Chapter 19
Emmett
The mug in my hand cracks under the pressure of my grip, coffee spilling over my knuckles. I barely feel it. All I can see is that smug bastard’s face, the way he looked at Raine like he still had a claim on her.
Nathan.
I grind my teeth, inhaling through my nose. "You want to tell me who the hell he is?"
Raine hesitates, her hands tightening into fists at her sides. "It doesn’t matter."
My jaw clenches. "It sure as hell does."
She looks away, but I catch the flicker of something in her eyes—shame, maybe. Pain. It only makes my fury burn hotter. "He’s my past. The part I never talk about."
"Talk about it now."
She exhales sharply, crossing her arms like she’s holding herself together. "Nathan and I… we were together once. I thought I loved him. Trusted him. And he sold me out to Dante for a handful of cash."
The room turns red.
I push back from the counter, pacing like a caged animal, my fists aching to connect with something—preferably Nathan’s face. "You’re telling me that son of a bitch handed you over like property?"
Raine flinches but nods. "Yes. And I was stupid enough to believe he wouldn’t."
I stop in front of her, tipping her chin up until her eyes meet mine. "You weren’t stupid. He was. And he’s going to pay for it."
She shakes her head. "I don’t need you to—"
"I don’t care what you need." My voice is sharp, unyielding. "This isn’t about revenge. It’s about making sure he never gets near you again."
That night, I make a call.
Ryan picks up on the first ring. "Tell me you need something handled."
"Nathan. Last name?"
"Jeffers. Why?"
"Because he’s breathing when he shouldn’t be."
Ryan whistles low. "I’ll see what I can dig up."
Turns out, Nathan is on parole. And Ryan, being the resourceful bastard he is, makes a few calls. By morning, Nathan is in cuffs, busted for parole violations that guarantee he won’t be free anytime soon.
But I’m not done.
I stay in this town. I show up at the café every damn day. I sit at the counter, watching Raine work, making sure she sees me. Making sure she knows I’m not leaving.
Because Nathan may have taught her not to trust. But I’m going to teach her that she can.
Days pass. I don’t push Raine, don’t force her to talk. I just show up. Like clockwork.
She pretends not to notice. But I catch the way her fingers tremble when she hands me my coffee. The way her eyes flick to me when she thinks I’m not looking. The way she lingers just a little longer, as if waiting for me to say something.
Tonight, I do.
"Come with me."
She stills, her fingers tightening around the cloth she’s using to wipe down the counter. "What?"
"A walk. Just a walk, Raine."
Her lips press together. "I don’t think that’s a good idea."
"I didn’t ask if it was." I lean in just enough that she has no choice but to meet my gaze. "I just asked you to trust me."
For a long moment, she doesn’t move. Then, slowly, she exhales and nods. "Okay."
We step outside, the air thick with salt and the distant crash of waves. She walks beside me, silent, wary. But she’s here.
"You don’t have to keep proving yourself," she says eventually.
"Yes, I do."
She lets out a quiet laugh, shaking her head. "You’re stubborn."
"And you’re scared."
She stops walking. "Wouldn’t you be?"
I don’t answer right away. Instead, I turn to her, reaching out slowly, letting my fingers ghost along her wrist. "Yeah. But I wouldn’t let it stop me."
Her breath hitches, but she doesn’t pull away. It’s not much. But it’s something.
She doesn’t fight me this time. Doesn’t throw up walls or demand explanations. She just listens.
I tell her about Mia. About how she knew why she left. About how I wasn’t going to let her do it alone.
Her fingers tremble slightly when I reach for her, but she doesn’t pull away. "You’re not here to fix me."
"No," I say. "I’m here because I love you."
She sucks in a breath, her eyes searching mine for any trace of a lie. But there isn’t one. There never was.
Her lips part, her voice barely above a whisper. "Emmett…"
I tilt her chin up, forcing her to see me. "This isn’t about owning you. This is about us."
A tear slips free, and I catch it with my thumb.
Raine swallows hard, her gaze dropping to where my fingers barely touch her skin. For a second, I think she’s going to pull away, retreat behind the walls she’s spent years building.
But she doesn’t.
She exhales slowly, then looks up at me, something raw and hesitant flickering in her eyes. "I don’t know how to stop running, Emmett."
I nod, because I get it. I do. "Then let me run with you."
A sharp, breathless laugh escapes her lips, as if the very idea is ridiculous. But she doesn’t move away.
Instead, she steps closer.
The ocean breeze tugs at her hair, and for the first time since I found her again, she looks at me without fear. Without doubt.
"Okay," she whispers.
The word is small, fragile. But it’s everything.
I lift my hand, cupping her cheek, brushing my thumb along her jaw. She leans into the touch, and my chest tightens, a deep ache settling in my ribs.
"One step at a time," I murmur.
She nods. "One step at a time."
And for the first time, she lets me in.
Raine’s fingers curl into my jacket, just the slightest bit, as if grounding herself. The warmth of her touch is barely there, but I feel it like a brand.
She lets out a shaky breath. "I’m scared, Emmett."
I nod, not moving an inch. "I know. But you don’t have to be. Not with me."
Her lips press together, uncertainty flashing across her face. "Every time I let my guard down, it ends badly."
"Then let me prove to you that it won’t this time."
Her eyes search mine, looking for a lie, for something she can use to push me away again. But I won’t give her one. All I offer is truth. Unwavering, undeniable truth.
And then, finally, she nods.
It’s the smallest movement, but it shatters something between us.
I slide my hand from her cheek to the back of her neck, pulling her just a fraction closer. Not demanding. Just waiting.
She leans in.
The moment is fragile, precarious, like the space between heartbeats. But it’s real.
