Page 85 of Dangerous Strokes

“Locket? Oh, wait. When we met to buy the painting, you said the only photo of her was lost. Was this it?”

He remembers! Oh my God… It was such a small detail. I can’t believe he was paying attention to that.

“Y-Yes. She had a beautiful, oval silver locket, not expensive, but special, nonetheless. Inside, there was a photo of great-grandma and great-grandpa. I saw it once when I was very little, and grandpa showed it to me and told me it will be mine one day. He moved houses not long after, and years later, after he died, we realized it was missing. No one really thought about it for years, until we started going through some old boxes. The assumption is that it was probably lost when he moved. Or maybe it got sold. Anyway, it’s lost now.”

“I’m sorry.” He places his hand over mine on the rock and gives it a quick squeeze. “I don’t know, important things have a way of coming back to you. Who knows.”

I giggle at his optimism.

“Now that would truly be a miracle.”

He pauses on me for a moment, a smile I didn’t realize I missed so much etched on his features, refusing to let go. It makes me fall deeper into this sensation. We’re both smiling… in what seems like forever. It feels like a stolen bit of time we need to protect so it isn’t taken away from us.

“Come on, let’s go for a dip.”

My first instinct is to refuse him. My mouth is open, about to spill the words, when a shrieking birdsong distracts me. Two swifts engaged in an enticing dance as they fly above the pool, before soaring high and beyond the waterfall.

Such a beautiful moment. And it might be my last one here.

“Okay. Just a little dip.”

Ronan helps me up, and we walk off the rock and to the edge of the water.

“Little witch, you don’t have to go all the way. Keep your underwear on, your bra… I want you to be comfortable.”

I stop moving, realizing I’m about to unclasp my bra with no regard whatsoever to my nakedness. I seem to be forgetting that I’m no longer trapped in that basement… with no care about my modesty.

Looking down my body, at the ground where my summer dress lies crumpled on top of the pile of his clothes, I don’t know how to proceed. I’m… stuck. What doIwant? How doIfeel about it?

Ronan narrows his eyebrows, clearly noticing the shift in me at the inner-turmoil, and he circles his arms around me, pulling me into his strong, bare chest.Home.He feels like home, his skin against mine, his heat warming me, his breath brushing against the top of my head, the pressure of his possessive hold. I’m here… I made it.

I make the decision, drop my hands, and leave my bra on, sinking into his hold.

We saw our baby today, heard the thumping of their little heart, and I let myself fall into the fantasy of having a family with the man who looked at the monitor like it was a miracle captured on screen for the first time. I knew then that I couldn’t let myself go… couldn’t sink into this sadness and loss of control. No matter how much guilt I feel for having to move forward—I must do it. Hanna would understand. She didn’t have one selfish bone in her body, especially when it came to me. She helped me so much over the years to build me up. She took me under her wing when she noticed the will, the need for more in me, for the darker side of the world, for the dangers lurking in the underbelly of society. I wanted a taste, and she gave it to me. Even when she saw I was finally interested in a man for more than a fling, she put a pause on all our plans to get me what I want. It was usually easy for her, but not for me. She pushed me, but on my own terms. She would be fucking pissed if she saw me right now, pulling back on everything we both worked for.

It’s why I know now, there is no other choice. I will be strong enough to stand on my own, no matter what Ronan decides. I can do this. All of it.

I snake my arms around his middle, running my hands over his slightly damp back, so warm from the sun hitting his soft skin, enjoying how the muscles beneath harden one by one. When he loosens one arm and its heat runs up my skin until it reaches the back of my neck, I look up and I’m met with conflict in his eyes. Such damn gorgeous eyes, a complex blue that sometimes makes you feel like you’re lost in the sky in a wingless flight, and other times ruthless waves catching you in the middle of the sea.

I’m distracted once more as his cock hardens between us, and I don’t miss the slight guilt in his eyes when it presses against me. He wants me. He’s never once even implied anything sexual. He’s kept his distance, never pushed more than comfort on me. I don’t like that he feels guilty for a natural reaction, the same kind I’m having right now.

I sink into the growing possessiveness of his hand tightening around the back of my neck as he leans in. When his lips finally touch mine, I can’t control the soft moan erupting from me just as he can’t control the low rumble vibrating in his chest. We kiss under the summer sun and the sound of birdsong and falling water until we’re breathless. We kiss until the world looks just a little bit different when I open my eyes. Nothing has changed in it, only my outlook on it, on us, on my future.

“Come.” He drops his arms, running his hand down from my shoulder until it forces me to let go of him and snake my fingers between his.

He pulls me into the water, and I jump with a shriek—it’s definitely colder than I expected.

“Oh, Ronan, this is… no!”

He lets out a bark of laughter that takes me aback. The asshole is laughing at me!

“You’ll be fine, come on. I promise it will get warmer. Our skin is just heated from the sun.”

“It’s not like I remember it…” I trail off.

He stops for a moment, knowing full well I’m referring to the night that changed my life. Maybe his too.

“Even if this pool was minus ten degrees that night, it would have still felt like molten lava with you in it.”

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