| |
Hannah was shocked when I told her I was leaving that night. She tried to persuade me to stay, understandably worried for my safety, especially considering everything I’d been through.
But Hayden was the one to convince her we were in love, and we told her we’d been keeping it a secret because of the press coverage. He told her he’d pay for my side of the rent for as long as she needed him to, which perked her up. It meant she was getting an entire apartment to herself for only half the cost, and I smiled to myself at how easily her mind had been set to rest. I also promised her plenty of phone calls and Skype chats, so we wouldn’t need to miss each other at all.
We went back to the apartment and packed up my stuff. I didn’t even care where I was going—only that I was back with Hayden. We hadn’t let go of each other for a single moment, clinging to each other’s hands and pressing our foreheads together, as though frightened one or the other would drift away.
But I was happy for the first time since it had all happened.
I loved him, and he loved me, and we were going to be together. That was all that mattered.
He drove us several hours to a remote spot. His property was a huge log cabin, but we weren’t going to be roughing it. I was delighted to discover a Jacuzzi and a heated pool, and five bedrooms and a huge kitchen and living area.
No one would bother us here.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my life now. I had my degree, and I still wanted to help people. Hayden had assured me that we could look into that as soon as I was ready. Money wasn’t a problem, but I didn’t want to rely on his wealth. I wanted a life and career of my own.
But for the moment, I was happy to hide out in the cabin with him.
We stood in the middle of the huge living room together, the floor to ceiling windows giving views out onto the forest beyond. It was still dark, and the moon hung fat and low in the sky, peeping from behind the foliage. It was slightly eerie, but I liked it, feeling as though it spoke to my soul.
Hayden caught my hand and pulled me toward him, his expression serious. “Jolie, I need to talk to you about what those men did to you in that room.”
Pain lanced my heart and squeezed the breath from my lungs. “Hayden...”
I didn’t want to talk about it, but I could tell he did.
“Something’s been on my mind about how I felt when I saw you like that.”
I shook my head and lowered my gaze from his. “Please, Hayden. I just want to forget it ever happened.”
“So do I, but I think you need to know the sort of man I am.”
I pulled my gaze back to his and placed my fingers to his cheek, the rough of his stubble grazing the tips. “I already do. You’re the sort of man who will give up his entire life to avenge his mother’s death, and who'll come into a building knowing he’s outnumbered four to one to save the woman he loves.”
But instead of being comforted by my words, he looked away, his lips thinning. “It’s not about that. It’s about how I felt when I saw them all over you. I hated them, and I wanted them all dead, but seeing you like that...” He shook his head. “I can’t pretend it didn’t do something to me.”
I knew what he was saying. I’d been violated, and it had turned him on. Hayden was never going to be the perfect hero. He had darkness inside him, but now so did I. I remembered how it had felt to kill Loretta—that wild, joyous power that I had sworn to myself to never tell my father about. At least I’d kept that promise.
“I can't make you feel any better about that, Hayden. I have my own demons from that day to deal with.”
His cheeks grew pink with shame. I didn’t think I’d ever seen Hayden Vale blush before. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for. You saved me. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for you. But neither of us is perfect, Hayden. We’ve both done things we regret, but we can’t change any of that now. What we can change is our future.”
There was so much pain and violence that had happened around us, but we needed to put it all behind us now. We had to if we were ever going to move on.
He met my gaze again, and his eyes had cleared of some of the troubled look I’d seen earlier. He’d clearly been torturing himself with guilt.
“Because of you, I want a future now,” he said. “I always told myself you deserved more, and I want to give that to you.”
I nodded and allowed a smile to touch my lips. “Me, too. I’d given up before you came back. I couldn’t see the point in it all, but now I’m finally starting to hope for some happiness again.”
He cupped my face in his hands, his palms against my cheeks, and tilted my face up to his. “This is forever, Jolie. I mean it. You’re my forever.”
And he leaned in and kissed me. The kiss was gentle at first, but quickly built with heat. We’d never had a problem igniting a spark between us physically. Even when I’d hated him, I’d still been drawn to him.
Now he’d been willing to give up everything for me, and we were building a future together. It was rocky and uncertain, and I had no idea where we would be a year from now, but we’d be in each other’s lives, and that was all that mattered.
Our tongues swept across each other’s, and I groaned and sank against him. I’d missed this so much. It was only when I was with him that I felt truly alive. I wanted him—wanted to feel his naked skin against mine.
The presence of our clothing became a sudden irritant. As though we couldn’t get the clothes off fast enough, we tore at buttons and zippers, pulling shirts from shoulders, and jeans from thighs, until finally we stood in front of each other, completely naked.
The bruises and cuts from my ordeal had long healed, but the emotional ones remained. A small part of me had worried that being intimate with him again would take me back to my time in that room with those men, but this was nothing like that. I loved Hayden, and even though we may get a little rough with each other, it was done with love, not hatred.
I took in the sight of his beautiful body, leaner than he’d been before, but still muscular. His abs were defined ridges, his pecs solid squares. A trail of dark hair led down from his navel to the thatch of curls from which his cock jutted. He was truly beautiful, and I hoped, as he studied my body as well, that he thought the same about me.
