Page 77 of Stutter

I don’t move, only nod at him in silence. I simply hold her to me, like I’ve always wanted to, like I should have in her dorm when I bathed her after finding her so malnourished and so sad. She pleaded with me to love her then, and so I’m showing her now… and I’ll show her for the rest of my life.

Chapter Nineteen

Maverick.

Raven stands at the edge of the balcony overlooking the sea, hands on the railing. The heated pool to the left of us has steam rising, the water so clear and blue you can see the bottom of the pool. It is unfairly pleasant here compared to Massachusetts.

We’re tucked in, facing away from the city for privacy. Paloma Hotel in its entirety is deliciously rich and lavish before you even enter the ridiculously small castle. Granted it isn’t one of the resorts like in other countries, but it is still very large and very beautiful, somewhat secluded on a mountainside.

On the way here, I learned the old tycoon, Raven’s grandfather, purchased the castle when it went up for sale, and immediately began pulling things out, putting a lot of things up for auction and then began to rebuild then refurnish the old castle, making it one of the first unused lavish castles to be repurposed as a hotel, and other tycoons began doing the same thing.

We flew in, leaving at four PM eastern time, our flight was less than eight hours, but the time difference bring us to just after six AM here. The last of the moon’s rays shines against her skin makes my heart stammer in my chest. I have to hold my breath just to take in the beauty of my woman in its entirety, or risk going into heart failure.

We had to take two separate vehicles, which I hated. One was Jonas and Raven, in case the paparazzi were watching, then Damon and I were in another vehicle right behind them. I did not like that.

I’m beginning to believe I do not give a fuck about what others would think of my sexuality nor my relationship with my girl. It’s private. It’s ours. If she wants to flaunt me as much as I want to flaunt her, so be it.

The breeze makes her hair flutter around her, and I have to take a second to compose myself, while I take in her profile in the sun rising over the pinkening horizon. When I can feel my heart beating regularly again, I step closer, placing my hands on her hips, then slip them around her middle, and rest my chin on her shoulder. Her fantastic scent of jasmine and berries fills my lungs, and I am complete. She turns in my arms and wraps her arms around my shoulders, leaning into me, whiskey eyes locked on mine and fuck. I think I’ve developed a heart murmur.

“I… wanted to sssay th…thank you f-f-for sh-sharing y-your st-story w-with… us. I… mmm…” She grimaces but I could cry at how hard she’s trying. I am so proud of her. “I know… it w… was hard… for you… and…” She cringes again and pulls her arms down, but I don’t let her go. She can sign perfectly from here, stuck in my embrace.I think you are so incredible. If you ever decide to tell your side of the story, I think you should.

“Siren…” I groan, tipping my forehead to hers.

“Not… for you.”

I arch a brow in question.

For them. The victims.“Be… their… voice.”

I sigh, then ask “Did you know what happened to you and what happened to me was about a few days apart? I didn’t know about what happened to you because for months after I turned in my badge, I didn’t look at my phone or even turn on the TV. I went off grid. I missed Tasha’s wedding.”

She nods, turning her head and placing her cheek on my chest, but pushes away so she can lift her hands and sign.

“Siren…”

You don’t have to do it now. But when you’re ready, the world will be ready, too.

“What if I do it wrong?” I ask, allowing myself to be vulnerable.

You know what happened. The truth of it all. From the first missing teens to Mia. Not only would you be a voice for the victims, but you could be the reason law enforcement takes missing teens more seriously, not just cast them off as runaways. You could save more by being the reason they’re more aware of their surroundings.

I give barely a few bobs of my head and pull her plush against me so I can breathe her in again. “It may be a long time so you might have to be patient with me.”

She hums in acceptance, leaning into me again, circling her arms over my shoulders.

I take in the view from where we stand, drinking it all in, the feel of her in my arms, and really regret leaving Paris now. We could have worked so much out so much sooner but me and my idiotic need to hold onto my anger, letting it fuel me in the wrong ways was something I needed to work on.Reallywork on if I wanted us to beusforever. I know I should deal with the abandonment issues my mother left me with, the only thing she left me with other than my barely-there father, and if I’m honest, there doesn’t seem to be a reason to reach out. She made her life without me, and I made mine without her. The only thing I have to do is leave my past in the past and look forward to my life with Raven when this is all over.

So I turn her, and we stay, watching the sun rise above the glittering sea, when we hear footsteps behind us. I cant my head to the side and see Jonas out of my periphery, hands in his jean pockets, looking at us with a longing on his face. The poor kid looks absolutely miserable when she’s not in his arms. I tilt my head at him, a motion for him to come over and step aside, kissing her scarred temple where the strip of silver is tucked behind her ear.

“Little Bird, we have a visitor.” Damon comes from behind us after a few moments of solitude.

She’s quick to nod and moves away from us. We follow, as she goes to her luggage and pulls out an outfit I’ve never seenbefore. It’s very… light pink and not her. she kicks off her combat boots and wiggles out of her skinny jeans, throwing off her black turtleneck. The dress she slips into is a dusty rose, and it hugs every one of her curves magnificently. The neckline drops just above her breasts in a straight line like a square. She pulls out sand-colored wedges that strap around her ankle and she completes the fit with an oversized knit open cardigan that’s as long as the dress itself that hits the middle of her thighs.

She makes a nod at Damon, and he takes her by the arm and he leads her out of the room into the ensuite living area. It’s incredible the wealthy vacation like this, like they’re just going to another home. It doesn’t even feel like a hotel suite.

“We aren’t here just to relax, are we?” I ask Jonas.

He faces me, his head still turned in the direction of the door Raven has gone through and then those meadow eyes of his look back at me. “Are you still on a need-to-know basis?”

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