I find myself rolled so I no longer have Calder’s heat at my back, but instead, he’s holding me close, chest to chest.
Calder slides his fingers up to grip my chin, tilting my head back ‘til I’m meeting his gaze. “I kill people,” he confirms gently. “But the people that I take out, they’re the scum of the earth. People you would not want around women and children. They would no sooner put a bullet between your eyes than wish you a good day. You should know, Bellissima, that I only do this task once a year, during the month of December.”
“Why?” Again, why did I have to blurt that out?
Stupid me.
Calder releases my chin, shifts his fingers into my hair, and tangles them in the barely in place messy bun.
“December is a month I’ve always hated. It’s a reminder of where I came from. A reminder of those who tossed me to the streets as if I were nothing. If not for Grant Devore and his family, I’d be dead now. I should’ve died, but instead, they found me and got me the help I needed.”
“That doesn’t explain everything.”
“I’m getting there,” Calder’s lips tilt at the corner at my impatience. “Grant’s father started it when he learned I was a good marksman. That I had a knack for handling things when needed. He knew I didn’t like December because of where I came from. So, to appease the demon that lives inside me every day, he claimed throughout the last month of the year, I should let loose the hatred and kill those who deserve it. Each year, I’m given a list, and I do what I do best.”
He takes a breath, eyes searching mine. “I don’t harm children. I don’t harm women. No matter the fact that there are women out there who deserve to be killed, I don’t touch them. The rest of the year, I handle business as usual alongside Grant.”
“So, what, you’re a businessman eleven months out of the year?”
“Most days, but during the month of December, I’m known for being the Santa Hitman.” He shrugs.
“That’s not funny.”
“No, Emerie, it’s not funny. What else isn’t funny is you running away and me not knowing where the fuck you were. Anything could have happened to you. Someone could have nabbed you and sold you off. You’re damn lucky no one found out you were missing yet. I’m sure if your father had, he’d have done something idiotic and foolish.”
I take a moment to think about that. To get what he wants, I wouldn’t put it past my father to do something which means Calder has me there.
“You know about what all your father does, correct?”
“He doesn’t tell me logistics, but I’m not blind or stupid by any means,” I tell him carefully.
“Then you know the world we live in isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, there’s illegal shit that happens all the damn time. What you need to understand, being my wife, I’m going to protect you, Bellissima. I won’t overcrowd you. I won’t suffocate you, but I won’t have you run away from me either.” Calder’s hand in my hair tightens, his face coming in close. “I refuse to let anything happen to you now that you belong to me, Emerie. So, if you want to put all the damn decorations up at the house you want, make it so. What you won’t do is use money that belongs to your dad.”
“It didn’t belong to him. It’s my money, not his,” I tell him.
“Regardless, whatever you want to do to the house, do it. Make it home for you because I’m not letting you go.”
“Do I have any say in that?” I breathe, feeling raw and totally emotional right now. All because Calder came after me. It’s a flipping snowstorm out there, and still he came for me. Could that mean he has feelings for me?
“You’ll always have a say, Emerie,” Calder remarks, his nose pressing into mine, lips so very close they nearly brush. “You’ll always have a say in our marriage, except when it comes to your safety. I won’t have that compromised in any way.”
Before I can retort, Calder’s lips are on mine, his tongue swipes in, tangling with mine. My body seems to light up instantly, and all I can do is hold on for dear life.
A moan escapes me as Calder draws his mouth away from mine to pepper kisses along my cheek and down my jaw.
“You can’t do this to get your way,” I pant mercilessly. “You can’t just kiss me and everything will be okay.”
“Bellissima,” he murmurs, kissing along my neck and scraping his teeth across my skin. “It won’t fix everything, but it’ll definitely help in other ways. You can’t deny you want this as much as I do.”
He’s right, I can’t. I do want him. I want him inside me. I want to feel him moving over me.
Calder brings his lips back to mine. My mouth opens and accepts his plundering tongue easily.
When he rolls me to my back, his larger body coming over me, a whimper escapes, leaving me sounding needy.
Who was I kidding, though? I am needy. I wanted to feel so much. I needed to feel him without clothes, just his skin pressing against mine, no barriers.
Gripping the edges of his shirt, I tug, wanting it off him. Buttons go flying, and his shirt opens. Calder groans in approval, and I find my shirt being jerked up, his lips leave mine, leaving me breathless.
