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Chapter Twenty-Two

When the nightmare is over, will she still want me? -Levi

I wake slowly, feeling aches and pains from the skirmish the day before. Fuck, I’m getting too old for this.

I glance over at Flora, who still sleeps deeply. Her golden hair is spread out on the pillow next to me. She looks peaceful in her sleep. We made love in the early hours of the morning. She rode me while looking into my eyes and I felt a connection deep in my soul.

The phone vibrating next to me stirs me out of a contemplative state.

“Silver?” I say anxiously.

“It’s over, Shadow. Your girl’s safe.” With those words, I exhale and feel relief flood my body.

My girl is safe. She’ll be okay.

After I hang up with Silver, I sit there for a moment, thinking of the ramifications of the phone call. She can go back to her life, her real life. She no longer needs me. But damn I hope she wants me. I hope she wants me for the rest of our lives.

I kiss her cheek and her eyes slowly open, that adorable sleepy look of satisfaction in her sky-blue eyes. She smiles seductively at me. “I think I need a little time before the next round,” she says huskily.

I kiss her forehead. “Nope, not waking you up for that, sweetheart.” I pause, unsure what her reaction will be to my next bit of news. Relief, I know. But will she be immediately ready to go back to her real life? And will that life include me?

I watch her closely. “It looks like the hit has been called off. The guy your uncle was trying to nail committed suicide last night. Guess your uncle was too close to getting him behind bars and he took the easy way out. You’re safe now, baby. No one else is after you.”

A look of confusion crosses her face. “It’s over? Just like that, it’s over?”

I nod. “Just like that.”

“Are you sure?” she asks, and then bites down on her lower lip.

“Yep. That was Silver. He confirmed it through multiple sources.” I would trust Silver with anything. That man has more connections than the mafia.

She sits up and pull the sheet against her chest. “What happens now?” she asks softly.

I turn away and swing my legs off the side of the bed. I reach for my pants. “I guess whatever you want to happen. You can go back to your normal life again.”

I stand up and pull on my pants. I can’t look back at her. I’ll let her go if that’s what she needs me to do.

I feel a hand on my arm and swing around. A tear is sliding down her cheek. “Is that really what you want? You just want me to go?”

I crumble inside at the sight of that one tear. I tug her closer to me and the sheet she’s holding onto falls. I hold her against me and kiss the top of her head. “I don’t want you to go anywhere. I want you to stay with me forever. Or I stay with you. Whatever works better for you.”

She pulls back and beams up at me. “How ‘bout we figure out the logistics later?” Her arms come around my waist and I’m suddenly very aware that her naked body is pressed up against me.

I squeeze her ass cheeks. She moans and kisses my neck. I back her up against the bed.

“Maybe I was wrong,” she says in a seductive voice. “I think I’m ready again.”

I slide my finger along her slit and then inside, feeling her wet warmth. “I think you are.”

She touches my lower lip with her thumb and gasp as my fingers begin to move. “I love you, you know.”

I wink at her. “I know, baby. I know. I love you too.”