“I know.”
“How about we get you out of this and into the bath?” Luke suggests.
“I’d rather take a shower.” I want to see the water wash me off and watch it go down the drain, hopefully, the memories of tonight will go with it.
“Anything you want, baby,” Luke assures me, peeling off the scratchy hotel blanket. Cool air hits my bare chest, reminding me of my ripped shirt. I can see the muscles in Luke’s jaw twitch, a vein popping out on his forehead, but he doesn’t say anything.
He continues undressing me, while I just lie there motionless, letting him take care of me. When I’m completely naked, he slides his arms under me, ready to pick me up.
“I can walk,” I protest, but he picks me up anyway. Only when we are in the shower stall does he put me back down on my feet. He takes the showerhead off the wall and turns on the water moving it away from us until it reaches the perfect temperature. Then he attaches is back to the wall and steps out.
I step into the hot stream of water, letting it soothe my aching muscles and my sore face where that man hit me. Luke takes off his own clothes before he joins me in the shower. I wrap my arms around his torso, pressing my face to his chest, as his arms come around me.
Like a cocoon, he embraces me, shields me, and keeps me safe from the world. Luke, my protector, my first and only love, and now my husband. I don’t know how I ever thought I could live without him.
“I need you,” I whisper, and without any hesitation he lifts me, and I wrap my legs around his hips, sighing when his cock brushes against my entrance.
“Are you sure?” he asks, pressing a gentle kiss to my lips.
“Yes.” I urge, digging my heels into the top of his ass.
With a tenderness I didn’t know lived inside of him, Luke enters me. My head falls back against the tile, and I hiss at the sensation, my heart soaring in my chest. Slowly, so slowly, I could almost cry, he brings us both to orgasm, our bodies coming together, before breaking apart. Neither of us speaks, our bodies saying all the words neither of us can say.
After the shower, he dries me off, and takes me back to bed, covering me up with a thick comforter, before sliding in next to me. He pulls my body into his until there is no space between us. My back is flush against his front. His semi-hard cock pressing against my butt cheeks.
“I’m sorry… so fucking sorry that I wasn’t there. This never should have happened. I should have been home with you, not out doing a job.”
Placing a comforting hand on his arm, I say, “It’s okay, you came for me.”
“He was so close to hurting you if Xander’s guys hadn’t found you so quickly…”
“But they did,” I interrupt him. “They found me, and you came for me.”
“Still, you were right, Gracie. As long as I work for Xander, we’ll never be safe. I’m going to tell him that I can’t continue doing what I do.” Something inside my chest cracks. All this time I’ve wanted that, and now he’s giving it to me.
“You mean it?” I don’t think he would lie to me about this, but I’m not sure if he is just saying it because of what happened today. He might change his mind once we go back to our day to day lives.
“I promise, I will talk to Xander tomorrow. I’m not sure how that going to go though. I don’t think you can just quit the mob. He might demand that I keep working for him, and just have me do something else.”
“He can do that?”
“He is Xander Rossi, he can pretty much do whatever the hell he wants.”
“What if he demands that you keep killing for him?”
“He is an asshole, but not that big of an asshole. We are family, and he takes care of his family.” I remember Xander saying the same thing in the car. “You’re family, and that makes Grace family now too,” I still can’t believe he really meant it. For so long I’ve been wanting to be part of a family again, wished for people to protect me. It seems that my wish finally came true.
“He won’t make me do this when I tell him the reason I want to stop,” Luke continues.
“And what’s the reason?” I already know the answer, but it’s nice to hear him say it again.
“You, Gracie, you are my reason for quitting. You are my reason for everything.” I smile at his words, happiness filling my body, and I hold on to that feeling, letting all the bad feeling from before float away. I’m here with Luke, and for the first time in a long time. I think everything is going to be okay.