Chapter 29 #2
This was the man who killed without remorse and now killed for me. The unhinged mafia boss who took no prisoners and left a trail of bodies in his wake.
“No, they just stole my piercings. Assholes. That’s gonna be a pain in the ass to replace them all.”
“I’ll buy you diamonds for the next ones.”
His hands moved to my waist, squeezing it and causing a gasp to flee my mouth. He picked me up and pulled me forward so that my hands hit the wall to stop my movement.
“Sit on my face, wildcat. Let me lick that clit while it’s bare, so I can see if you taste any different.”
A storm of flurries ricocheted through my stomach.
I lifted and settled over him as his fingers dug into my thighs.
I let thoughts of all that had happened go and closed my eyes as his tongue reminded me of his claim on my body.
He licked and sucked and kissed until my climax roared through me with a ferocity that burned away the memory of any other hands on me.
His hand moved past my leg as I rode out the remaining waves of my release and I heard his zipper.
Picking me up, he positioned me over him.
I guided him into me, throwing my head back as he filled me completely.
He pulled me down, his mouth capturing mine, and I lost myself further to him.
Touches that were powerful and firm drove my body closer to another climax.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Come for me again.
” His blue irises were as dark as a stormy day, his hoarse voice so sexy it sent my desire climbing.
My body was no longer mine to control. It was his.
He owned it and it would bow to his every wish.
I leaned back on his thighs while his hands twisted my nipples and squeezed my breasts.
“Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” he muttered. Hands on my waist, his eyes stayed on me, watching me climax for him.
Every rise and fall of my body brought me closer to falling apart and as my release hit, I watched him crumble with me, our bodies destroyed as one.
He yanked me down, kissing me so fiercely it was like a brand on my soul.
He held my hips down, exploding inside of me, filling me while my body convulsed around him.
I collapsed completely on him and his hands slid up my back. They played in my hair as my head rested on his chest. His hold on me was so powerful, it almost seemed like he was soaking me in, like he would never hold me again. I snuggled into that hold, worry invading and shoving the rapture aside.
“You’re letting me go,” I said into his chest. I didn’t know how I knew, but I did. His comment about danger earlier, the intense way he was holding me, revealed more than he wanted.
He didn’t answer me. “Get some sleep, Ava.”
I tried to pick my head up, but he kept me against him.
“Emerson…” But I didn’t know what to say. We’d known this was going to happen. Two weeks. Separate lives, separate coasts. “Did I hear my uncle’s voice?”
“He’s here with Greyson. They’ll take you home tomorrow.”
“I don’t have a choice in that?”
His hold loosened, and I looked up at him.
“You have a life, Ava. Family, friends, school. All I have is danger. There’s nothing for you here, and I won’t endanger your safety by keeping you here.”
“We take chances, Emerson. That’s who we are.”
The space between his eyes knitted. “With business, but not with you. I won’t take a chance of you getting hurt again.”
We were risk takers and both of us had taken a risk with this. And now he was pulling away because that risk had been too great. On all fronts. This was why we never got close. Why he never let women in, and I never let men in. There hadn’t been one worth letting in before.
“So, you save my life and then it’s goodbye?” I moved from him, but he rolled over, caging me. His beautiful eyes looked between mine and he brushed his thumb over my cheek.
“I don’t want to give you up, Ava, but you were never mine to own.”
Yes, I was. The words sought to leave my mouth, but I couldn’t let them. I had no fight left in me and I didn’t think I had the words to change a fate that had sat over us since the moment I fell for Emerson Tides.
I pulled him to me, hating this, hating that he was right. That we had our separate lives, and they didn’t coincide. I kissed him, resigned to not fight it like I hadn’t fought falling for him, but knowing that walking away from this would hurt me more than anything those men could have done to me.
I woke the next morning, my body blissfully satisfied.
Emerson’s touches and kisses like a lingering ghost on my skin.
Looking over at the empty space in the bed, my chest caved.
He had made love to me, the emotion fierce, the touches deliberate and slow, soaking in the memory of my skin. And now he was gone.
A note sat on his pillow, and I sat up, pulling the sheets to my chest.
For all that I didn’t say, I’m sorry. You have changed me forever, wildcat.
Conquer the world, and when you’re done, if my mark remains, find me.
I understood then why he had pulled away. Left me. It wasn’t just to keep me out of danger. It was a chance for space. To test if it had been real or something that only existed because I’d developed some attachment to him as my captor. That damned syndrome I couldn’t remember the name of.
My head hit the pillow hard, sending the down puffing around it.
He was right. We needed time apart. Our lives were so different.
Even if we had met each other under different circumstances, becoming involved with a man like Emerson Tides was like stepping into a hornet’s nest and hoping you didn’t get stung.
It meant danger and more. He didn’t want me in that danger, but if I chose to face it, he would be there.
Only if it was my choice and not some byproduct of a kidnapping.
I held the note to my chest. This had happened so fast that it couldn’t be real.
But every part of me screamed it was. That no matter the space and time apart, I would still need him.
I looked over, seeing my meds on the side table and knowing he had ensured I took them even when I slept.
Always taking care of me, putting me before his needs.
My morally gray man who had taken down his enemy with no hesitation to save me.
The energy to get up was hard to muster, but I managed to, finding a clean set of clothes in the bathroom along with a small box.
I left it there, showering first, not ready to open it, to say my last goodbye to him.
I knew he was gone. Understood that last night had been his goodbye, but this was one last gesture from him like the note on the pillow.
After dressing, I sat on the side of the bed and opened the box. In a nest of black velvet sat a collection of diamonds to replace my piercings. I tugged the tiny note below them. No other man gets to see these. You wear them only when you’re ready for me to see them.
I closed the lid, shaking my head. “Confusing bastard.” Letting me go, but still laying a claim. An offer to come back to him just like the note. The promise for me to clear my head, let the events of the last two weeks settle, then see if I still loved him.
The note scrunched in my hand, a swelling pressure building in my chest. Love? Was that what this was? He loved me enough to let me go, and I loved him enough to let him go. To test that love and see if it lasted when distance and life stood between us.
Sadness had seeped its way into my bones while I’d been in the shower, but now it crept away because I knew this wasn’t goodbye.
Knew no matter how many beautiful brunettes crossed his path, Emerson Tides would only have his mind on me.
That the hottest man could tempt me at the bar and I’d know there was no temptation because the only man who could truly worship my body was on the other side of the country, thinking about me.
Taking the box, I made my way downstairs.
Hugs from Den and Riley. A curt nod with a half-smile from Greyson, which was more than I usually got.
The plane ride was long and the further I traveled from Emerson, the greater the tug at my core that reminded me I would always be tethered to that place on the coast and the man who filled it.
Riley chatted about how Greyson had arranged for me to make up the missed time at school.
I had already finished my thesis, but I had missed my presentation.
They would overlook my time away and reschedule, allowing me to walk and collect my degree in a special ceremony.
My job was still there, my boss not caring that I had missed so many days.
Life would return, but I wasn’t sure it would ever be normal again.
Emerson had said I changed him, but he had changed me, too.
As the conversation died down, I pulled the new drawing book out that Emerson had left for me and began to draw.