bedtime stories and a solemn promise that we'd both be here when she wakes up.”
"I don't plan on being anywhere else. Ever again."
“You don’t?” Lachlan challenged, pushing the elephant in the room to center stage.
“No,” Britt shook her head. “I’m not going to lead Quattro. I’m going to give Alejandro my endorsement as the next leader.”
“But that wasn’t your original plan, was it?
” Lachlan said, unable to hide the hurt and pain after learning the truth from Miquel Rubio.
“You never planned on staying off the grid when we ran away to Dove Island. You were just biding your time before you could re-emerge and take the reins from Titus.”
“That’s right,” Britt said, not backing down.
Lachlan appreciated her honesty. That she didn’t lie to his face after everything they’d been through.
“You wanted to run a criminal organization that puts guns on the streets and in the hands of terrorists,” Lachlan said, shaking his head with disgust.
“I did,” Britt admitted. “I was drawn to the power the position wielded. And the money was intoxicating. My father had a normal,” she used air quotes as she said the word, “life in addition to running Quattro. Legitimate businesses. He was a revered member of society, despite the rumors about him being a cartel kingpin. Nothing could ever be proved. We designed it that way.”
“We?” Lachlan laughed.
“Yes. There wasn’t much about Quattro that my father shielded me from.”
“And that’s why his enemies were trying to kill you.”
“Yes.”
“So, what’s changed? You have your memories back. Those old ambitions. Why are you walking away?”
“Because I want you and Paloma more,” Britt said.
The words pulled at his heart. The answer he’d hoped for.
“I think that’s why I blocked my memories. If I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t have to choose between the two lives,” Britt said, then shrugged. “Turns out, it wasn’t a difficult decision.”
“No?” Lachlan crossed the room, unable to resist cupping her face in his hands, needing to touch her. “Then why were you willing to blow yourself up? To leave us for good after we’d already suffered through three years of thinking you were dead?”
"I was ready to die if it meant keeping you and Paloma safe." Britt leaned into his touch. "The moment I remembered everything—who I was, what I've done—I knew I couldn't risk bringing that world into your lives."
Lachlan's thumb traced the curve of her cheek. Even now, she was trying to protect them. "You don't get to make that decision alone. Not anymore." He held her gaze, willing her to understand. "We're in this together, Britt. All of it. The good, the bad, your past, our future. Together."
“And you’d follow me to Quattro, wouldn’t you? Make the ultimate sacrifice to be with me.”
He didn’t hesitate. “I would.”
A smile curved her lips. “This time, I’m making the sacrifice.
Alejandro knows I need a clean break from Quattro.
He’s going to ensure that happens. Hunter’s going to stick around to guard us.
I’m putting everything in place to ensure you and Paloma are protected from my father’s enemies. My enemies.”
“Hunter?” Lachlan scoffs. “I don’t need him to protect my family.”
“Maybe not,” Britt said. “But he’s like a brother to me.
I’m worried about what would happen to him.
Maybe he can be part of Stingray with you or something.
Who knows? We have time to figure that out later.
The most important thing is that I choose you, Lachlan.
” She reached up, covering his hand with her own.
"Do you have any idea how much I love you? "
"Show me," he whispered. This woman. This impossible, maddening woman who always managed to keep him on edge. He didn’t give a damn about Quattro or Hunter or any other detail they would have to iron out later. Right now, all he cared about was Britt and the longing he needed to quell immediately.
The invitation hung between them for only a heartbeat before Britt rose on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to his. The kiss was slow, achingly tender.
Lachlan savored it.
Years apart, pain and anger melted away with every brush of her lips.
Her skin was soft beneath his rough hands as he traced the line of her jaw, feeling the pulse that beat just beneath the surface.
He deepened the kiss until it was searing, lifting her into his arms and groaning as her legs wrapped around his waist. Britt tugged on his shirt, soft moans tearing from her throat.
He carried her to the bed, laying her down and pulling the shirt over her head in one swift motion. His hands explored every familiar inch of her bare skin as he claimed what he’d almost lost.
Britt threaded her fingers through his hair. "Lachlan,” she breathed, arching into him.
