Page 91 of Troublemaker
“Lucy, sweetheart,” I rasped, storming down the stairs toward her, lifting her up and spinning her around so she was in my arms.
I searched her. Her hair was a little mussed up, and there was some dirt on her dress, but otherwise, she was no worse for wear.
“You okay?” I asked her.
“Am I okay? Areyouokay? What the hell were you thinking, hittingthe president of Tabblike that?”
Well, that was easy. I set her down but gripped her upper arms to keep her close.
“I was thinking if I hit him, he’d press charges and the police would be forced to take me in the cop car with you. And I didn’t want to be away from you for a single second. I’m fine, in fact, I think we’re actually both going to be fine. I told you I’d handle it, didn’t I?”
She laughed, and the relieved sound lit up my chest like sparkling wine, making me feel fucking giddy. Me, Coach Samson, the grumpiest fucker alive, giddy.
“You did, although this was not what I figured ‘handling it’ meant.”
I shrugged. “I’d do anything for you. I will do anything for you. You know that, right? You’re the most important thing in the world to me. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she said, rising onto her toes to kiss me. “Let’s go home.”
Home.
Our home.
“Yeah, sweetheart, let’s go home,” I said, even though for me, home was wherever she was. Although our actual home had restraints under the bed, restraints I had plans for.
“You know,” she said, as we waited for Marcus to join us and drive us home, “when I pictured being handcuffed, that wasn’t what I had in mind.”
I growled.
“Fortunately, I have the perfect handcuffs for a troublemaker like you,” I said. “We can use them when we get home.”
“Promise?” she asked, eyes brilliant with lust and affection.
“Promise,” I said, because I’d give her whatever she wanted. And if what she wanted was to be restrained with handcuffs and a spreader bar while I fucked her in half, well, then that’s exactly what I’d do.
Because for her, I’d do anything.
“I love you, troublemaker,” I said. “I’m not the most eloquent of men, and I wish I had the right words to make it clear just how important you are to me. Because youarethe most important thing that exists. I used to fear losing control, but if losing control means gaining you in the process, then it was motherfucking worth it. I can’t promise I’ll ever find the right words, and I won’t promise that I won’t keep you under lock and key to keep you safe and mine. But I do promise I’ll show you how much I love you, every goddamn day for the rest of our lives.”
Her eyes filled with tears, the happy kind.
“I love you, too, Blake Samson. And you can start by kissing me.”
So I did. She was the first woman in my life I’d kissed, and she’d be the last. And that made me the luckiest fucker in the world.
“Let’s go home,” she said against my lips.
And we did.
EPILOGUE
LUCY
Some Months Later
“Good work today, Lucy,” my animal behavior professor at Reina said to me as we filed out of class. “Professor Putrovski was right; you’re a great addition to the program.”
At Professor Putrovski’s name, I winced. Since she hadn’t had tenure, she’d left Tabb under less than auspicious circumstances, and I was one of the few people who knew why. But before she’d left, she’d written me the recommendation letter she’d promised, which had been the last thing I needed to get into the pre-vet program I’d been dreaming about. So far, the classes had been excellent, and it looked like vet school—and my future—were within reach.
