Page 77 of Redemption

Releasing him, she leans back on her heels, and he loves just how submissive she’s willing to be. Only a handful of requests come to mind that she’s ever denied him, and right now, he wants her. All of her.

Guiding her to stand, they strip each other of their remaining clothes. He stares at her, and notices not much has changed. She’s exactly the same as he remembers, and he bends down to suck one of her nipples.

“Oh,” she moans. “Do you mean it? Really mean it?”

Letting her breast fall from his mouth, he stares at her. “Mean what?”

“That you want to come home?”

He lifts her and sets her on the island, the chill of the stone hardening her nipples to pointed peaks. “I want to come back, Karmen. I want us to be husband and wife again. A real husband and wife.”

“I love you. I never stopped, but I can only do this if you mean it. Really mean it. Please don’t toy with me and break me by leaving. I don’t think I can come back from it again, even though I know I probably deserve it.”

As tears well up in her eyes, he knows exactly what he wants. He reaches down, grabs his clothes, and slips them on, adjusting himself painfully. It would’ve been easier if he’d let her suck him off, but hindsight and all that.

Without a word, he hurries out to his bike and takes off with a cloud of smoke behind him.

Chapter 28

Griffin’s Beach

Karmen

Karmen sits completely naked, on the granite countertop of the kitchen island, and stares at the front door. TK took off without a word, and her heart breaks all over again. Not only did he just up and leave, he left her sitting there fully exposed. If he wanted to humiliate her, he succeeded. But he didn’t need to string her along by telling her he wanted to be a family again.

“At least he didn’t leave after making love to me,” she whispers, sobs forcing her to bend forward and cup her head in her hands.

Climbing off the counter, she picks up her clothes and walks into the master bedroom. Tossing them into the hamper, she grabs one of TK’s old t-shirts he left years ago and pulls it over her head. She wears it so much it now has two holes along the neckline hem and one in the left armpit.

She crawls into bed and curls up with his old pillow to let her pain out in guttural cries. Klaire won’t be home from school for hours, and she needs time to settle the gaping hole she feels in her chest before putting her mom face on.

The pillow smells like his cologne from when she sprayed it the other night, and it gives her an odd sense of comfort even though he just shattered her into a million pieces. He’s the only man she’s ever loved, and he’s the only one she’ll ever give her heart to.

She doesn’t hear the front door and jumps when she sees TK appear in the doorway with two bags over his shoulders. “TK?”

“Hey, why are you crying?” he asks, dropping his bags on the floor and hurrying towards her.

“You took off without a word. I thought… What’s going on?”

Stripping out of his clothes, he climbs into the bed with her, his thumbs wiping her tears. “I’m sorry, baby.”

“It’s okay. You have a right to change your mind-”

“No, you don’t understand. I didn’t change my mind. I went to get my shit from the clubhouse and move back in here. Shit, I gotta get used to that again.”

A crease forms between her eyebrows. “What?”

“Communicating. It’s not just me in my own head anymore.”

“I don’t understand. You left me naked on the counter to go and get your things from the clubhouse?”

He chuckles. “Well, it was inopportune timing, and the entire ride felt like torture, but you needed to know I was serious. I’m serious, Karmen. I’m home, and I plan to stay.”

“Really?” she asks, the tears turning into happy tears. She’s never been a happy crier, but there’s only one other thing that would make her happier right now.

“I need you,” he says and pulls the shirt she wears over her head. “I need to show you how much.” He pauses and looks at it. “Wait, is this mine?”

A flush washes over her, and she looks to the side. “Maybe.”

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