Page 53 of Ruthless Redemption

Except they needed to finish clearing the air before they could move on to the best parts of this relationship. So he forced his own wicked thoughts of getting inside her from the forefront of his mind.

“First things first, babe. Let’s talk about this marriage. You should know upfront that I have no intention of giving you a divorce, so you should call off your lawyer on that front. I know we never exchanged vows and all that, so it wasn’t even real. But I plan to fix that as soon as possible.”

“You want to get married? For real? What about what I want?” The incredulity on her face almost made him laugh considering how cute it looked.

“When it comes to you, I’ve discovered that I am one selfish bastard. I found you on a nearly deserted dock and decided pretty much right away that I wanted to keep you. I just didn’t get to finish showing you how much or how good it could be before our world blew up in our faces.” He took another slow breath, letting that information sink in a second before he continued. “Now we have the time to take it as slow or as fast as you need. But it won’t be after we’ve gone through a depressing divorce.”

“But what difference does that make since we never actually got married.”

He shrugged. “I’m not sure I can explain it in a way that won’t either scare the hell out of you or piss you off.”

Her eyes narrowed and her hands went to her cocked hip. He could see the fight coming before she even opened her mouth. “You had better find a way. Because I’m done being bulldozed by anyone, Houston Reed. Even you.”

He stepped closer to her, making sure to completely invade her personal space. “I like that you want to fight me on this now even though I think we both want the same things. The only time I expect you to roll over and follow the directions I give is when I’m about to fuck you.”

A soft gasp slipped from her lips and he regretted that he couldn’t catch it with his mouth.

“You ask for too much,” she said, her voice softer and huskier than before. Her eyes had also darkened with want, although he chose not to mention it. Just because she struggled not to acknowledge he offered exactly what she wanted, changed nothing for him. It only gave him more opportunity to show her.

He dipped his head until his lips hovered just over hers. Their breath mingled and he swore he could feel their hearts intertwine at the same time. “No, I don’t.” He cupped her cheek and tilted her gently until their lips barely touched.

“How can you say that?” she asked, her lips brushing more against his with every word.

“Because you hold my heart in your hands, giving you the upper hand no matter what.”

“Oh, Houston.”

Those two words came out on a broken plea and he was unable to fight his urges any longer. Using his thumbs under her chin, he tilted her head farther back so he could run kisses along the tender flesh of her jaw. “As soon as you’re ready, we’ll make it official. Until then, we’ll explore everything together. How’s that?”

“I can agree to that.” She laughed, the sound far more erotic than conversational. “But only if you promise not to stop kissing me.”

“Done,” he agreed, as he tipped his head and took her mouth hard and deep. The time for talking about this was over for now. He knew this new life between them might not be easy every single day as they worked through the broken shambles of their old lives and re-shaped it into their life together. But they would get through it.

His broken princess would become whole again. He’d make sure of that. And while his life may detour now and then from the letter of the law, he belonged to no one but her. The motorcycle club his father had founded with his best friend had their own mission now and while he would help out when and if they needed him, he did not belong to them anymore than he belonged to the Marine Corps.

In fact, the bitterness of loss on so many fronts had been washed away thanks to the sexy as fuck woman in his arms.

He had a new life, a new career and a woman he would lay down his life for. And as she returned his kiss just as hard as he gave it, he felt a sense of freedom settle over him like nothing he’d believed possible. Now he had to get busy and show his woman he deserved every beautiful thing she gave to him.

Epilogue

Izzy

One month later

“I think it’s time for us to find our own place.” Houston had just walked away from the bank of security monitors nestled in the back corner of his makeshift office set up in one of the sitting rooms off the main living area of our suite. He sank down onto the couch where I laid, reading a book.

“You mean you don’t like living in a casino that runs twenty-four hours a day? Where we have cool perks like room service at our beck and call any time we want it?”

He rolled his eyes and ran his hands along the sides of my calves and up my inner thighs. “Izzy, you could have whatever you wanted 24/7 no matter where you lived. It’s one of the many benefits of being independently wealthy. But to answer your question, no. Security here may be tight for the casino itself, but I’m not convinced it’s the best situation for us. Plus, I need a real office. Working from home is great, but I need a better set up.”

Before I could answer, he pressed his lips to the most sensitive spot on my inner thigh, making me immediately quiver from the sensation. God, but his touch got me every damn time. I couldn’t get enough of it and he couldn’t seem to stop touching me. It was a win-win situation as far as I was concerned.

“I like it here. My new friends are here. But I might be convinced to look for something a little moresuitable.” Besides, how could I not give in to him when he knew exactly the right buttons to push on my body? It made it all but impossible to say no to anything. As long as he didn’t stop…

“What are you reading this time?” he asked, not looking up from where he continued to kiss my legs.

“Cookbook,” I managed through clenched teeth because I no longer cared about a book.

---