Page 75 of Neverland

Chapter 20

NOW

For two glorious days we ate, drank, and laughed, but mostly, we made love. Romeo was attentive to my pleasure, always ensuring my needs were met before his own. It was explosive, intimate, and emotional. His simple touch was enough to erase the violence from the past. His kisses replacing the memories of Dominic’s sexual assaults. On the occasion we were able to pull ourselves from the bedroom, Romeo took me out on the lake, a bottle of wine and a picnic packed into the restored wooden boat. I closed my eyes and let the sun warm my skin while Romeo gently massaged my shoulders.

In any other situation, it would have been called a romantic getaway. But in reality, Romeo remained with me for protection while Sol, Charles and Laura went on the hunt for Dominic, and the last we’d heard, his credit card had been used in a town three hours away. For now, we were safe.

Water lapped against the boat and I smiled. My heart had never been so happy, and I wanted to stay this way for the rest of our lives. For however long that was.

I nestled against him, feeling his beating heart on my cheek. “I love you, Romeo.”

He kissed the top of my head. “I’ve always loved you, Lucy.”

I played with a loose thread on his shorts. Shorts that revealed his finely sculpted, bronzed legs. “When all this is over, what will happen with us?”

“I’m going to marry you,” he answered with ease.

I sat up so I could see his face. “You wanna marry me?”

Romeo laughed lightly. “Lucy, I’ve wanted to marry you since seventh grade.”

I burst out laughing because I caught a glimpse of the babyface boy who’d held my heart so many years ago. And now, he was a strikingly handsome man, but still owned my heart.

I smiled sweetly. “Can we get a dog?”

Romeo leaned forward and kissed me tenderly and I fell head over heels all over again. “Lucy, I’ll buy you a whole damn animal shelter.”

~~~

I watched Romeo at work in the kitchen while he prepared dinner. Or more specifically, I watched the veins in his arms move every time he cut through a vegetable. I was mesmerized by it, turned on even.

Night-time had fallen, and soft Spanish music played in the background. “This place is so beautiful. I don’t wanna leave.”

Romeo glanced up and smiled warmly. “You don’t have to.” He watched me a little longer, his thoughts traveling somewhere. “Mom is going to flip when she sees you. I don’t think she’ll believe, even with you standing in front of her.”

I returned the smile, my heart swelling. “I wouldn’t blame her.”

A cool breeze blew in from the lake, moving the sheer curtains like dancing ghosts. I shivered and Romeo noticed. “I have a jacket in the wardrobe upstairs, babe. Grab it before you catch a cold. I’m thinking dinner under the stars tonight.”

“Like old times?”

He smiled. “Just like old times.”

Sliding off my chair, I rounded the counter and slipped my hands around Romeo’s torso, feeling his rippling muscles under my touch. It made me weak at the knees every single time. When my hands slipped down to the bulge in his pants, he chuckled.

“You’re insatiable, woman.”

“I can’t help it. It’s what you do to me,” I said, gently smacking his hard ass before heading up the stairs. I was still smiling, finally loving life when I reached the bedroom. Switching on the lamp, I searched the closet for Romeo’s jacket. When I found it, I slipped in on, smelling his familiar delicious scent. It was comforting and while he didn’t know it yet, the jacket was now mine even if it were too big. Switching off the lamp, my eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness.

I froze, a dark, ominous figure standing only a few yards away down the hall where I’d been only moments earlier. I blinked hard but it wasn’t a figment of my imagination. It was real and it was still there, watching and waiting. I saw the glisten of metal before I heard the sound. The terrifying sound of a knife carving its way slowly up the wall.

I started shaking uncontrollably, my heart thudding, willing myself to move. I couldn’t. It was like the floor came to life, circling my legs and holding me in place. He stepped closer, slow and predator-like until his malevolent face took form. I went to scream but he stopped me, raising a Glock to his lips. “Shh,” he warned, hushing me.

He stepped closer again, forcing me into the bedroom. Now both inside, he switched on the lamp and quietly closed the door.

Except for a few scratches across his cheek and forehead, Dominic hadn’t changed.

“You don’t look pleased to see me, little Lucy,” he taunted, elated he’d found me to wreak his terror once more. “What’s wrong? You’re suddenly not looking so well.” Dominic laughed, reaching out to caress my face. When I flinched away, he seemed amused by my fear. “You’re always so vulnerable to me, so… alluringly vulnerable.”

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