Page 92 of Wilde In His Arms

The agent holding his cuffed hand took hold of Javier’s injured bicep where Aria had stabbed him earlier and squeezed.Fresh blood soaked Javier’s shirt and arm as he yelled and bared his teeth.“Fuck you.”

Aria wiggled the knife in his arm up and down, slowly easing the knife out of the wall, but also adding to Javier’s pain.“Your fingertips are starting to look a little blue.You don’t get that looked at soon, you might lose your hand.”She pulled his hand toward his other one and the agent cuffed him.The one-and-a-half-inch blade was about six inches long with a deer antler handle.The tip of the blade was sticking out the back of Javier’s arm about two inches.

Nick shook his head in awe.“Damn, sweetheart, you amaze me.”

“I have Jax to thank for making sure I had the means to defend myself.”

“You had me, too.I would have shot him in the head if he hurt you again.”He didn’t like the bruises that were darkening on her throat from earlier when Javier had wrapped his hand around her neck at the bar.

Aria looked right into Javier’s cold eyes.“You are a piece of shit human being.You deserve everything that is coming to you and more.Now get out of my house.”

The agent carried out her order and pushed Javier through the living room and out the door, where their backup was just pulling in along with an ambulance.

Nick cupped Aria’s face and looked deep into her eyes.“Are you okay?”

“I am now that he’s going to prison for the rest of his life.”

Adrenaline was still riding her hard.She’d crash later.What she’d done, what she’d been through would hit her all at once.He’d be there to help her through the crash and rush of emotions.

Him, too.Right now, all he wanted was to hold her close and thank his lucky stars that she was okay.They were both alive.And finally, they could start their lives together, get married, and start a family.

Chapter thirty-nine

Ariatossedthelastflower pot onto the grass behind her, then gently plopped the root ball into the hole she’d dug and scooped the remaining dirt into the space around the roots and top of the plant, patting it down until it was properly planted.She poured some mulch around the new plant, then stood and surveyed her work.

Nick had bought some really lovely plants to fill in the garden space out back.She didn’t know the names of all of them, but they sure were pretty.He’d taken a picture of the garden space before going to the nursery, where the lovely employee who helped him pick out plants also told him where to plant them in the space based on how big they’d grow.

Nick had laid out the potted plants days ago according to the plan the garden employee had laid out for him on paper.He’d even managed to plant the largest ones already.She needed to thank him for digging those huge holes.

Since she barely slept after all the excitement last night and she needed something to blow off some steam and keep her from thinking about what she’d done at the bar and what happened here at home, she’d come out here after her morning coffee and started planting.It helped.A lot.More than she thought it would.

But it felt great to look at her work, see how it all came together to create this pretty and serene spot, to know it would make Nick happy and that it made her happy to do it for herself, them, and their home.The weight of what happened yesterday just seemed to fade away.

She was looking forward, not back.

This was the start of something wonderful.This was the first day of them living their lives free of Javier Lopez and the nightmare he brought into their lives.

From now on, they were free to live their happy, healthy, and love-filled lives as a family.Here.

Aria looked out over the beautiful garden at the yellow, white, blue, pink, red, and fuchsia colored flowers amongst the lush green leaves and bushes.She looked up at the sprawling branches of the trees at the back.She loved the crushed gravel path that meandered through the space.

“I think we should add a fire pit out here, so we can roast marshmallows and look up at the stars.”Nick’s hands swept around her waist and overlapped on her belly as his chest met her back, and he held her as he surveyed the garden.

“We could string some lights out here, too.That way we can see the garden at night.”

Nick nuzzled his nose into her hair.“Did you sleep at all?”

“Some.”Then she’d woken from a nightmare, her mind spinning after that.

It had taken a couple of hours last night to answer questions, for the forensic team to do their thing for the report, and for everyone to finally leave.

Nick had taken her into their room, where someone had cleaned up the glass from the broken window and put up cardboard to cover the window and keep the bugs out, and they’d undressed and fallen into bed exhausted.It hadn’t stopped him from sweeping his hands over every inch of her skin, slowly.Sensually.Where his hands went, his lips followed.He made love to her in the same way with deep kisses, his body telling her how much he loved her.Worshipped her.Needed her.

She loved the attention, the care, the connection he reinforced with every stroke of his body into hers, making them one as their hearts beat against each other’s and their breaths mingled as they breathed each other in.

It was the most romantic, erotic, lovely thing she’d ever shared with anyone.

She snuggled back into him and sighed out her contentment.“I love you.I love this place.I love that after everything we’ve been through to get here, that we’re even more connected to each other.The past is done.It’s time for us to really start living the life we dreamed.”

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