Page 118 of Devil's Iris
“I should’ve just come straight home after leaving Mom’s rehab center.”
Yes, you should have.But I don’t say it. She’s been through enough without me adding guilt to the mix. Instead, I hold hertighter and nod at the remaining men to follow as I carry my wife out of this nightmare house.
Logan is waiting by the car, and he opens the back door as soon as he sees us approaching. I get inside, settling Leni across my lap as he closes us in. My men pile into their vehicles and form an escort behind us as we pull out of the driveway and head home.
We sit in comfortable silence for the first few minutes. Leni’s fingers play absently with the lapels of my shirt while I just soak in her warmth, watching the steady pulse in her throat to assure myself that she’s indeed alive.
We have so much to talk about, but the first question that tumbles out of my mouth is, “Did you really have money stashed down there in preparation for our divorce?”
She shakes her head with a slight chuckle. “No. Complete lie. I was shaking so hard while I said it, I have no idea how he couldn’t see right through me.”
I squeeze her gently. I’d already figured as much since everything else she told him was lies, but I needed to hear her confirm this particular deception. “Do you want to know why I really married you?”
Her head tilts up, eyes bright with curiosity. “Yes.”
I clear my throat as I think back to the very beginning, to that first moment I laid eyes on her.
“It was maddening. After that encounter at the police station, I couldn’t get you out of my head no matter how hard I tried. And trust me, I tried like hell because the last thing needed was some audacious stranger distracting me. But it didn’t stop me from wanting to look you up.”
“You stalked me?”
I chuckle, my breath ruffling her hair. “Iwouldhave, but I had no information about you. I was seriously considering going back to that station to ask for your name. Then I saw you again at DeMarco’s party and thought, surely, that was a signfrom the universe.” My jaw tightens as I remember what came next. “But after what happened in the restroom with that scumbag, you made my insides twist with all these disturbing emotions I didn’t recognize. It wasn’t just lust anymore, which made me nervous as hell. I already knew from the start that having you once would never be enough, and with these other emotions in the mix, I didn’t know how to handle that. It was either I marry you, making you completely mine, or not have you at all. I chose the latter for my own sanity.”
“Then I called you,” she whispers, pressing a soft kiss to my throat that sends heat straight to my groin.
I adjust her in my lap, not wanting her to notice my stiffening cock. This is a serious discussion, damn it.
“Then you called me, and I realized you’d probably keep needing help—maybe not financially, but in other ways—and I wanted to be the one giving you that help.” My lips curl up as I recall that morning in that fucking library. “I should have recognized then that I was completely screwed.”
“Why ask for just two months then?”
“Because I didn’t want to scare you off. Imagine my shock when you brought up marriage yourself? I had to remind myself to play it cool.”
“You didn’t play it cool at all,” she chuckles. “You smelled opportunity and you pounced. You didn’t even give me a chance to second-guess myself. One minute the words were coming out of my mouth, the next you had me signing a binding contract in your office.”
I laugh with her, unashamed as I remember how desperate I’d been to lock her down before she could change her mind. “I couldn’t let you slip out of my snare when I was so close to having you. And I’m grateful every day I didn’t. Because I’ve fallen hopelessly, irreversibly head over heels for you, Mrs. Lombardi. You’re a thief who snuck into my chest in the dead of the night and made off with my heart.” Unable to resist anylonger, I lean down to press a kiss to her temple, then those adorable freckles scattered across her nose.
She inhales sharply, turning her face up to offer me her lips. I take them without hesitation, kissing her slowly, sweetly. Her fingers clutch my chest, and her breaths are heavy by the time I pull back.
“It’s only fair,” she whispers, lashes fluttering as she stares up at me with dazed eyes, “because you stole mine as well.”
Christ.
The shy admission undoes me completely, and I lean down to capture her mouth again. This time I part her lips with my tongue, tasting the sweetness inside while pouring everything I feel into the kiss.
We still have plenty to work through between us. But for now, I simply bask in the delight of knowing my wife—the woman I love—loves me back.
43
ROMERO
By the time we’re pulling into our driveway, I have her moaning into my mouth, her fingers tangled in my hair, her tongue doing things that make me want to devour her whole. She’s straddling my lap, those perfect tits pressed against my chest, and all I can think about is getting her inside and fucking her senseless.
“I love you,” I growl against her lips. “Fuck, I love you, Leni.”
She doesn't hesitate for even a heartbeat, kissing me harder before breathing the words back to me, “I love you too.”
Her mouth is hot and desperate on my neck as I kick the car door open and stalk towards the house, heart pounding with adrenaline and need and that intoxicating rush of knowing she’s still here—still mine.
