Page 53

Rhodes---Resolution

The first thing I hear are the broken sobs of Amelia.

Every inch of my body is on fire, an inferno of pain simmering on my bones. My chest is the focal point, the source of heat burning me from the inside out. The brand .

Amelia did it. My kochanie did the unthinkable. She gathered enough strength to fight her demons one last time, banishing them back to the deepest shadows. I groan as I pull my hands from behind my back, stretching them before attempting to push myself up. Fuck. How Amelia survived this six times over is beyond me.

My whole body is tense and as I straighten, I find that breathing is difficult because of the sheer pain I’m in. Another whimper breaks free, and I turn my head, finding Amelia curled up against the wall of the island, distraught. Ignoring my body, I look down at my chest to find the burn still angry red. It’ll be a while before it calms down, and I slide from the countertop, snagging both the bandage and tubes of vaseline and antibiotic ointment I’d set aside prior. Ripping the bandage from the package, I take the strip out, putting a generous amount of both ointments on it. I gingerly place it on the brand, wincing as the small square on the bandage comes into contact with the blistered flesh.

I spin, slowly walking to Amelia before sitting down beside her, pulling her between my legs. I lock her into place with my legs around hers and my arms holding her.

“Baby,” I whisper into her hair, running my palm down her back. “I need you to breathe for me, okay? I am alright.” The only answer I get from her is a wail, her hands clutching my biceps feverishly. “Shhh, you are okay. Shhhh, shhhh. You did such a good job, pretty girl. So brave. So strong.”

I feel her mumble into my bicep, her lips cracked from her tears. I can’t make out what she’s saying, but I know that whatever it is, it isn’t the truth.

“No, no, Amelia. Whatever you are saying about yourself right now, I will not have it.” She lifts her head, and I see the devastation on it. The bottom of her face is covered with snot and tears. Her eyes are horribly puffy from sobbing for however long I had been passed out, and it is as if she will resume crying at the drop of a hat.

“I branded you, Rhodes. I hurt you.” I drop my palm at the side of her face, resting it there and Amelia leans into my touch. “The one thing I swore I would never do, I did to…to…to you .”

“ Kochanie . I asked you to. All you did was tie me to you in the most hauntingly beautiful, albeit painful, way we had. I now match you. I am so incredibly proud to call you mine. Gods, I would gladly suffer that searing death, over and over again, if it meant that I can call you mine forever.”

Her hand moves to my chest, her fingers hesitating at the bandage covering where she’s branded me before a single fingertip caresses the covering. She takes a deep breath, glancing up at me before slowly leaning in and placing her lips there. It is as if she is a mother kissing a boo-boo on a child, and my heart warms. I am sure there are a million emotions running through that gorgeous head of hers, and all I can do is sit here with her as she processes.

“Do you need anything? Here,” she rises from the ground, those grey eyes anxiously looking for something to do, “let me get you some pain relief. I can do that. Yes, let me grab that.”

I move to grab her hand, but my goddess is too quick and evades me. She is quick, even in her distraught state. I hear the cabinet doors shut and I force my body to stand, bracing all my weight onto my palms as I watch her. “How did you survive that five more times?”

Amelia stills, her hand in mid air. “I almost didn’t.” Her motions resume and I sigh. “I can’t do that again, Rhodes.” Her back is still turned to me and I know that she is exhausted. It’ll be days before I see her smile again, but having her free of the memories that haunted her steps will be worth it.

“I’ll bury the ring. It won’t see the light of day.”

“Thank you,” she quips quietly as Lennon hops onto the counter next to Amelia, wanting attention. Pulling him into her arms, Amelia curls into him and it brings a smile to my face. “I’m sorry.” I’m not, I think to myself, as I walk toward her and glance at the oven clock.

“Text Parker in the morning, tell her we will meet for breakfast. Right now, I just want to sleep with your body on mine, okay?”

“I am sorry. So, so sorry. I got it off as soon as I could, counted as quickly as possible. Gods, Rhodes. I branded you.”

“ Kochanie .” She listens, her hand never pausing in giving Lennon affection. I know that if Lennon were to jump, Amelia would start picking at her nail beds. “You branded me. I told you to. You did what you needed to do and it will be okay. I am okay, we are okay.” I pull her into my arms, squishing Lennon in the process. An angry chirp from the Maine Coon draws a small giggle from Amelia and I tilt my head down to hers. “Let’s go to bed, yeah?”

I wrap my arm around her waist, tugging her into our bedroom. Amelia moves slowly, intentionally, as she pulls the fabric from her body, revealing herself to me. How far she has come, I think to myself. Tonight is not a night to instigate anything, but I will always caress her body with my gaze, traveling the folds and dips of her, and staring in awe at the way she takes up the space she is in.

“You’re staring, again.”

I smirk, thinking back to that day at Parker’s coffee shop when she’d allowed me to sit at her table. “You are gorgeous, Amelia.” It was true then and it remains true now. She blushes and makes her way toward my dresser, pulling a shirt from the drawer before finding a pair of sweatpants for me in the bottom. She pulls the cotton over her head, hiding her large breasts from my view and sets the sweats on the bed beside me. My chest twinges with pain.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d want help or not.”

I smile at her concern. “I think I’ll take cuddles, if you don’t mind.”

Amelia nods, crawling into bed, giving me a peek of her ass and bare pussy under my shirt before plopping down. I change my pants before following her into bed, draping the multiple blankets and quilts over us before nestling down and waiting for her to snuggle close.

“Thank you,” are the final words I hear as sleep comes for us both.