Because I would have been happy to stay like that, with him, forever.
Trapped in our blanket of darkness and stained by his love in the best possible way.
Battle had ruined me for any other man, and when I looked into his face, our heated gazes colliding, I knew I’d ruined him for any other woman too.
~ 23 ~
Battle
I’d waited for that moment for what had felt like my whole damned life. Sex with any other woman had been nothing compared to sex with Quinn. She was everything I hoped she be and more. She held onto me in the darkness, her body still pulsing around me, and I knew if we were anywhere else but there I would have fucked her again and again. Probably pass out with my cock inside of her only to wake up and fuck her again. Because I was never gonna get enough of her, and from the way her body clung to me and she looked up at me with eyes that sparked in the dark, I had a feeling that she felt the same way about me.
I wanted to stay with her in that moment forever, but it was time. Time to finish the shit with Ripped for good. Time to move on from my club, from my brothers, from everything I’d ever known, if need be, all so I could be with Quinn—a woman I barely knew yet felt like I’d always known.
“It’s time,” I said as I lowered her leg to the ground, my dick sliding out of her. “I gotta end this shit once and for all.”
She looked scared and I fucking hated seeing that look on her face.
I reached out and cupped her face in my hand. “You’re mine now. I won’t let you go again.”
She frowned, her head tilting as she looked at me. “What do you mean?”
“I saw you leaving with him. Got told you chose him.” I sniffed and tried to hide the anger from my face at that thought, but by the way her eyes widened I was probably failing. “Whatever happens, you’re leaving with me. No ain’t even an option anymore—not now that I’ve had a real taste of you.” I sucked in my bottom lip and she opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again like she couldn’t decide what to say to that. “Q, it’s gonna be okay,” I soothed.
“I can’t leave with you,” she said, her words filled with misery.
“Did you not just hear me?” I asked with a scowl.
She nodded. “I promised him, Battle. I promised him that I’d stay.”
“You promised him?” I scoffed. “And what did you get in return?”
“He’d leave you, Gracie, and Bonny alone,” she said, her voice filling with strength and defiance.
I smiled. “Well, Q, I’m here and I don’t need protecting, and Gracie and Bonny are somewhere safe, so you don’t need to worry about them now.”
Her hand flew to her mouth. “Are they okay?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “Gracie’s doin’ real good. Gauge has been takin’ care of her.”
“He’ll kill you,” she said, fear lacing her words.
“He’ll try,” I agreed, “but he won’t succeed.”
“How can you be so sure?” she asked.
“Because I ain’t dyin’ today. Not for him, not for you, not for anyone,” I said with sincerity.
She looked hurt—offended, almost—by my words, and I chuckled and shook my head. “I ain’t dyin’ for you because I’ve got too much to live for now that I’ve got you. The ultimate sacrifice ain’t dyin’ for someone, it’s livin’ for them. And I choose life, Quinn. I choose you.”
Her eyes filled with tears at my words and I reached out and pulled her into my chest, loving the feel of her in my arms, our bodies molded together like they were meant to be. Our hearts beating in synchrony like they were two parts of the same clock.
“So what happens now?” she asked, her words sad. “One of you has to die, right? That’s the way this works. I’m not stupid.”
My large hands ran up and down her back and I rested my chin on the top of her head as she sniffled. “Yeah, Quinn, that’s how this works. One of us has to die. But it ain’t gonna be me and it ain’t gonna be you, and that’s all that matters.”
She nodded against my chest, but I felt her tears soaking through my thin T-shirt.
“What is it?” I asked.
