Page 37 of He Will Come for Me

I notice she doesn’t say their names either. “Are they Shrek and Donkey too?” She chuckles and nods. Although I’m grateful she doesn’t tell me everyone’s names, because I wouldn’t remember either. “I can’t believe I haven’t noticed any of those other people.”

I measure out the ingredients, putting the butter and eggs in the blender first. Phillip clears his throat. “I think Mr. Stone toldeveryone to keep their distance.” I tilt my head at Phillip.Guess I was right about that one.

“I’m going to finish the living room. Let me know if you need anything,” Clara says before walking out of the kitchen.

“I’m glad Phoenix didn’t tell you or Clara to keep your distance,” I tell Phillip. He shakes his head with a smirk.

“He knew better. There was no way he’d keep us from you. He considered hiring someone to help you instead of letting Clara. Clara threw a huge fit, so he changed his mind.” Learning that she fought to stay around me makes me smile. Sadness tries to creep in at the thought of me not being able to remember them, but I’m holding out hope that my memory will return. Hopefully soon.

Phillip has finished doing his prepping for today, so he’s left me to my baking. I’m pulling the last batch of cookies from the oven when Phoenix walks in. I can’t hide my smile or my eyes as I take him in. He’s wearing his usual dark pants and white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

I’m wearing leggings and an oversized T-shirt with my hair in a braid to keep it out of my face while I’m baking.He looks like a snack. I look…That thought trails off when Phoenix walks to me, his eyes never leaving me. I place the cookies down just as he reaches me.

He wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me as close to him as physically possible, and wraps his hand around my braid, pulling my head back gently. His mouth is centimeters frommine, but he stops. I lick my lips as I stare up at him, waiting to see what he’s going to do.

When he looks at me like that, it makes me forget all my insecurities. “Hello, wife,” he murmurs before his mouth touches mine.

Him calling me wife, his mouth on mine, and my hair wrapped around his hand is causing a chain reaction in my body. His mouth fits against mine perfectly as his tongue licks my bottom lip. I gasp and he takes advantage of the opening as his tongue begins to massage mine.

I wrap my arms around him, holding him tight against me. The hand not in my hair travels down my spine and I arch even further into him. I’m on fire. The heat from my body could burn the cookies I just took out of the oven.

He lifts me, making my feet dangle, but I pull them up and wrap them around his waist. He adjusts me as he turns and places me on the counter, away from the hot cookie sheet. I run my fingers through his hair, loving the feel of it against the palm of my hands.

He pulls away, giving me the opportunity to suck in a much needed breath as his mouth drifts down to my jaw, to the sensitive spot on my throat I didn’t realize I had, but he seems to know all too well. I tilt my head, giving him better access.

“Are you telling me I’ve been missing out on this type of greeting for the past several months?” I ask. He chuckles as he runs his tongue along my collarbone, up to my shoulder, and then back to my neck.

“If I lick it, it’s mine.” I swallow and he tightens his hand around my throat more. I can still breathe, but I can’t move. “Your tears belong to me and I promise I’ll be taking a lot of them.”

Phoenix pulls back to look at me, sensing the difference in how I was responding to him. He lets go of my hair before cupping my jaw. “What’s wrong?” he asks. His eyes search mine.

“I had a memory.” He stands to his full height as he continues to study me, almost like he wishes he could read my mind so he knew what I remembered.

He was upset. I was upset. Did he make me cry a lot?

“What was it?” I can tell by the hesitation in his voice he’s worried. He doesn’t know if it’s going to be a good memory or a bad memory. I’m conflicted with how I want to respond. Part of me wants to pull away, another part wants him to assure me.

“I think I was laying in bed and you were hovering over me with your hand around my throat.” His eyes widen and he steps back slightly. “You said, ‘If I lick it, it’s mine. Your tears belong to me and I promise I’ll be taking a lot of them.’” He stares at me, his expression not giving anything away. “Did we not get along? Did you not like me? Did I not like you?”

He exhales slowly before stepping closer to me. “We had a love-hate relationship after the auction. We tried our best to resist each other and one of my ways was to keep you at arm’s length.” He wraps his arms around me, pulling me closer to him. “Obviously I didn’t succeed.”

He shows me his ring. I rub my thumb over my ring finger, wondering where my ring is. It reminds me he never answered my question about when we got married.

“How long after the auction did we get married?”

His hands trail up my arms slowly, leaving goosebumps along the way. “Three months.” My mouth opens slightly. I wasn’t expecting it to be so soon. One arm wraps around my waist while his other hand wraps around the side of my neck, his thumb brushing over my jaw. “Like I said last night, I’ve wanted you since the moment I laid eyes on you.”

I rub my hands from his abs, up his chest, over his shoulders, and back down to his chest. I play with the top button of his shirt, slipping it out of the hole to show a slither of tattooed skin. “Our hate…” He trails off.

“It eventually turned to love?” I ask. One side of his mouth tips up as he leans forward and brushes his lips over my cheek to my ear. He hums in agreement.

Another button slips from his shirt, so I rub my fingers over the part of the tattoo I see. His hand flexes at my lower back.

“You came to an auction with me and saw how I was trying to save some of the girls that didn’t want to be there.” He kisses me right below my ear. “Then when you found out about Anna—”

I lean back. “Anna?”

“Yes. You found out she was one of the girls I was trying to rescue. Rex used to be Anna’s security. She got sold. Not too long after that, he saved my life. So, I hired him to be my security, and I vowed I’d find her.”

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