Page 83 of Tainted Promise

Alarmed, Gabriel pulled me up to sitting. “Hey, hey. What happened? Was it too soon? Are you still hurting? I wasn’t thinking. Damn it, I’m such a fucking barbarian.”

Fighting back the tears, I ran my finger along his jaw, enjoying the slight scruff. “I’m okay. It doesn’t hurt. They’re happy tears. I didn’t know if you still wanted me that way.”

He sputtered, looking incredulous. “Why would you ever think that? I love you. And I always will.”

He spoke with such conviction that tears welled up again at the relief I felt. “But you haven’t really touched me since we came home. I was worried you felt differently about me.”

The doctor had cleared me two days ago but Gabriel hadn’t made a more to touch me.

He leaned over me, resting his head against mine. “Idofeel guilty. But I also didn’t want to rush you. This time around, I’m doing this right. No matter how blue my balls are.”

I looked down, our foreheads still connected. “Let’s see what we can do about your little problem.”

He fit our bodies together, our hips aligning as I wound my hands around his neck. “I have a few ideas.”

Then he pushed into me with an intoxicating slowness that threatened to bring back my tears. I’d expected him to take me fast since it’d been a while, but I could only describe his actions as a reverent worship of my body.

His drugging kisses made my head spin, the gentle explorations of his hands made me feel like the most precious thing in the world. It didn’t take long for an orgasm to approach again.

I was helpless to do more than hold on for the ride, my body following his lead. And when he touched his lips to mine, his tongue sneaking out to caress my bottom lip, I came again.

His movements turned less refined, and soon he was coming as well, his big body shuddering against me.

He turned us so I was lying on top of him. We stayed locked together for a while, holding on, committing this moment to memory. Because it was a new beginning. No more secrets. No more holding back.

He put his hands to my cheeks, and I lifted my head, marveling at the awe on his face. “I love you,anghele mou.”

“I love you too.”

Daisy’s wet nose nuzzled my cheek, and I giggled. “We love you as well, of course.”

Gabriel placed a kiss to my lips before getting up. I watched him unashamedly as he made his way, naked, to the built-in closet that held towels. Retrieving two, he wrapped one around me and the other around his middle.

Once we were both as decent as we’d get, he carried me to our bedroom, where we spent the rest of the day making up for lost time.

For the first time in my life, I felt completely safe. The crushing fear was gone, replaced with hope and love.

EPILOGUE

Jude

“We have the address, but I’m not sure if it’s the right one. A woman and a boy live there. He might have known we were following him and went to a random apartment to throw us off the trail.”

I’d been waiting for word on the shooter for weeks. Leaning back in my office chair, I tapped the fingers of my right hand on my leg. “Might be a partner or brother. And you said yourself that he didn’t come back out.”

Oliver, one of my men, gave a noncommittal grunt. “Or he knew we were following him from the meeting point and led us to a random apartment only to sneak out somehow.”

Excitement rolled through me. “Only one way to find out.”

“You going to knock on their door?”

Grinning, I grabbed the papers off my desk. “Better. I’m going to move in next to them.”

I’d been meaning to move out of Mom and Dad’s for a while now. This was the perfect excuse to test the waters. I might even like the apartment and stay there after I’d taken care of our problem.

* * *

I hated the apartment the moment I set eyes on the building. It looked like a cheap motel, barely held together by luck and liquid nails. But I was committed to seeing this through. Nobody got away with hurting my family.

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