“I’m angry that I couldn’t protect you when you were…” He trails off as his eyes find their way to my back, his jaw tightens, and I see the pain of his words through his eyes.
“Don’t be angry.” I move my hand, so it’s me caressing his handsome face. “You couldn’t stop what happened there, I will heal. Because of you I am free, I don’t have to be scared anymore.”
I can’t even begin to imagine what that means.
“It’s been so long. I don’t even remember what that feels like,” I say honestly.
So long of suffering alone, hiding the pain. The fear. Always living life one day at a time, afraid of every shadow. Now I have my life back. And Ren gave that back to me. I could never thank him enough or tell him in words how much it means.
But I will show him.
For the rest of our lives, I will show him.
He takes my hand in his, intertwining our fingers. “We’ll figure it out together.”
My body relaxes, and I let out a deep breath as the tension leaves and peace settles inside. I’m not stupid; there will always be tests in this life. But the monster is gone, and I don’t have to be brave anymore.
And most importantly, I’m not alone.
Two Weeks Later
“Lilly.” Ren’s deep voice comes from behind as his warm arms wrap around me, his scent enveloping me, and he kisses my hair.
Perfection.
“Are you ready?” He turns me in his arms and smiles.
“I was ready a week ago,” I say and playfully pout.
It turns out Sergei didn’t get his eighteen lashes, the attack on the ship must have cut him short. Thankfully, there were only five lashes to heal, and they did within a week. Saying Ren has been overprotective is a colossal understatement. I’ve barely been allowed to go to the bathroom by myself. But today he is taking me out, finally.
“Trust me, baby. It will be worth the wait.” He lowers his mouth and kisses me.
I melt into him and wrap my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. My hands slide underneath his shirt, my fingernails lightly graze up and down his back, sending shivers up his spine.
“Lilly…” he breathes and pulls away slowly. “Keep this up and we won’t make it out of the house.”
I jump back quick smart, not playing with fire and taking that risk.
He chuckles and licks his lips. “We’ll pick this up in a little bit.”
Ren hooks his arm with mine, and I snuggle into his side. We walk out of the house, and he gets into the driver’s seat of the Ferrari. He starts the car, and we drive off. The sun is shining through the windshield, and I’m happy.
So fucking happy.
“So, where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” He winks at me, and we continue to drive.
“I love surprises.” I lean forward to turn on some music, but Ren’s hand stops me.
“Careful, let me.” He reaches over and turns on the radio.
See, overprotective.
Funny enough the only time he doesn’t fuss over me is when we are having sex. Well, he does fuss over me, but in a much more pleasurable way.
“You know I can manage to turn the radio on myself,” I say crossing my arms over my chest.