Epilogue
Damien
Six Weeks Later
I had walked in the valley of death, on its precipice even.
I had looked it in the eye and called its bluff a lot more times than I could count.
I grew up with nothing on my back, tortured, abused, and exploited.
But I clawed my way to the top. All these experiences had something in common.
They brought me face-to-face with death more times than I could count.
Sometimes I walked away unscathed, but they’d scarred me in different ways.
Out of all these experiences, none of them hurt like the other night on the streets. I had gotten a call from my father about one of the dickheads who tried to sideline him and get out of town. He needed me to find him. But when I got back to the spot I left her, she wasn’t there anymore.
I knew she hadn’t been taken.
She ran off.
Isobel left me without flinching.
I was smart enough to know that she had been planning it for a while. I had been through every emotion known to man that night. Rage, anger, sadness, grief, fear. They consumed me. My life turned into a bleak mess that went on a loop to torment me.
I was consumed with rage as to why she’d choose to leave me after everything.
But then, I also clung to hope that maybe she’d come back when she realized that I was the one meant for her.
We were meant to be. It dawned on me that I wasn’t willing to go after her, not because I didn’t know where she’d be, but because it was useless to go after her if she didn’t want to be with me.
I wanted to be patient. I wanted to let her go until last night when I saw the test strips she stashed in our bathroom, hoping I wouldn’t see them.
Those two tiny red lines changed my life in every way possible since. My wife was pregnant. She was carrying my baby. My efforts to put a baby in her weren’t futile. A little bean was growing in her tummy, and the realization filled me with more emotions than I thought possible.
I was furious. Did she think she could run off with my baby and I’d never find her? I stalked her for three years before I married her. How meticulous did she think I was?
When I found out she was still in town, hiding away in her family estate, my resolve broke. She wasn’t stupid. She knew it was the first place I’d look if I wanted to find her.
She wanted me to come after her.
I crushed my cigarette beneath my feet, the gravel stones making a loud, crushing sound. The tall, imposing building looked old and gray, mostly made of bricks, with vines wrapped tightly around it. Some weeds were starting to grow on the vines.
What struck me first was how hideous the building was. It looked like something carved out of a creepy fairy tale.
I shut the door of my car, marching toward the front porch where I used my spare key to get in.
The fireplace was still crackling furiously. There was a glass of water on the table. A soft crimson blanket was lying carelessly on the sofa, alongside a small black book with golden inscriptions that I guessed she was reading.
I glanced around for any sign of her, but she wasn’t there. I trudged upstairs, slowly pushing the door to her room open.
There she was.
She was lying in bed, asleep. Her thick white covers barely covered her body because of how much she had evidently tossed around. It laid her pale, creamy skin bare to my view, hardening my cock.
My eyes ran over how her red tresses were spilled on the pillow beneath her head, the delicate curve of her face, her thick, long lashes, her cute button nose, the way her plump pink lips parted softly, giving away soft snores.
One of the straps of her silky black nightwear was falling over her shoulder, teasing me with her creamy skin.
Isobel had full, perky boobs, but they appeared fuller because of the pregnancy, the dipping cleavage wrapping around my neck like a noose, taunting me.
She was so fucking beautiful.
Raw obsession grabbed me in the throat as my eyes flickered to her wedding ring, still firmly secured around her finger.
She never took it off.
The bed dipped slightly beneath my weight as I took my seat beside her, gently reaching for her face. Her skin reacted immediately to my touch, eliciting a soft moan from her. Even in her sleep, she knew who she belonged to.
Her lashes flapped, her eyes fluttering open. “Damien?”
Fuck.
The universe knew what it was doing when it made this woman my weakness. How could she speak, and every inch of me heeded like they knew they belonged to her?
“You left me, Red. How could you?” I had hoped to sound intimidating, but my voice came out so wounded.
Her soft blue eyes shone with fear, but it was also mixed with relief. “I-I’m sorry.”
I pushed the covers off her body. Her creamy thighs came into view. I ran my fingers over them, causing her breath to hitch sharply as they trailed up her body.
Her chest heaved, her lips parting. I ran my thumb over her lips, my heart crushing itself and molding itself all over again as I stared at her.
“Do you have any idea what I went through?” I whispered, wrapping one of her legs around me as I pushed my frame atop her.
I was extra careful because I didn’t know if it could hurt the baby. Our noses brushed, eliciting shuddered breathing from us. Being in proximity with her again after so many weeks healed me and destroyed me at the same time. It was an intoxicating paradox.
“I was miserable,” I grunted.
Her hands hurriedly found my buckle, undoing it. Her movements were laced with urgency, as if she needed me.
I hiked her legs, slipping into her with so much ease because she was already wet and needy for me.
“Fuck, baby,” I groaned.
She moaned, grabbing my shoulder. Her eyes didn’t leave mine. They shone with unbridled desires. Her cheeks were flushed. Her lips looked rosier because of how much she had bitten down on them.
I didn’t move.
Her heat sank its claws into me and welcomed me home. I was a madman when she wasn’t near me, but I was even more insane being inside her, breathing her in.
“Please.” Her forehead connected with mine, her voice raw with so much need.
I pulled out of her and slowly eased back in.
Her moans wrapped around me so tightly it choked me.
Her fingers hurriedly found the hem of my shirt.
She pulled it over my head, running her hands over my back like she was trying to memorize it all over again.
Flames engulfed me every time her tiny hands met my skin.
“I missed you so much,” I murmured. I fucked her with a patience I didn’t know I possessed. My thrusts were slow, delicate, and softly paced. I wanted to relish how her cunt clenched around me and released me every time I plunged in and out of her.
It was maddening.
She grabbed the back of my head, wanting me to keep my eyes on her as I made love to her. And fuck, if it wasn’t the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. She looked like a goddess unraveling beneath me. Her moans and sighs enveloped the room, each sound stirring me back to life.
“Why did you leave?”
“I was scared.”
“That I’d hurt the baby?” I said huskily, grabbing onto her hip.
She stiffened against me, not saying a word. My deep thrust elicited a moan from her.
“I found the test strip where you stashed it. You were pregnant, Red, yet you didn’t think twice before walking away from me. It’d have killed me—”
She kissed me softly, her moans muffled when she began approaching her release. Her nails pierced my back as I swelled up inside her. Our releases clashed, consuming us. I spilled into her, and I felt her drip around me.
“I was scared of falling for you, so I left,” she whispered. Those words struck a chord in me. She chuckled. “Silvana was right. There’s no escaping what I feel for you. It caught up with me even after I left.”
“You have me wrapped around your fingers. You know that, right?” I was still inside her, unwilling to pull out.
She slowly nodded, her cheeks warming up.
“I know we started off on the wrong foot, but I’m willing to spend the rest of my life making up for it. Come back home with me, Red.” I kissed her forehead.
“Damien...”
“I love you.”
She froze, her glassy eyes meeting mine. She was dazed, unsure of what to say.
“I just wanted to let you know. You don’t have to say it back right now.”
“I love you.”
I stiffened. “W-what?”
She smiled, cupping my face. “I didn’t want to admit it to myself then, but I can do that now. I love you, Damien, so much. So, yes, I’ll go home with you.”
“Fuck.” I bit my lip. “Say it again.”
“I love you.”
I crashed my lips on hers, wrapping both her legs around me and gently pushing her frame into the mattress.
This woman was my entire world. She and the little bean growing inside her. Fuck everything else.
The End