“I know, Kellan.” She pressed her mouth to mine, the sweet kiss sending desire zinging through my veins. I would never be able to get enough of this woman. “That’s why I love you all so much.”
“I love you too,” I whispered the words against her lips before deepening the kiss. Our tongues twined in a seductive dance, making me wish I could sweep her off her feet and take her back to the van. I was addicted to Giana Bardot, and I knew that I’d never get enough of her.
Her smile was soft and adoring as we pulled away and I wrapped her up against my chest and closed my eyes, soaking in her warmth and sweet vanilla scent.
“Did you think about what you want this place to be?” I brushed my lips over the crown of her head.
“I did.” She grinned up at me, a hint of a mischievous glint sparkling in her eyes, but her expression sobered in the next moment. “And I think I need your help.”
“Anything for you.” I kissed her forehead, and she sank back into my arms. The two of us just soaked in each other’s love before we had to get back to real life.
What wouldn’t I do for this woman? Nothing was the answer. I would give her anything she could ever dream of until the day my soul departed this mortal coil.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Spade
Thestreetlightsflickeredonas we pulled into the dilapidated parking lot. Weeds poked out from beneath the pavement, buckling it in places like nature was trying to reclaim this place.
“Your parents could’ve at least cleaned up the place a bit before handing over the metaphorical keys.” I pulled my arm from around my sugar’s shoulders as I put my Challenger into park.
“I think the parking lot is the least of our worries.” She chuckled, rolling her eyes as we stopped in front of the charred diner.
She was right, of course, but still. My sugar deserved the world, and cleaning up her parents’ mess was not something Iwas going to let them get away with. Hmm. Should I find them and trash their new house as payback or show up to their new workplace and start smashing things? Decisions, decisions.
She leaned her head against my shoulder, sending my thoughts scattering to the wind. She was the only person who could pull me out of my violent fantasies like that. “I know we were here once, but I wanted to show you the place without all the blood and dead guys on the pavement.”
I chuckled and wrapped my arm back around her shoulders, shifting her closer to me. “I’d much rather see something else.” I winked, loving the way pink spread across her cheeks. She was radiant whether she was blushing or stained in red.
“I’m serious.” Her lip jutted out slightly as she frowned, and my eyes narrowed in on the plush flesh ready for my teeth to dig into. So I did. My teeth dragged over her lower lip, and I drank in her expression as her eyelids fluttered closed. I pictured her rosy lips wrapped around my cock. I never really had great impulse control, and it went completely out the window when I was with my sugar.
“Spade.” She mocked in a chastising tone, a crease forming between her brows that disappeared the moment I grinned.
“Okay, I’m listening now.” I played with her hair, the soft strands slipping through my fingers.
“When I was a kid, I always told myself that it would be different if we didn’t live in this town—that they would be different…” she trailed off, getting lost in her thoughts for a second.
It took everything in me to hold myself back when Greg and Pam strode into the bar like they fucking owned the place. I was about to rip her mother’s eyes out when she narrowed them on Giana with disapproval, but I wouldn’t hurt anyone close to her unless she asked me. Besides, it would’ve taken time out of our precious day with our girl to clean the blood off the floor.Especially since Kellan stole her most of yesterday and then again today.
I practically raced out the door when Giana asked if I wanted to take a drive, but I didn’t think this was where we’d end up. I definitely thought our night would include more bloodshed and then her wrapped around my cock while our enemy’s blood dried on our skin.
“But I’ve realized that we can’t just wish upon a star for a different path. We need to be the difference we want to see in the world.”
I blew out a long breath, my chest deflating a bit at that. “And what change do you want to make?”
She sat up, pinning me with her amber gaze; it blazed even in the darkness—a beacon always lighting my way home.
“I need you to see a reason to live past me, a reason to keep fighting every day for that better world.” Her words cut deeper than a knife.
“You’re not going anywhere, sugar. I won’t let you.” I’d battle the fucking gods themselves if death tried to ever pry her from me.
“I’m not planning on it.” She grinned and pressed her lips to mine. The kiss was over far too quick. I chased her as she backed away, but she placed a hand on my chest, stopping me. The warmth of her skin radiated through my shirt and straight to my heart, easing some of the turmoil that had raged against the idea of her ever being wiped from this earth. “But I still want to know that you have more in your life than just me, and death. I need you to have a meaningful purpose to help you find light in the darkness.”
I frowned, but didn’t argue. We both knew that no matter what I had outside of her, it would be us until the bitter end. “Hypothetically, what would this purpose be then?”
“We talked about teaching self-defense to those in vulnerable positions before.” The silence hung in the air as I recalled the last time we spoke about this. Giana mentioned helping people who were like Anne and me, who couldn’t stand up for themselves, like that woman in the alley.
Rage boiled through my veins as the memory resurfaced. She was outnumbered and defenseless, and despite ridding the world of her attackers, there were so many more like them out there. The raging inferno only grew hotter as I remembered Giana using herself as bait to lure the scumbags out. If she hadn’t been able to defend herself, what would those subhuman wastes of air have done to her?
