Page 193 of G.O.D.S Omnibus

We spend the rest of the day getting pampered, much to Blayne and Khale’s disgust.

“Shit, we have to go,” Kai announces.

“Why? We didn’t have anything else on today.”

“Brennan just messaged and wants to have a house meeting.”

“Of course he does. We have to go, guys, but I had fun today.”

“See you tomorrow, Cupcake,” Colt says with a wink. Kai glares at him, and I take his arm and pull him from the day spa.

“You do know that Colt is no threat to you, right? He is with Sinclair.”

Kai shrugs. “I can’t help it. Every time someone looks at you or touches you, instinct kicks in. I want to hurt them. I think we all do.”

I laugh and shake my head. I can’t argue with the senses they were given and have no control over.

Kai drives us home, and once we pull into the driveway, I jump out of the car, busting to pee. Kai tells me to go straight inside, as he quickly has to go into the main house to update the workmen. We are officially down in the bunker, and it’s so much bigger than I expected.

I race around the side of the house, where the new door leads down to the bunker; it’s so much easier than entering and exiting through the morgue. Once you open the door, a small staircase has been added. While I’m sure the guys could have jumped down, I’m only getting bigger, and there is no way I could do it without injury.

When I reach the bottom step, I stop dead in my tracks and look around the room. There are candles and rose petals spread out everywhere. My mouth falls open as Trace walks out from behind the wall that leads to the bedrooms, dressed in a suit, holding a bunch of flowers.

“How Would You Feel” by Ed Sheeran is playing in the background as I move across the room, closer to Trace. He mouths the words as it gets to the chorus, and I smile as he hands me the flowers. I drop them to the ground and step into his arms, and as I look up into his mahogany-coloured eyes, a smirk plays on his lips.

“I love you, Jolie. It’s taken me a while to catch up to the others, but I needed time to resolve the guilt. I sent you into foster care. I let you go.”

“It wasn’t your fault. You did what you thought was right.”

“Maybe, but I have thought about it a lot, and I was scared. I loved you even back then when it was wrong. Now I also know I had no control over it—I live and breathe for you.”

My mouth falls open, and a gasp escapes my lips. It was him, not Creed. I just presumed since I remembered it in Japanese, it was Creed.

Trace chuckles. “You don’t remember.” I shake my head. I thought I had all my memories back. “You were maybe around ten, and Creed was teaching you phrases in Japanese you would say. ‘Watashi wa anata no tameni iki, kokyuu suru.’ I don’t know if you just repeated what Creed said to you or if you asked him to teach you. When we left, and you lost your memory, I started saying it to you once you were asleep. I missed you saying it to me when you thought I didn’t know what it meant.”

“Kimi no tameni ikiru,” I whisper. “I remember that. Sometimes I wasn’t asleep, and then I would reply, ‘I live for you.’ It’s why I got my tattoo.”

“It’s true, though. I live and breathe for you. Even if it wasn’t ingrained in every part of my soul to love you, I still would. From the moment you were born, I was mesmerised by you. I knew even as a little boy that I would do anything for you.”

I push up on my tiptoes and place my lips softly on his. He doesn’t rush like the others, instead taking his time to memorise every curve and dip of my mouth. My cheeks flush, my eyes close, and my heart beats heavy in my chest. The room disappears from around us, and it’s just me and him. He takes my right hand and places it over his heart, which beats wildly beneath my palm. He slowly pulls away and rests his head against mine. “I will never let you go again. You’re only safe with us, and I know that now.”

“If you let me go again, I will find you this time, and I will chain you up and never let you go. Make no mistake, Trace, you’re mine. I have waited years for this, and there is no going back.”

I start to unbutton his shirt, and he doesn’t stop me. When I get to the second last button, I pull the end of the shirt from his pants and the shirt falls open, his beautiful, coloured torso on display. My fingers reach out and run across the star tattoo that is placed over his heart.

Ed Sheeran’sDividealbum plays softly in the background as we remove each other’s clothes. There is no rush, each of us taking the time to feel the moment. When we are both naked, standing before each other, he smiles and pulls us both over to a small makeshift pillow bed. “I know it’s my first time and not yours, but I wanted it to be special for you. I’m sorry we took you away from all the firsts you should have had with one of us, and those monsters took from you...”

“Shhh,” I say, placing my finger over his lips. “We can’t know what would have happened if I stayed, but I am right where I’m supposed to be now. That’s all that matters.”

I push him to lie back and then straddle his waist. “Let me make you feel good.” I lean down and kiss him again, my tongue pushing past his lips, his tongue matching mine. “Are you ready?” I ask, and he nods.

“Condom?” He says the word with a slight tremble in his voice.

“I want to feel you. Are you okay with that?”

He nods, and I slip back, lining myself up. I slide down his shaft slowly, and his hands find my waist, his fingernails digging into my hips.

“Fuck, that feels good,” he says with a groan, and once he is all the way inside me, I give him a second. He sits up and pulls me forward, his mouth covering mine as his hands move my hips slowly. I follow his lead, letting him set the pace. I’m lost in everything that is Trace, his body, the way his hair smells of citrus, and his skin like an ocean breeze. We move together as if we have done this a million times.

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