Page 21 of The Locksmith’s Promise (The Promise Duet #1)

Reprieve

B axter

The temperature had dropped since we’d arrived.

I stuffed my hands in my front pockets and bent my head against the wind as I half walked, half jogged, to Ayana’s.

I left Maggie and her little purple toes soaking in the jacuzzi tub with a glass of champagne.

I’d gaped at her toes as the penny dropped. “They match your lingerie,” I stated.

She smiled. “Lingerie is my other indulgence.”

I thought back to every colour I’d seen thus far. Did she have sexy lingerie in every colour? I’d be peeling her socks off every day just to torture myself until I earned the privilege of sleeping beside her every night.

I shook my head and picked up my pace because I promised my lady dinner. What I didn’t tell her was that I called ahead to Ayana’s and ordered us dinner to go.

It wasn’t something Ayana’s usually did, but when I explained the situation, the woman who answered the phone sighed and confessed she was a sucker for a second chance romance.

The fact I ordered twice as much as I would have had we shown up for our reservation might have helped.

Maggie’s question preyed on my mind.

I knew there were holes in my story, but what did it matter now that we were back together? I didn’t want to give my father one more minute of my life.

The burns he’d left on my body had healed.

The wounds on my soul had long ago crusted over and fallen off.

Walking into Ayana’s, a pretty woman with a long, blond ponytail assessed me quickly and flashed a smile. “Baxter Martin?”

I nodded and offered her a small smile. “That’s me.”

She whipped around so fast her ponytail nearly smacked me in the face. Before I could react, she had spun back around and thrust a large paper bag into my waiting hands.

Bright eyes flashing, she smiled. “I tucked a few extras in there. And I added dessert on the house.”

My jaw dropped. “You didn’t have to do that,” I began.

She shook her head, blinking rapidly when the end of her ponytail hit her face. “It was my pleasure.” Squeezing her shoulders up to her ears, she smiled. “Good luck!”

She was undeniably cute, but no woman could hold a candle to my Maggie.

Wrapped in a plush robe waxing poetic over the food, I wasn’t sure I needed any extra luck. But I’d take every advantage I could get.

Placing her cutlery beside her plate, she leaned back in her seat. “I don’t think I can move.”

“Good.” I held out my hand. “You’re going to be a pillow princess.”

Her eyebrows rose as she stood and placed her hand in mine. “Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah,” I agreed. “If you don’t touch me, I might last more than thirty seconds.”

She laughed as she stepped closer. “I’ll time you.”

I didn’t smile back; I couldn’t.

Instead, I traced the sweet lines of her face. She’d lost the softer curves of youth and gained the faintest of lines at the corners of her eyes.

Her cheeks had hollowed out, her jaw both sharper and somehow softer.

This new Maggie looked so much like my Maggie, but the subtle changes had me staring.

She was a puzzle that enthralled me the same as she always had.

Closing her eyes, she leaned into my hand.

Gifting me trust I hadn’t earned but swore I’d never betray.

Guiding her closer, I pressed my lips to her forehead, the tip of one delicately arched eyebrow, and the smile lines at the outside corner of her eye before trailing over her cheek to the prize of her soft lips.

Opening to me.

Giving me her sweetness.

Sighing sweetly into my mouth as I claimed hers.

I was less than nothing, but I loved her with everything I had. And I would worship her until God plucked me from this earth.

I eased the robe off her shoulders and let it fall, dropping my mouth to the creamy expanse of her shoulder.

“Please, Baxter,” she whispered. “I need your skin.”

Reaching back, I grasped my shirt and whipped it over my head. My pants went next, and I moved her toward the bed and lay her down.

And then I stared.

My eyes traced the smooth length of her legs, the curve of her hip and the gentle swell of her belly before darting up to her pretty face, and the tumble of her chestnut hair spilling across the pillow.

Eyes wide and slightly wary, she moved to cross her arms over her breasts.

“No, baby,” I murmured, capturing one wrist and pressing my lips to her pulse. “I’ve missed you for far too long for you to hide from me now.”

She swallowed and nodded as I dropped a kiss between her breasts.

Feathered my lips and tongue over the gentle ridges of her ribs to my tattooed promise.

One I silently renewed as I ran my calloused hands over the generous curves of her waist, her hip, and her thigh.

Reveling in her soft sigh as she melted into the mattress.

It was clear she’d suffered, the evidence written in the lines on her face, the fractured trust in her eyes, and the cautious manner she approached the world.

Tougher by far than I ever was, she’d done so well, exuding strength and delivering grace.

