Chapter 17 #3
For years, I’d wanted to return to Italy and go on a shopping spree.
I told Sawyer exactly that, so I wondered if that was why he sent us there.
As I sat out back listening to the water on day three in the villa that Nicholas brought us to, I wondered if I would actually be able to enjoy myself. The visit was bittersweet at best.
He and his wife and kids had been gracious enough to take Zuri and Zora out for dinner at some restaurant they had been bragging about.
I didn’t have an appetite, so I begged him to let me stay there.
There were armed guards out front, and we were in a whole different country.
For what it was worth, I felt safe. Happiness was a different story.
I felt someone’s presence and jumped to my feet as the leaves behind me rustled under someone’s footsteps. My heart stopped for a full beat when I laid eyes on Reed Fuller for the first time in seven years.
“Zenny, I’m so sorry,” he declared.
I swallowed as he moved closer.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I came to apologize to you.”
I shook my head. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do. I’m so sorry for any pain my rejection might have caused you. I wasn’t rejecting you. I was rejecting the system. I was rejecting my family. You know I’ve always cared about you, but I fell in love.”
“You cared so much, but you threw me aside and never looked back.”
“You’re right. It was selfish of me to cancel our arrangement without considering what would happen to you. I should have at least made sure you were good.”
“Thank you for saying that, but that’s neither here nor there now, is it? I’m on the run.”
“What you running from, mama?” Sawyer asked, stepping out of the back door.
I didn’t realize that I was moving until I jumped in his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist.
“I thought I lost you, Sawyer.” I cried, burying my face in his neck.
“I had to come back to you, Z. Our story isn’t over yet. It’s just getting started.”
I lifted my head, attacking his lips with mine as he carried me back through the house.
“Fuck, I missed you, mama. Which way is your room, baby?”
“All the way down the hall.”
It only took a few long strides for us to make it to the room. Sawyer clawed at his belt as soon as he stepped inside. He bumped the door closed with his hip before moving closer to the bed.
“I don’t know how much longer everybody else will be gone, Saw. We have to be quiet.”
“I paid five million dollars for this pussy. I’ma be as loud as I want to,” he said, laying me on the bed and hovering over me.
My eyes stretched at his revelation. “They accepted your payment?” I asked.
“Yep.”
I grabbed his face, almost smothering him with kisses. When I pulled back, I noticed him wince before he could catch himself.
“What is it, baby?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
“Sawyer, what’s wrong?”
“Just a little flesh wound. I’m perfectly fine.”
“What do you mean a flesh wound, Sawyer? What’s a flesh wound?” I probed.
Backing up, he stood beside the bed and continued to unbutton his pants. “I got hit in the shoulder, but it’s nothing major. I was able to secure you and the twins’ freedom. I paid the board five million dollars each for you and the twins.”
“What about Zara, baby? Were you able to find her?”
“I’m sorry, mama. It was too late for her.
Apparently, Zahad had already married her off to buy himself time until you turned up.
They were going to kill him because they felt like he was hiding you two and playing games after making so many promises to different families.
My dad and his people were able to track her down.
From what I could find out, she’s good.”
“So, I’m free?” I asked, taking a shuddered breath as the gravity of his words weighed on me.
“You’re free, mama.”
“Thank you so much, baby,” I said, rising to my knees and crawling over to him as he pulled his shirt over his head.
The bandages on his shoulder made me gasp. “Oh my God, baby.”
“I told you it’s just a flesh wound. I had on a vest, but a bullet fragment got me. They only made me stay in the hospital long enough to get it taken care of. I didn’t even have to stay overnight. Plus, I’m on some high-powered pain medication right now. I think I’ll make it.”
“The hospital? Sawyer, what the hell? Come here and let me take care of you,” I instructed, patting the bed.
A sly grin parted his lips as he lay beside me in the bed. “No, you come here,” he said, pulling me until I was straddling his lap.
“We are not having sex after you just got shot! What are you even thinking?” In spite of my words, I stayed in place on top of him, careful not to bump his arm.
“You gon’ marry me, Z?” he asked, lifting his brows.
“Is that a proposal?” I grinned.
“Nah, I’m gon’ do it the right way. I just wanted to make sure it was still on the table after everything you’ve been through.”
“Yes, I want to marry you, Sawyer. I want to marry you more than anything, and not just because you saved me and my sisters. That just makes me know I have to figure out how to ride this dick without hurting you.”
He smirked as his good arm reached out to palm my ass. “I love it when you talk like that.”
“And I love you,” I said, leaning forward and kissing his lips again.
“I love you too, mama. Now let me fuck you before this medicine wears off.”