Page 165 of The Penalty

“Yes, love.” I reached for her hand and placed it over my heart. “It’s for you. Every time you kiss me there, you leave a permanent mark. A beautiful, burning mark. I’m yours, Tori. And now everyone can see it.”

A teasing sparkle illuminated her eyes. “Xavier Maddox, are you a secret romantic?”

I lifted a shoulder in a small shrug. “Maybe.”

“I won’t tell anyone.”

Victoria’s smile spread warmth through me. She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the chair next to the fireplace. The bossy chair, as she calls it. After I sat, she positioned herself on my lap.

“Told you we’d fix this the next time I was here.” Her lips brushed against my scar. “So what is it you have to tell me?”

Going over this conversation in my mind had been simple. But now that she’s here, in my lap, wearing this dress, and looking so beautiful, I couldn’t figure out how to say it.

She kissed my forehead again, letting her lips linger. I wrapped one arm around her, and rested the other on her legs.

“Remember when you told me these hands don’t miss?” she asked, tangling her fingers through mine.

“I do.” I searched her expression. “And they don’t.”

Victoria rolled her eyes, and I had to stifle a laugh at the familiar sight of her amused exasperation.

“Not that I want to inflate your ego any more than it already is—” she squealed when I squeezed her waist “—but I’d like to add something to your humble declaration.”

“Please do.”

Running a finger over my palm, she looked at me. “They don’t miss. That is true. But they’re also safe. I always feel safe in your hands.” A thousand emotions passed over her face. “I hope you—”

I fisted her hair and pulled her close, my mouth pressing hot and insistent to hers. She kissed me back just as fierce, our breaths and heartbeats melding into one.

“You are my absolute fucking world,” I said after breaking our mouths apart. “My safe haven when I feel alone. I never knew loving someone could be like this.”

“Me either,” Victoria whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “I wish I’d stayed with you that night.”

I swept my thumb along her lower lip. “You’re here now just like you said you’d be. That’s all that matters.”

A small shiver rippled through Victoria’s body when she pulled me into a tight hug. Her fingers slid into my hair, tugging gently. I nuzzled into her neck, stroking her back slowly. Victoria’s quiet, content moan was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard.

Our time apart had been absolute hell. But now she’s here, in my arms.

Safe hands.

The ferocious need to protect her consumed me. “Jordan is planning to blackmail you. He’s been looking into your family’s finances for over a year.”

Victoria leaned back to look at me, but didn’t appear overly surprised. “Have you been talking to Bennet?”

My brows pulled together in confusion. “Bennet? No. My stepbrother came over with some shit for brains friend and told me all about it.”

“He wants Briarcliff Cottage. I knew that already.”

“He wants more than that, love. He wants to publicly embarrass you and won’t stop until you pay him.”

A bitter laugh spilled from her. “Now it all makes sense.”

“What does?”

“Finish telling me and then I’ll fill in the blanks.”

“Brace yourself,” I grumbled before relaying what happened when Adam and Philip came over unannounced. I told her about the hacking, the guy at the restaurant, and her car. The hardest part was telling her about the photos and what Jordan planned to do with them.

---