Her breath warms my lips, and for the first time in forever, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Her fingers tighten in my jacket, her breath coming faster, shallow and uneven. My pulse thunders as she tilts her chin up, hesitating for only a second before closing the distance between us.
The first brush of her lips is tentative, but I don’t rush her. I let her set the pace, let her decide what she’s ready for. But when she deepens the kiss, her body pressing against mine, I can feel the dam breaking inside her. The fear, the hesitation—giving way to something raw, something real.
I wrap my arms around her, anchoring her to me as the night air wraps around us, cool against the heat building between us. When I lift her off the ground, she lets out a quiet gasp, but she doesn’t pull away. She clings to me, her legs wrapping around my waist as I carry her inside.
The door slams behind us, but neither of us care. She pulls at my jacket, her hands greedy, desperate. I lay her down on the bed, hovering over her, drinking in every flicker of want in her eyes.
"Are you sure?" I murmur, my breath ghosting over her lips.
Her answer is a whisper, a plea. "Yes."
Her whispered yes barely leaves her lips before I capture them with mine.
This isn’t like before. It’s not frantic or fueled by anger and desperation. This is slower, deeper—an unraveling.
She melts into me, her hands threading into my hair, her body pressing against mine like she can’t get close enough. And fuck, I know the feeling.
I lift her off the bed just enough to pull her shirt over her head, revealing smooth, golden skin that I ache to worship. My hands roam over her, relearning every inch, tracing the curves of her waist, the swell of her breasts, the soft dip of her stomach.
Her breath hitches when I trail my lips along her collarbone, slow, deliberate. She shivers when I graze my teeth over her pulse, when I suck gently at the sensitive skin, leaving a mark that says mine.
She arches up when I kiss my way lower, letting me take my time. My tongue traces the curve of her breast before I wrap my lips around her nipple, teasing, sucking, savoring the way she gasps, the way her fingers tighten in my hair.
“Emmett,” she breathes, her voice unsteady, like she’s holding on to the last thread of control.
I drag my tongue across her skin, flicking my gaze up to hers. “Yeah, baby?”
Her lips part, but whatever she was going to say dies on a sharp inhale as I slide my hands down her body, pushing her pants past her hips, baring her completely to me.
She’s breathtaking.
And she’s shaking.
Not from fear—no, this is something else. This is the weight of everything we’ve been through, everything that’s led us here.
I kiss the inside of her thigh, slow and reverent. “I’ve got you.”
She exhales, and it feels like the last of her walls crumbling.
I part her thighs, dragging my tongue through her slick heat, groaning at how wet she is, how ready.
She jerks, a soft moan escaping her lips as I circle her clit, teasing her, working her up until she’s panting, her hips rolling against my mouth.
“God,” she gasps, her hands fisting the sheets. “Emmett—”
I hum against her, sucking her sensitive bud between my lips, fucking her with my tongue until her body tightens, her moans breaking apart into shattered, breathless sounds.
She’s close.
So fucking close.
I slide two fingers inside her, curling them just right, feeling her clench around me.
Her back arches, her body trembling. “Oh, fuck—”
She breaks, pleasure ripping through her, her thighs shaking as I coax her through it, my tongue and fingers working her until she finally collapses against the bed, spent, glowing.
I press a kiss to her stomach, sliding up her body, feeling the rapid rise and fall of her chest as she blinks up at me, dazed.
“I’m not done with you yet,” I murmur, brushing my lips over hers.
She lets out a soft, breathless laugh, pulling me down. “Then don’t stop.”
I groan, dragging my sweats off, and the second I settle between her thighs, she wraps herself around me, locking her legs around my waist, pulling me in.
Her warmth envelopes me, the slick heat of her teasing the tip of my cock, and I have to close my eyes for a second, breathing through the sheer need to take her hard and fast.
But not tonight.
Tonight, I need to feel every inch of her.
I press into her, slow, stretching her, filling her, my forehead resting against hers as I sink in deep.
She gasps, her nails dragging down my back, and fuck, she’s perfect—tight, warm, gripping me like she never wants to let me go.
We don’t move at first, just breathing each other in, feeling the way we fit together, the way this feels like something more than just fucking.
Something real.
I cup her cheek, tilting her head up. “Look at me.”
She does.
And fuck, the way she looks at me—like I’m the only thing that exists—has me sinking even deeper into her, losing myself completely.
I kiss her, slow and deep, pouring everything into it, everything I can’t say.
She moves with me, her hips meeting mine, taking me deeper, her moans soft, breathy, like music against my skin.
Her fingers tangle in my hair, pulling me closer, her lips brushing against mine as she whispers, “I love you.”
I still, my breath catching, my heart pounding like a war drum in my chest.
I cup her face, my thumb brushing over her swollen lips. “Say it again.”
She swallows, her eyes searching mine. “I love you.”
Something in my chest cracks wide open, and then I’m kissing her, fucking her deeper, pouring every ounce of love, every unspoken promise into every movement.
She gasps my name, her body trembling, her walls tightening around me as pleasure builds between us, thick and undeniable.
“Come with me,” I whisper against her lips, my thrusts turning deeper, more deliberate.
She nods, her breath shuddering. “Emmett—”
She shatters, her body tensing, her moans breaking into ragged gasps as pleasure crashes over her.
I follow, groaning into her mouth, my release spilling deep inside her as I bury myself to the hilt, holding her close, refusing to let go.
We stay like that, tangled together, our breaths mingling, our bodies slick with sweat.
I brush her hair back, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“You’re not running anymore,” I murmur against her skin.
She exhales, something soft, something content. “No. I’m not.”
I tighten my grip on her, my lips brushing against her temple.
“Good,” I whisper.
Because I’m never letting her go again.