Page 109 of Judge's Mercy

After parking my bike, I all but jog to our cabin. Bursting through the door, I’m met with darkness. After stripping my cut and boots, I walk on quiet feet to our bedroom, disappointed to find him asleep. I guess I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to show him how much I appreciate him. Ryder pops his head up and walks to the end of the bed to greet me. I give him a few pets and am rewarded with a soft purr.

Before climbing into bed, I remember that I desperately need a shower, so I step into the bathroom. I strip down and step under the hot spray. My eyes are closed as the water sluices down my body, so when the glass door opens, I startle.

“Shh. It’s just me.”

I fly into Judge’s naked body, jumping into his arms with no worry that he’ll drop me. “You’re amazing. Do you know that?”

“Only for you, sweetheart.”

We kiss, and unlike earlier, it’s slower and sweeter. We take our time and let each touch have its own moment before moving to the next. The love I feel for him swells so big in my chest that I can’t hold it in, and I have to break away to choke back a sob.

“What’s wrong?” He sets me down and pushes my damp hair off my forehead.

“I’m happy,” I say through a hiccup.

He bursts out laughing. “Bad things happen and you steel that jaw of yours, but good things happen and you cry. You are a complex creature, aren’t you?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“But if you ever make me whip you for one of my sins again, I’ll find a new place to use that flogger on you, and you won’t like it,” I threaten, but I continue to cry, so I’m not sure the threat lands.

He winces. “I’m hoping to not know about the others.”

“Done.”

He wraps his arms around me. “This is going to work.”

“It is.”

“The sinner and the saint.”

“The priest and the prostitute.”

“The soulmates.”

The End

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