Page 20 of Unfulfilled Promises
James closed his eyes, and when they reopened, I saw a newfound anger burning in his gaze. I was able to give them a general idea where we were taken from and the things I saw when I left with Sergey, and they’d looked for Elsa until they found her body and made sure she was returned to her parents for a proper burial.
Looking at the somber men, I asked a question in return. “Who paid for her funeral?”
“James and I did, and Rhys made sure her family had enough money to take care of things until they were back on their feet emotionally,” Devlin responded, and I felt a tear leak from my eye.
Swiping the tear away, I simply said, “Thank you for your kindness.” They nodded but said nothing as I looked up at Seth and asked, “Can we go to dinner now?”
He kissed the back of my hand, right in front of my family and his friends, and I smiled as he said, “Lead the way, beautiful.”
We walked out of the room, and he closed the door behind us, pausing long enough to pick up the leather bag he’d dropped earlier before taking my hand into his and walking into the kitchen. “Do you need to grab anything before we leave?” he asked, and I gave him a nod.
“My purse is in my room.”
I went to release his hand, only for him to lead us down the hallway, past the patio, and straight to my room. Looking around, he found my purse on my dresser and lifted it with his eyebrows up. I nodded, so he handed it to me before silently leading us out of my room and back down the hallway.
Following him, I felt safe and treasured as he stroked his thumb along my skin while we moved to the front door and outside into the afternoon sun. It wasn’t too cold for New Year’s Day, and as we walked to his SUV, he increased his pace. I almost had to trot to keep up with him, and just as we got to the passenger’s door, I asked, “What’s the hurry?”
Seth lifted his finger into the air, requesting I hold on as he opened the door, helped me inside with a smile, and closed the door, sealing me inside. I watched as he jogged around the front and got behind the wheel, still not speaking. He glanced at me with a smile and cranked the vehicle before immediately putting it into gear and pulling away from Rhys’s house.
I wanted to ask if everything was okay, but halfway down the driveway, isolated from the house and the guard shack, Seth put the SUV into park and turned to face me. My seatbelt was still unhooked, so I mirrored his position, waiting for him to finally say something.
Then the thought that he’d changed his mind and was too nice to say it bombarded me, and I was about to ask him if he was having doubts when he finally said something.
“I’m going to kiss you, so if you don’t want me to, now is the time to say something. Because seeing how strong you are has made it impossible for me not to kiss you.”
His breathing was growing in intensity, and I smiled across at him, silently giving him a green light. Seth leaned over the console and placed his hands on the sides of my face as he leaned forward, touching his lips to mine. The kiss started simple, but it wasn’t long before I parted my lips, allowing his tongue access. I groaned into his embrace as he swirled his tongue against mine, igniting feelings deep inside I’d feared were dead forever.
And then I smiled into the kiss, realizing my therapist was right. With the right man—a man who knew my demons—affection, love, and eventually sex could all be a possibility. Seth slowed the kiss until it was a simple peck, and when he pulled back, I bit my lip as he gazed into my eyes, showing his need for me. The fact he didn’t go any further and his hands stayed above my shoulders gave me reassurance that maybe he was the one who would be able to show me the good parts of romance and sex, and not just the pain and shame that came with it.
“I need to stop by my house really quick, but then we can head to dinner,” Seth said, and I gave him a quizzical look. “I need to feed my cat.”
“You have a cat?” I asked with a smile as he put the vehicle into drive.
“Yeah. Edgar was a stray, and it took me two months to get him to trust me. Now, he sleeps on my bed, demands wet food at least once a day, and doesn’t seem to miss me when I’m gone.” He shrugged as I chuckled at the last part of his statement.
Pulling up to the guard shack, Seth slowed down for them to see us before they raised the gate and we pulled away from Rhys’s compound. As soon as we were on the road and headed toward the interstate, I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I didn’t know if it was being away from the fortress of safety they’d built around me, being with Seth, or the freedom that came with part of my shameful secrets finally being out in the open.
And if they honored their promise to me, I may not have to tell them anything else. It seemed like I was anonymous in the master plans Sergey and Kelly had mapped out, and if I could keep it that way, no one would have to know I was as much of a monster as they were.
May they burn in hell where they belong.
Getting on the interstate, Seth drove one exit down and exited before making two quick turns into what appeared to be a nice residential neighborhood. He turned into a driveway on the right before putting the car into park and turning it off. He swiveled to look at me and asked, “Do you want to come inside with me, or would you feel more comfortable waiting in the car?”
“I’ll go inside, if that’s okay,” I returned, and he gave me a smile, pecked me on the lips, and jumped out of the car.
I went to open my door, only for Seth to hold his hand up as he trotted around to my side. Opening the door, he held his hand out and assisted my exit then escorted me to the front door. There was a keypad to the side of the door and when he placed his thumb over a sensor, the door beeped, then he put a key into the lock to open the door.
“Extra security since we keep our weapons in the house,” Seth said as we walked inside the extremely clean house.
“We?” I asked as he guided me into the kitchen and pulled out a chair at the island bar.
“Booker, Caldwell, and I share the house and the expenses since we all travel so much together. And before you ask, no, we don’t keep the place this clean. We pay a cleaning service to come by twice a week and tidy it up.”
“I never realized you were so close to Rhys’s house,” I remarked, and he turned to lean up against the counter as he smiled at me.
“We moved from Birmingham to Atlanta about four months ago when Lucian and Rylee moved to Portstill. We figured it was easier to be closer to the bigger airport, and honestly,” he started as he pushed off the counter and walked around to my side of the island, “I like being so close to you.”
Slowly, he leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on my lips, and it was then I heard the yawling.
