Page 104 of No Fear
“But if you want…”
“You know what I want?” She cut him off with a sniffle.
“What? Tell me. Tell me and I’ll do whatever I can to make it yours baby. Anything.”
“I want a clean slate.” A tear escaped the corner of her eye and he gently wiped it away as it streaked over the bruises there, “I want to start over. I don’t want to be that scared girl anymore because I don’t have to be. I just want to start all over and be me. I want to be yours. I want to be happy.”
His heart broke in his chest. It shattered. Because it was such a simple request but nobody else could have understood it quite like he did.
It was the same thing he’d wanted when he came home. He’d wanted to start over. Forget about the last ten years. Forget about the two even before he left. He’d wanted to just be Remy. Not a Bomar. Not the brother that ran away. Not the one that had been abused. He’d wanted to start over and just be himself and be there for the people he loved.
Being with Rachel, that was what had helped him accept that he was a better man than he’d been back then. She made him better. And if she wanted to start over, he’d do everything in his power to help her find the same happiness that he had found thanks to her.
“Clean slate.” He nodded, stroking her back reassuringly. “Done.”
“What about everything that happened tonight? What if the cops come knocking? They will, right? My home was torched. My brother is… missing.” She cringed at the word, “They’re going to ask questions.”
“Lincoln will handle what he can but yes, they’ll come asking questions.”
“What are we going to tell them?”
“Nothing.”
She rolled her eyes, “We can’t tell them nothing.”
“Yes, we can. The Bomars have been doing it for years. Trust me, Lincoln knows what he’s doing. There’s no way this will come back on you or on me.”
“But the bruises…”
“They can’t prove anything. At worst, they might imply that I did it.”
“Oh my god.” She looked horrified and he chuckled.
“It’s okay.”
“No! It’s not!”
“Rach, you and I know the truth. Colt, Sky, Cash, Jem, Lincoln and Ford and Bent and the other boys… everyone in the family will know the truth. That’s what matters. I don’t care what anyone else thinks about me just so long as you’re okay.”
“Remy, you can’t let them think you did this to me.”
He loved her so much for defending him, for refusing to allow that kind of assumption. He was a Bomar. His girlfriend had bruises. It wasn’t a stretch to think that everyone in this town would assume he was an abuser. But he didn’t care about what those people thought of him, not anymore.
As long as he had Rachel and his family, he would be fine.
“How about we deal with it tomorrow, baby? It’s been a long day. Tomorrow is bound to be another one. Tonight, I just want to hold you and remind myself that you’re here and you’re mine and I didn’t lose you.”
Rachel stroked his cheek and then leaned down and kissed him softly, “Okay.”
“Okay.” He smiled and kissed her back just as softly.
With a little maneuvering, he twisted them down onto the bed and pulled the blankets back up over them. Rachel scooted back, pressing her curves against him and he groaned and pulled her closer. Having her in his arms, she fit there so well because she was made for him, made his cock stir but he steadfastly ignored it and simply held her.
Rachel shimmied her hips a little, “Um… Remy.”
“Hush.” He chuckled against her hair. “Ignore it.”
“I could uh… help you with that.”
“Not tonight. We have plenty of time for that later.”
“Like, the rest of our lives?”
He smiled because he could hear the grin in her voice. He pulled her even tighter and kissed the top of her head. God, he loved this woman.
“Yeah love. We have the rest of our lives. Now, sleep.”
