Page 35 of Addicted to the Ruin

“Yes,” he answers, casting a brief glance my way. “You?”

“Yeah.” I sigh, looking out of the windscreen at the beautiful mountains and trees that surround us. “But I think I’d like to live in the countryside one day. I like the idea of all the space and fresh air.”

“That sounds nice,” he agrees, slowing down as we pull up to the same sign for the Tailors’ stables that we came to what feels like years ago but was in fact only a few weeks ago. “Bring up our children amongst the flowers and pure air.”

My cheeks flush and I bite my lip as I look back at him. I don’t know why talking about having kids, the thing I suggested, makes my heart beat faster when he mentions it now. It seems like something that I’m not grown up enough to do, and yet, I can’t deny a yearning that I feel deep inside me at the mention of holding a child of ours.

We don’t speak more, but Aeron’s lips are tilted upwards into a smile as we pull up next to several other very expensive-looking cars and trucks, as well as a handful of horse boxes. As soon as we stop, my door is opened, and Knox holds his hand out for me to take.

“Good morning, Little Bird,” he greets, pulling me into his hot body immediately like he couldn’t bear to be apart from me this morning. His clove and motor oil scent is almost overwhelming, along with a fresh sweat smell that has my mouth watering.

“Morning, Daddy” I greet, taking a deep inhale as I wrap my arms around his damp torso and snuggle my face into his neck.

“You like the way I smell, all sweaty, huh, princess?” he asks, his voice amused and husky all at once, and my clit throbs as if we didn’t just have an awesome orgasm on the way over.Greedy bitch.

“Yep,” I reply, popping the P as I nibble his neck and he groans, his arms banding tighter around me.

“Fuck, Little Bird. You’ve been distracting me from the first moment I saw you,” he growls, leaning down to nuzzle my neck. “And I find I don’t fucking care.”

“Good morning, Lark,” a voice rumbles behind Knox, and I pause, going a little rigid in Knox’s arms. I know that deep voice, and the only reason Adam Taylor doesn’t haunt my dreams is because bigger monsters have taken his place.

“It’s okay, Little Bird,” Knox whispers, keeping me close. “He will not hurt you.”

I take a deep, shuddering breath, knowing that he speaks the truth. When I was first taken into Tailor custody, Adam, Earl, and another couple of Tailors set about trying to break me with torture, whipping my back, pulling out my fingernails, and branding me with their emblem. Although Adam never touched me with his hands, he ordered it all, as well as ordering my guys to hurt me all in the name of discovering the whereabouts of Soldier HQ.

I was too lost in vengeance when he came to help set us free that night back at Soldier HQ, but now the memories of his men inflicting pain on me try to rush back and drag me under. My fists tighten against Knox’s back as I bury my face into him, trying to regain the calm I felt when he pulled me from the car.

“I just wanted to talk,” Adam says gently, and taking a final inhale, I pull away from Knox, keeping close to him as we turn to face the leader of the Tailors.

Adam surprises me by being dressed casually in a long-sleeved, navy blue polo shirt, dark-fitted pants, and long, shiny brown riding boots.

“Good morning, Mr. Taylor,” I respond coldly, no hint of the fear that’s making my hands clutched in Knox’s henley tremble.

“Please, call me Adam,” he pleads, his face soft and forehead puckered as he takes a step towards me. I flinch, Knox’s arm tightening around me as Aeron comes to stand on my other side. Adam pauses and a flash of what looks like pain crosses his features before he schools them. “I wanted to apologize for the circumstances we met, Lark.”

“You mean when you ordered to have me whipped, branded, and my fingernails pulled out—they’re growing back now thanks for asking—before locking me in your dungeon? Those circumstances?” When in doubt, always revert to sass and sarcasm, apparently. He winces, and Aeron takes the hand not clutching onto Knox for dear life. Neither boy says anything though, and I appreciate them letting me fight my own battles.

“Yes. I was wrong to hurt you, Lark. My need for revenge blinded me, not letting me see you were a victim in all this. It took my boys to show me that.” The skin around his eyes is creased, his brows dipped low as he faces me, and a frown pulls his lips down, his hands hanging at his sides. “I’m so fucking sorry, Lark, more than you’ll ever know. I don’t expect forgiveness, now or ever, but I would like to make amends, in whatever way you deem fit. And perhaps one day, we could be friends?”

I take him in, and all I can see is regret in the roundness of his shoulders, his mouth downturned. Here is a man who allowed his grief to consume him, but he still kept a shred of humanity. I’ve heard how all the guys talk about him, see how much they look up to him and how he takes care of them as though they are the most important thing in the world to him. Would I have done any different if our roles were reversed? I can’t say that I would have. If anything happened to Rook and I knew those responsible, I’d want them to pay dearly for it.

I take in another deep breath, then let go of Knox and Aeron, slowly closing the distance between Adam and I, my heart thudding with each step. He watches me, the lines of regret deep on his handsome face, but what he doesn’t realize is that I need to move forward, away from my traumatic past, and although I may not be able to tell a complete stranger my darkest moments, I can forgive a man who was in a dark place because of the grief of not only losing a child, but a wife too.

Tentatively, I step closer, his dark brows furrowed as I place my arms around him and rest my cheek on his chest. I can hear how fast his heart is beating, its rapid pace matching that of my own, and the tremble in my arms threatens to overwhelm me. But I feel like if I don’t do this, forgive him for what he did, then I’ll never move on from my monsters, from all that haunts my dreams.

I feel the moment when his chest hitches, a shuddering breath falling from his lips as his arms band tightly around me.

“W–Welcome to the family, Lark,” he stutters, his voice thick with what sounds like unshed tears. “I couldn’t ask for a better soulmate for my boys.”

I chuckle, the sound a little like a sob as tears rush to my eyes, and I let them fall, soaking into his shirt. He holds me tightly, waiting until my shoulders stop shaking before he pulls back and looks deeply into my eyes.

“Thank you for helping Rook,” I mumble, my cheeks heating now that the moment is passing and I’m still hugging him. I take my arms away, his own leaving me, though one hand comes up to swipe at his eyes.

“It’s the least I can do, Lark,” he tells me, still gazing at me with something akin to wonder and relief on his face. “And I’ll help him and you in whatever way I can. You are family now.”

There’s that word again; family.

Something that I’ve been missing since Mom died, aside from Rook, but regardless, I’ve never had anyone to take care of me. Not until I fell in love with my enemies, that is.

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