Page 14 of Scarred Bride

At least for tonight.

When the sun rises in a few hours, I’ll stop, I tell myself.

She issues a soft sigh against my neck. I run a hand down her side, leaving goosebumps under my fingertips.

One night is all I need. Then I’ll walk away and leave her to someone else’s hands. Big Ronnie maybe. He’s real loyal. Like the men who took the fall for my father when Serenity’s father turned him over to the authorities, Big Ronnie is my ride or die.

She’s with me right now, though. It’s my time to take what I’ve wanted for years. Even long after she was torn away from me, I fantasized about taking Serenity’s virginity. Well, some other fucker did that, but do I care? Any man before me prepared her to accept my cock.

When I look down at her, there is wonder in her eyes. Slowly, as if I might snap at her any moment, she lifts a fingertip to my face and traces it down my jaw.

“Why did you do that?” she rasps.

“Why were you thinking so loud?” My voice is a rusty, after-sex growl.

She doesn’t answer me right away, and I pull out and roll to face her. She lies there staring up at the ceiling in silence.

“I was wondering what our next move was. And thinking about my brother… Heath, I’m so sorry for forcing you to take me in.” She cuts off on a choked noise.

I shove out a sigh. “First of all, no one canforceme to do something I don’t want to. Get that through your head now. And second? I don’t have a plan past lying low here for a couple of days. I hate your idiot brother and your idiot father, but I don’t hate you, Serenity. I’ll keep you safe.”

She lets her head drop to the side, eyes leveling on mine, shimmering with tears and fogged with the haze of the pleasure I’ve just given her. Her flavor still lingers on my tongue, a mixture of both of our essence after I fucked her the first time.

“You don’t hate me?”

Why does that whisper cut through my damn heart like a bullet? Does she actually believe I ever did?

She isn’t to blame for her father’s mistakes, no more than I’ll take on the sins of my old man.

A shiver runs through her body, and I get up, walk to the couch and grab a second blanket. I bring it back and wrap us both up in it. She curls against me like she used to in the old days before we were enemies.

Back when I couldn’t imagine a life without Serenity.

But she doesn’t fit into my world anymore.

Tonight is all we have. Tomorrow there will be no crossing of lines. I know how to control myself, and she’ll heed my warning to back off.

After long minutes, Serenity’s body relaxes in sleep. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for.

I ease away from her, disentangling her leg from around mine. Checking that I haven’t woken her, I slip out of our cocoon and to my feet, pulling my jeans up around my hips as I do.

Scrubbing a hand over my face, I make my way into the kitchen. The coffeepot has long ago switched off and the brew gone cold. I locate a bottle of water Serenity stowed in the fridge and twist off the top.

As I drink, I lean against the counter to think. There’s a lot more to this problem she dropped at my feet than just keeping her alive. On the streets, even criminals have a code. You don’t take payment you’re not due. Stepanov owes me nothing, yet I took a woman from him who’s worth a hell of a lot.

This will cause an all-out war, which isn’t far from what my brother, Patrick, told me when I called him a few hours ago. He was far from pleased with my decision to leave the city with Serenity. I could have left out a lot of information about where I was going or why, but I never lie to my brothers. We shared a womb. Someday I have no doubt we’ll be buried next to each other. They’ll always have my back and I have theirs.

Except on this matter.

Patrick didn’t have any bones about telling me I’m on my own with this.

Which means I need to form a plan. We’ll be hidden here for a few days, but sooner or later I’ll have to return to my life. People depend on me to keep the money flowing in. I can’t let my family down.

Again, I consider having someone like Big Ronnie step in for me. He can’t fuck it up too much, can he? All he has to do is watch over Serenity and make sure she doesn’t die while I take care of Stepanov.

Since I can’t think up any ways to go aboutthat, I finish off my water and pace into the living room. Serenity is still asleep, lying on her back with her head tipped my direction.

As I look on, one arm flips outward. Her hand peeks from the edge of the blankets I covered her in, her palm up, fingers relaxed in sleep.

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