Hayden reached out and cupped my breast, circling my nipple then tracing down the curves of my body. He grazed my stomach, and I sucked in a breath. His fingers trailed through the small patch of curls at the juncture of my thighs and then dipped lower, finding me already wet.
He growled against my ear. “You’re always so ready for me.”
“I can’t help it. My body has a mind of its own around you.”
He pushed two fingers inside me. “Your body is mine now. All of you is mine now.”
I groaned, my forehead falling against his chest. He drove deeper, hooking his fingers inside me to stroke my inner walls. My eyes rolled in pleasure, and I reached for him, wanting to touch him. He might claim that I was his—and he was right—but he was mine, too.
His cock was hard, curving out from his body. He was such a contrast in sensations—silky, soft iron. I tightened my fingers around his length and pumped him slow but firm, just the way he liked. Hayden gave a shuddery breath. He slowed the movement of his fingers inside me to match my rhythm, until it was like we were fucking, without him actually being inside me.
“I want to feel your pussy wrapped around my cock,” he growled.
“Patience,” I teased, even though I wanted him, too.
“Jolie, I want to fuck you now.” His fingers slipped from my body. “Lie down and spread your legs for me.”
I bit my lower lip, my hand still working his cock as I looked up at him coyly. “And what if I don’t?”
“Don’t test me, Jolie.” His voice contained a hint of danger, and it had a physical effect on me, my core clenching with pleasure, my nipples tightening. I’d always liked it when he was rough with me.
I squeezed the base of his dick. “Or what?”
I dropped to my knees, keeping my hold on his cock. I gazed up at him and parted my lips. I swiped my tongue across his slit, and he sucked in another breath. “What are you going to do, Hayden?”
I licked him again, keeping my gaze on his.
“I’ll fuck you. Hard.”
I smiled. “Good.”
Covering the bell end of his cock with my lips, I sank down deep, drawing the length of him into my throat. He felt incredible, the salty tang of him filling my senses. I bobbed back and forth, taking him deeper each time, loving the sounds he made and the feel of his hands knotting in my hair. I adored the way I was able to do this to him, and I kept going until I could tell he was right on the edge, and then I pulled my mouth from his shaft and gazed up at him.
“I hope you’re going to screw me now.”
“Too fucking right, I am.”
He took me by the arm and shoved me to my hands and knees. He grabbed my hips, his fingers digging into my skin.
On all fours, he positioned himself behind me. He used his cock to part my folds, sliding up and down, wetting me further with his precum. It felt so good, and I groaned, my head hung. With a thrust of his hips, he impaled me. I stretched around him, sparks of pleasure drifting to my core like sparks from a bonfire, settling deep inside me. He moved slowly at first, and I knew he was relishing the feel of us back together, like two pieces of a half becoming whole once more. But gradually he built his momentum, and his hips pistoned into mine, slamming into me.
“Wait,” he suddenly groaned, “I want to be able to see your face.”
He pulled out, and I missed him instantly, but then he flipped me over, onto my back, the soft living room rug beneath us. He positioned himself between my thighs, and I wrapped my heels around his hips, and we sank back together again.
God, being with him was like finding heaven.
I was breathing too hard to be able to kiss him, our mouths crashing together in nips and licks. I pressed my teeth into his shoulder. The sound of our cries and groans rose in a crescendo, filling the room.
This was everything. I’d fought against it for so long, but it was all that mattered. He was all that mattered.
He reached between us, putting pressure on my clit, and I tumbled over the edge. I clung to him as I spiralled in ecstasy, feeling as though he was the only thing that could keep me rooted to the earth. My body bucked and shuddered against his, my orgasm rolling over me in wave after wave. All the pain and fear and loneliness vanished in that moment, leaving only the two of us, together. What we had might not be normal, but it was raw and pure, and meant everything to me.
Hayden dropped his head to my shoulder, his expression contorted as he released himself inside me, giving me a piece of him. My cries probably could have been heard for miles around, but it didn’t matter. There was no one around to hear me.
We tumbled together on the rug, and he pulled me into his arms. My head rested on his chest, both our skin damp with sweat. His heartbeat raced beneath my ear, his chest heaving as we both caught our breath.
He squeezed me hard, and I lifted my face for a kiss.
“Do you want to leave Dorman behind you?” he asked suddenly.
I knew what he was saying. I’d tried to get through my whole life under the pressure of my father’s name, and I nodded. “You know I do.”
“So become Jolie Vale instead.”
I sat up slightly. “What are you saying?”
“Marry me. Become my wife. It doesn’t have to be in a month, or even a year, but whenever you’re ready, I can’t think of anything I want more than for you to take my name.”
I smiled, my heart swelling with happiness in my chest. “I’d like that very much.” And I leaned in and kissed him again.
Love had made us invincible against the world. Those around us had almost broken us, but we’d come through it in the end, no matter what our pasts entailed.
It didn’t matter. We had a future now.
I wasn’t only Patrick Dorman’s daughter.
He wasn’t only the son of a murdered mother.
We could be ourselves together.
The bad blood between us had finally been washed away.
––––––––
THE END