She blinked at me. Then, blinked again. “O-okay, Phoenix.” She scurried to the bathroom. I dropped into the chair, completely stunned that she didn’t balk at my demand. I should have asked her, but those fucking green eyes were pissing me the fuck off. Those weren’t her eyes. I wanted to see the baby blues that only two other people in the world had, our children.
She came back into the room with her eyes downcast. When she took a seat on the bed, she kept her eyes on the floor. “Look at me, Annabelle,” I said softly.
She slowly raised her head and, finally, her eyes. It was like a punch to the gut. There she was.
My girl.
My love.
My Annabelle.
I stood and took two long strides to reach her. I cupped the back of her neck and pulled her to her feet. My other hand cupped her cheek as I brought my face closer to hers. “Annabelle,” I breathed, “I’ve missed you so damn much.” Then, I covered her mouth with mine. Home. I was finally fucking home.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Annabelle
Nothing in this world would ever compare to Phoenix’s lips on mine. They were the poison and the antidote, one in the same. His kiss started soft, just a touch of his lips to mine, but it quickly became more urgent. He pressed harder, squeezing me to him. When his tongue slipped into my mouth, I think my heart stopped for several beats. Every bit of nervous tension disappeared as I melted into his embrace, kissing him back with 20 years’ worth of passion.
Suddenly, he pulled his lips away from mine, but continued to cup my cheek with his hand. His eyes were wild, his breathing heavy. He groaned, “That was the hardest thing I have ever done, pulling away from you, but we need to talk first. Just, promise me one thing?”
“What?” I asked. I would promise him anything.
“Promise you’ll let me kiss you again when all is said and done.”
I felt myself blush like a teenager. The things this man could do to me. “I promise,” I said softly, trying to mask my smile.
His hand slid from my cheek to my neck where he gently caressed my skin. “What happened to your birthmark?”
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, I took a step back and covered my neck with my hand. “I had it lasered off years ago. I was told to keep it covered because it was a distinct physical characteristic and I got tired of covering it with makeup every morning.”
Phoenix nodded in understanding. After several beats of silence, he quietly asked, “Do you still have it?”
The hand covering my neck automatically moved to my forearm and absently rubbed over the area hidden underneath my sleeve. “Yes, I do.”
“Show me.”
I pushed my sleeve up and held my arm out to him. His large hand wrapped around my arm and his thumb reverently smoothed over the faint scar.
“Do you still have yours?” I asked.
One side of his mouth curved up into a half-smile as he nodded and extended his arm. There it was. The letter A lightly scarred into his skin framed by an ornate tribal tattoo.
I reached out and ran my fingers over the area, remembering the night we forever marked our bodies to show our love for each other.
I was brought back to the present when Phoenix cleared his throat and moved to take a seat on the bed. He kicked his boots off and situated himself so he was propped up against the headboard. “This is going to be a long conversation. Thought we might as well get comfortable.”
I nodded in agreement and moved to sit beside him, leaning back against the headboard as well. I pulled a pillow into my lap so I would have something to fidget with. I always fidgeted when I was nervous, and nervous didn’t even begin to cover how I was feeling. There were things I was going to have to tell him that I didn’t want to relive. I’m sure he had things to say to me that I didn’t want to hear. I decided to get the ball rolling. “How did you find me?”
“Octavius had a file containing a lot of information about you. In that file were hospital records for a Jane Doe and a Johnny Doe. It also contained handwritten notes made by Octavius. He thought you and Nivan were Jane and Johnny. Anyway, the thing that caught my eye was a doctor’s name on the hospital reports. That doctor is now a member of my club. I asked him about it. He told me what he knew and I went from there. To make a long story short, the guy that helped you, Luke, is a friend of mine.”
“Kathleen’s brother?” I asked.
“Yes. He’s also the one who led the investigation against Octavius and his men. Ultimately, the farm and all associated property were raided, all of Octavius’s men were arrested, and the entire operation was shut down,” he explained.
The entire operation was shut down. That sounded too good to be true. Before he said anything else, I had to know, “Are you absolutely sure Octavius is dead?”
He reached inside his cut and pulled out some papers. Shuffling through them, he removed two pieces and handed them to me. I couldn’t believe what I was holding in my hand. Octavius Jones’s death certificate. It should have been wrong to feel as happy as I did seeing in official black and white that Octavius was dead. Wrong or right, I didn’t care. Tears of relief freely streamed down my face. “It’s over,” I whispered. “It’s finally over.”
