Page 98 of Sweet Temptation (Men of Honor 2)
I look at him in surprise, wonderin’ how he knew. “That was Cade who just left. He told me they’ve been trying to get you to leave and get some rest. You should have gone, Grace.”
I shake my head, “No. I’m not leavin’ here without you. Well except to go check on Chuckie. But then I’ll be comin’ right back.”
He falls silent, and as his eyes roam over my face his expression turns savage. “It looks worse than it is,” I lie.
When he still says nothing, I change the subject: “How are ya feelin’? Are ya in any pain? Do you need anythin’?”
His expression softens, “Just you, baby.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat, my heart warming and breaking at the same time. “I’m so sorry I got mad at ya,” I choke out sadly. He shakes his head, but before he can say anything I continue, “I was just hurt, Sawyer. You promised me you wouldn’t ever go there. I hate that Jaxson and Cade know what happened when I haven’t even told my own best friends. It’s somethin’ I’m embarrassed about and I really didn’t want anyone ever knowing.”
His eyes narrow. “Embarrassed? What the fuck are you embarrassed for?”
I shrug, not really knowin’ how to explain it. “Because I stayed. I stayed even when I found out he wasn’t who he made himself out to be. I was too scared to be on my own with nothin’, until it got too bad and it was almost too late.”
He runs his thumb along my lower lip. “Never be embarrassed about that, baby. You didn’t do anything wrong. Everything that happened with that son of a bitch was his fault not yours,” he pauses briefly and lets out a heavy breath, “I’m sorry I hurt you, Grace, but I couldn’t let him get away with it, he had to pay for what he did to you.”
“Please tell me you didn’t kill him, Sawyer,” I ask fearfully.
“I didn’t kill him, even though I really fucking wanted to. It’s one of the reasons I had Jaxson and Cade come with me. I just roughed him up a bit… And I might have fucked up his truck beyond repair,” he adds with a dirty grin.
A small level of satisfaction fills me at hearin’ that, and I can’t hold back a smile of my own now.
Sawyer clears his throat and his expression becomes serious once again. “Even though I wanted him to pay for what he did that wasn’t the only reason I went there.”
“Oh?” I ask curiously.
He points over at the table beside him. My gaze follows his finger and I gasp when I see what he’s pointing at. My breath completely seizes in my lungs and my heart explodes with emotion as I stare at the one thing I thought I would never see again… my Mama.
Sawyer picks up the pearl marble urn and holds it out to me. “This belongs to you, Cupcake. I had hoped, after I showed you this, you would forgive me for breaking my promise to you.”
Taking it from him, with shaking hands, I stare at it for a second before pulling the urn into my chest, close to my heart. Hugging my mother’s ashes, I lose all control and begin sobbing something fierce. I cry for my Mama, for me and for everythin’ that we lost together. But most of all I cry that I finally have her back, that someone loved me enough to get her back for me.
“Thank you, just… thank you so much,” I choke out through my sobs, the words not seeming to mean enough. “You’ll never know what it means to have her back, to not have her stuck there with him anymore.”
Reaching up, Sawyer cups one side of my face, and his thumb tries wiping away the steady stream of my tears. “Everything’s going to be okay now, Grace. We’ll give her a nice funeral like she deserves. We can bury her ashes or spread them, we’ll do whatever you want, baby.”
I seriously love this man with every fiber of my being, and I believe, with all my heart, that Mama sent me here to Sunset Bay, not just to meet the friends that I have but to find Sawyer. The only person who has truly made me remember what it’s like to feel loved again.
Christmas Morning…
I wake up to the sound of a strong and steady heartbeat as my cheek sleeps against the one place I love the most. Remembering what day it is, I shoot up and go to jump out of bed when Sawyer grabs me around the waist and hauls me back against him. His warm, hard, delicious body covers my back, while he starts rainin’ kisses up the side of my neck.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going, Cupcake?” he whispers in my ear before giving it a sharp nip.
“Mmmmm…” moaning, I drop my head back against his shoulder. When his hands begin to move up my stomach, I quickly rip out of his grasp and hop off the bed, not wanting him to distract me further. “I’m goin’ to go get your Christmas presents. Wait here.”
“Get back here, woman, I want your sexy ass naked for my Christmas gift.”
Laughing, I ignore his demand and run out of the room excitedly. I rush down the stairs of our new house that we’ve only lived in for a couple weeks, and walk into the living room. I grab Chuckie’s stocking before walking over and pulling out Sawyer’s presents from under the tree. I’m a little surprised to see he still hasn’t put out my gift.
Hmmm, where is he hidin’ it?
Strugglin’ to carry all three gifts, I walk back up the stairs and begin to feel nervous.
I sure hope he likes them.
I wasn’t able to afford much, because well… I still don’t have a job. It was a big fight between Sawyer and I, but he eventually won. He made me promise I wouldn’t look for a job until after Christmas since we were so busy with finding a new place and movin’. After the hospital, I just couldn’t go back to the house after everything that had happened there: Sawyer getting shot and Miguel’s brother dying…