Something in her tone filled holes he'd thought were permanently carved into his soul, making them full again for the first time in years.
Lachlan lifted his head to look at her—really look at her. A swell of fierce satisfaction shot through him at seeing nothing but happiness and love staring back at him.
“You’re crying?” He brushed away the tears that spilled onto her flushed cheeks.
Britt shook her head, laughing softly at herself. “I didn’t think I would live to have moments like this with you.”
“This is one in a lifetime of moments we’ll have together,” Lachlan promised.
When he saw her wrestling with Wesley over the bomb remote, knowing that she was willing to die and take the PISCO agent with her to save him and their daughter, he knew he’d do whatever it took to stop her unnecessary sacrifice.
There was no way he was living another day without her.
He’d had that life, and it was the worst kind of torture.
No matter what, he and Britt would be together again.
Make up for lost time.
Make new memories.
His mouth crashed down on hers with renewed hunger, devouring that sweet little whimper she made when she wrapped herself around him once more.
The kiss ignited the air around them, wild and consuming.
Britt’s nails dug into his back, pulling him closer, desperate for the kind of closeness they both weren’t sure they’d ever have again.
He tore at his shirt, his breathing ragged as her hands impatiently pulled it off. He pushed his sweat pants to the floor as she wriggled out of her thong.
Their bodies came together, skin meeting skin. Waves of heat shot down his spine and rippled outward through his limbs.
“Britt,” Lachlan murmured thickly, trailing kisses down the curve of her neck. “Damn, woman, ye drive me insane.”
A pleasure-filled sigh escaped her as his mouth brushed the hollow of her throat.
She shifted under him, a wicked glint sparking in those beautiful brown eyes.
Her hands maneuvered between their bodies until her fingers wrapped around his hard length with a teasing stroke that sent a deep groan vibrating through his chest. A smug, sexy little smile graced her lips as she coaxed it again and again.
“Britt—” Lachlan choked, pleasure bubbling up from his core, thick and molten. “What ye do to me, woman.”
“What?” She feigned innocence, but the wild mischief was back now, and he couldn’t get enough of it. Couldn’t get enough of her. He was half-mad with wanting her after being apart for so long.
She spread her legs wider, guiding his throbbing length until he was pressed against her, hot and aching. Then she bucked upward, taking him inside with a gasping moan that set every nerve in his body alight.
He stilled for a breathless moment at the intensity of it all—her warmth, her scent, the fevered pounding of his heart.
It consumed him, consumed them both as Britt dug her heels into his back and urged him deeper.
He’d missed this so much. He thrust into her slowly at first, savoring each blissful stretch and slide, losing himself in how perfect she felt around him.
“Lachlan,” Britt panted, voice weak with need. "Don’t make me beg.”
A deep rumble of laughter rolled from his chest as he pulled back and then drove into her with a desperate power.
She clung to him, meeting each drive with a desperation that matched his own.
Her soft cries spurred him on until their movements turned frantic, the pace quickening as everything they’d been holding inside for years poured out—need and love and craving.
The bed creaked beneath them, straining in time to Britt’s breathless gasps.
Lachlan filled her completely before pulling back and slamming in again with relentless force, pushing her closer to the edge with each rough stroke. Nothing else mattered but this—Britt safe with him, writhing and gyrating beneath his body.
Her body clenched around him, pulsing, until the tension snapped like a live wire. Britt shuddered, her warm heat gripped his cock as she came undone under him. The sheer ecstasy of it all shoved him right over the brink with her.
A guttural roar flew from his lips as white-hot pleasure erupted through him. His body seized, the intensity blinding, drowning him in her until nothing else existed but the two of them.
They held each other through it, breath mingling in a shared gasp as wave after tidal wave of bliss crashed over them.
Lachlan pressed his forehead against hers as sweat trickled down his face. He never wanted to be anywhere else. Ever. They lay entwined, their limbs tangled and their heartbeats slowing, until the world came back into focus.
Britt’s head nestled against the solid warmth of his chest. Lachlan smoothed her hair back, savoring the feel of her. They lay in silence, her breath a soft rhythm against his skin as she drifted off to sleep.
The worst was over. The past was firmly behind them, and nothing would come between them again.