But she’d never do it alone again.

With every brush of my fingers over the silver inscriptions our son wrote on her tummy, I pledged to ease her burdens.

Infuse her world with goodness.

Provide for her every need and as many of her wants as I could manage.

And I thanked God for the chance He’d given me.

Goosebumps chased my tongue as I dragged it along the sensitive crease of her thigh, urging her to spread her legs so my mouth could sing her praises.

Soft.

Easy.

Slow.

She reached for me, threading her fingers through my hair and lightly scratching my scalp.

My eyes burned behind my closed lids as the heat at her centre branded me as hers, and only hers.

Her sweet taste, my redemption.

I breathed deep, filling my lungs and my mouth, my soul soaring as she trembled under my tongue.

She protested as I backed away.

“With me this time, baby,” I murmured, sliding a condom over my length before moving back up her sweet, curvy body.

Taking her mouth gently, slowly, thoroughly exploring.

Tasting.

Giving.

Nuzzling the tender skin of her throat and the curve of her collarbone.

She wrapped her arms around me, hands splaying across my scarred back to hold even that part of me closer.

Bracing my elbow beside her face, I hitched her leg over my hip, lined up, and pressed forward until my pelvis ground against the tight bud of her clitoris.

That stubborn chin tipped up as her lips parted with a sharp inhale.

I pulled back and did it again.

And again.

The swiftly building pleasure threatened to rip the control from my hands.

I watched her face as I moved inside her, my cock filling further, my body shaking.

Saw the moment she lost the battle as her neck arched back, bliss softening her face as she tipped over the edge.

And brought me with her.

My first love.

And my last.

“Maggie,” I pleaded. “My Maggie.”

Her eyelids fluttered shut with a breathed, “Yes.”

Unable to leave her, I tucked the condom into a tissue and tossed it aside. Pulling her back to my chest, I aligned her heart with mine and slept better than I had in years.

Morning came all too quickly.

Mistlevale had offered us a reprieve, a pocket stitched out of time and space where nothing could touch us.

In Moose Lake, bad memories clung to every corner.

People I didn’t want to see.

A past I couldn’t erase.

And a shame I couldn’t outrun.

But Maggie was there. And so was Corwin. I would build a life with them, and reconnect with Miller, Eric, and John.

The ones who knew .

And knew me.

Maggie slipped into the bathroom one last time before we headed for home, and I gathered my courage along with our bags and put them beside the door.

One day, hopefully soon, we’d unpack in the same house. In our bedroom. With our son sleeping down the hall.

My cell phone buzzed. Flipping it over, I opened a message from a phone number I didn’t recognize.

Unknown Number: Can we talk?

Unknown Number: It’s Jenny.

My heart plummeted to my stomach.

God, not now. Not now when I finally have a second chance with Maggie.

My thumb hovered over the keyboard, but I couldn’t figure out what to say. Swallowing hard, I closed the app and tucked my phone back into my pocket just as Maggie came out of the bathroom.

With a bright smile on her face, she asked, “Ready to go?” Her forehead crinkled. “Are you okay?”

I gave my head a shake. “Fine. I’m good.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Are you sure?”

This time, I met her gaze and smiled into her eyes. “I’m better than okay. Are you ready to go home?”

“I could stay another night. Or two,” she teased.

I drew her into my arms and tucked her under my chin. “Next time.”

The truth was I’d stay there forever if it meant never having to tell Maggie that Jenny messaged me.

I closed my eyes.

I wouldn’t keep it from her.

But I dreaded her reaction.

She chuckled. “You’re squeezing me to death.”

I immediately loosened my hold on her. “Sorry.”

She tipped her chin back and looked at me. “I didn’t say I minded, but are you okay?”

I swallowed. I could lose myself in her eyes for eternity. Gladly. “Here, away from Moose Lake, it’s just us and our fresh start.”

She blinked. “We’re going to build on the past, Bax. Not all of it is bad. It’s you and me against the world, baby. No matter who else is around, it’s always me and you.”

I searched her serious eyes as hope tentatively reared her head.

“Anyways,” she murmured. “We wouldn’t be here now if things didn’t happen the way they did.”

I cupped her face in my hands. “Promise me you’ll keep that thought close.”

Her eyes skittered back and forth between mine. “Bax?”

“Promise me,” I urged.

She nodded. “Promise.”

I exhaled and drew her close. “I love you, Maggie.”

She paused, then gave me the words that infused me with hope that we would have our dream.

“I love you too.”