Chapter 18
M y wife safely in my arms, I wasted no time taking her to the new house. After I had washed her, I placed her in my bed and watched over her while the doctor checked her injuries. My fingers itched to bring back the bastard that did that to her only to kill him again.
Had I been a minute too late, he would have violated her in the most unforgivable way. According to the doctor, physically he hadn’t succeeded. All her wounds indicated she fought hard to prevent it. Mentally , however, he couldn’t be sure. That remained to be seen. I would be with her while she recovered. I was prepared to do anything and everything for her. I’d give my life for her. That was my silent vow.
Getting up from my chair I had remained the entire night, I walked to the window and pushed aside the curtain. It was late in the afternoon, the sky was clear and I could see the garden covered in white. The pale light of the sun streamed through the crack, illuminating the room.
When she finally came too it was already way past noon the next day. She stirred in her sleep and I moved to the edge of the bed, brushing the hair off her face, careful not to disturb the bandages. Her brows furrowed and a quiet whimper left her lips. I had no doubt she was reliving the nightmare.
Kissing her forehead, I made the attempt to arouse her awake gently. With a groan, her sleep filled eyes fluttered open. Her focus wandered till she met my gaze and she let out a sigh. The sweetest smile creeped to her face, lighting up my world again. I had been in the dark for far too long.
“Jax?”
“I’m here.”
“Was it all a bad dream?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Did he-?”
Her voice trembled and almost cracked. Turning her head, she tried to hide the tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Placing a finger under her chin, I made her look at me before swiping them away with my thumb. She didn't need to hide them from me. I had seen all of her and I loved everything about her. I loved her .
“No. He didn’t. We got to you just in time.”
“And is he?”
“Dead? Yes.” I said, my voice low, almost unable to contain the satisfaction he had died by my hand. Petras’ bullet had wounded him, paralyzing him in an instant, but I was the one that put the bullet in his head, ending his miserable life by spreading his brains all over the floor.
Taking her hands in mine, I kissed her bony knuckles. She had lost a lot of weight in the time we spent apart. I made a mental note to take her to the best restaurants in the city so she could regain her strength.
“Pitty. I wanted to do it myself.”
A choked out laugh had my face tugging in a smile. My wife was a viper. She was ready for vengeance even in the state that she was in. I couldn’t deny that the thought of her covered in our enemies blood had my cock hardening in an instant.
“You’ll have your revenge. I promise you. Once you’ve recovered, I have something you can take your anger on.”
“Sounds good.”
As she sighed again, she made room in the bed for me to join her. Crawling next to her, my arm circled her stomach and pulled her against me. She smelled like jasmine and vanilla. God, I had missed her.
“How are you feeling?” I whispered against her hair. She squirmed, rubbing her face against my chest and digging her hands under my shirt.
“Better with you here.”
“Then I shall stay for as long as you need.”
“How about forever?”
“I promised you, I’d never leave you again.”
“Back at the parking lot. The way you acted, I thought you didn’t want me.” Insane thought.
“Of course I did. And I do. I would have given anything to take you back sooner. If it were up to me I would have thrown you over my shoulder then and there.”
“Why didn’t you?” She looked up at me with a plea in her eyes. Damn, if I didn’t want to kiss her at that moment to make all her doubts disappear. Instead, I let my hand roam on her back and into her hair, more tenderly than I had ever before.
“Because it wasn’t up to me. I’d never force you to be with me, or anyone else for that matter. You were robbed of the choice before and I would never forgive myself if I’d take that choice away from you a second time.”
“But I wasn’t what I wanted. They told me to lie or they would have killed you. How did you know I wasn’t telling the truth?”
“You’re still wearing your wedding ring.” Her mouth formed into an o. “If you really had gotten remarried, if you really had moved on and didn’t want anything to do with me, I doubt you would have still been wearing my ring .”
“You thought I got remarried? ”
“I received wedding photos-”
“From my cousin’s wedding?”
She seemed to play back the memory and come to the same conclusion. The woman in the photos had had similar features with only a few subtle differences. Perhaps in my delirium I had mistaken the bride as Katy.
“Explains the resemblance.”
“What else?”
“A sonogram and a picture of a stomach round witch child.”
“But you didn’t believe that either?”
“No.” I said, shaking my head. My fingertips traveled along the heaps and valleys of her side, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. “I’ve touched, kissed and licked every inch of your gorgeous body. I’ve seen all of you. I know your body better than you know it yourself. I’d like to think I’d know exactly what you’d look like if you were pregnant.”
As my fingers worked up her body, her breathing became more erratic. She bit her lip listening to my confession and let out an enamored moan.
“God, I love it when you say sappy shit like that.”
She leaned in and kissed me. I had waited months to taste her lips again. Every night I had dreamed of this exact moment where I had her back in my arms, kissing me just like this. I would have made it last longer, enjoyed the feel of her lips against mine if it weren’t for that word. Breaking the kiss, I stared down at her.
“What?”
“I believe that is the first time you’ve said that.”
She seemed to be just as shocked at her own words as I was. Did she really say that? Then her eyes softened. Her smile pulled at my heartstrings. Her hands resting on my shoulders, she kissed me again.
“Well, it’s true. I’ve been in love with you ever since that day you got wounded in the ambush.”
“You’ve known almost a year and didn’t tell me?”
“I never got the chance. You sent me away.” She hit my shoulder mockingly and warped her mouth into a sexy pout.
“Well it’s a good thing I got you back then so you can tell me every day to make up for it.”
“What about you?” The wild hammering against my ribs almost drowned out her question. It was as if my heart was about to burst right out of my chest. “Don’t you love me too?”
“Katy.”
Taking a deep breath, I leaned on my elbows, caging her between them. Despite her bruises, she looked devastatingly gorgeous beneath me, pressed down on the mattress. If she hadn’t just gone through a traumatic event, I would have had her naked and close to an orgasm the moment she woke up.
Even now, as my cock was hard and aching to be inside her, I possessed enough willpower to not do just that. She deserved time to heal, time to work through her trauma. Even if she would never want to be intimate ever again, I knew I’d be perfectly content with her happiness alone. She was my everything.
“There are no words strong enough to describe how I feel about you. You are mine, forever. I will be yours for as long as you live, and when your time comes, I will soon follow. You are the reason for my existence. There is no future without you in it.”
“That may be the sweetest lie you’ve ever told.”
“I’ve never lied to you, Katy. I love you, with every fiber of my being down to my bones.”
“Say it again.” A shiver ran through me, as I felt her lips on my neck. She peppered kisses on my exposed skin, pulling me even closer.
“I love you, Katy.”
“Again.” She moved up to my jaw and placed kisses there as well. She was making it very hard to be a gentleman as she wrapped her legs around my waist. Very, hard .
“I love you.”
And then, I was a goner. Arms behind my neck, she pulled me on top of her, planting her lips firmly on mine. She took control of the kiss, working her fingers through my hair and tugging at the roots. Our tongues locked as we sunk deeper under the covers, entangled in each other's embrace.