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Gemma’s eyes stay fixed on her bare ring finger.

Soon, it won’t be empty anymore.

“Is something wrong?”

She shakes her head, water droplets flying from her hair.

Then she turns around, presenting her bare body to me. Rising up on her tiptoes, she loops her arms around my neck.

My heart kicks as she presses the length of her naked, wet body against mine. I dig my fingers into the slick flesh of her hips. She tilts her face up, eyes seeking mine for a brief moment before her lips find my mouth.

The kiss is hungry, desperate, like she needs me to breathe. My fingers tighten on her hips, pulling her harder against me, reclaiming what I have been missing, what is mine, what has always been mine.

She melts into me, soft and pliant, submitting to my touch. I deepen the kiss, tasting her, devouring her sweetness. A dangerous growl rumbles in my chest. Fuck, I’ve missed this. Missed her.

With a soft moan, Gemma breaks the kiss, panting. Her eyes are dilated with desire now. The confusion and fear gone.

“Please,” she says. “I need you.”

My cock throbs at her words, already rock hard against her belly. I crush my mouth to hers again, kissing her deeply as I lift her up. Blindly, I stumble out of the shower, carrying her dripping-wet body to the bedroom.

I kneel on the bed and lay Gemma on the black satin sheets. Her hair fans out like molten gold, and her skin flushed pink from the heat of the shower.

“You’re safe now, little gem. I promise.”

She nods, eyes searching mine with such open vulnerability and trust despite everything she’s suffered tonight. Like I’m her salvation.

Leaning over her, I brush my knuckles along her cheek. Her eyes close as she nuzzles into my touch, seeking comfort. Seeking me.

I know then, with absolute certainty, that I would tear the world apart to keep her safe. There’s no limit to what I’d do for this woman.

Gemma has changed everything. Where my world was once cold precision, now there is warmth. Light. A whole world to experience. With her, I’m no longer untethered. She anchors me in ways I never thought possible.

My heart kicks again as I gape down at her. Fragile, yet so fucking strong. Broken but refusing to shatter completely. She could have let Dorrance destroy her. Could have given up. But she didn’t. Keeps fighting even when all seems lost.

I stroke her cheek again, marveling that she’s real and here with me. That despite all the shit life has thrown at her, she has not walled herself up or surrendered that innate goodness in her core. She makes me want to be better. Makes me believe I could be better. That I’m worthy of the faith she seems to have in me, even after learning the bloody truth of who and what I am.

Leaning down, I brush my lips to her forehead. “You’re everything.”

Her eyes flutter open, luminous with emotion.

“Elijah...” She lifts her hand to my cheek.

My name on her lips sends a shockwave through me.

Hearing it from her is absolution.

Forgiveness.

Hope.

I turn my head to kiss her palm. Savoring the sweetness of her skin. The delicate bones of her wrist. Lacing my fingers with hers, I press our joined hands into the pillow above her head. Then I cover her body with mine. Skin to skin. Heart to heart.

I trail kisses along her collarbone and neck, being careful of the tender skin Oliver’s fingers bruised. My free hand skims down her sides, fingertips tracing each curve and dip of her body. She arches into my touch, breath coming faster.

Tonight, I will cherish every inch of her. Will worship her as she deserves. Erasing Oliver from her mind. And when I’m buried deep inside her pussy, claiming her, I will make sure she knows one absolute truth.

She is mine. Utterly and forever mine. And I will let nothing take her from me again.

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