I laugh against his chest, exhausted and satisfied and happier than I've been in years. "Neither am I, apparently."
We stay like that for another moment before Richard sighs. "We should shower. Get you cleaned up properly. Then food… I can't remember if you ate this morning."
"I didn't." Now that he mentions it, I'm starving. "I was too nervous to eat, and then I was looking for you, and then..." I gesture vaguely at our naked bodies, at the evidence of what we just did.
"Then I fucked you senseless against a wall." He says it, and I blush. "Come on. There's a shower in here. We'll clean up, get you fed, and then we need to talk."
"About what?"
His expression grows serious. "About what comes next. About Nathan, and lawyers, and how we're going to handle this situation. Because he's going to come looking for you, Belle. And when he does, he's going to find you with me. We need to be prepared for that."
The mention of Nathan is like cold water on my post-orgasmic glow. Reality crashes back in: the fact that I ran from my wedding yesterday, that I'm currently naked with my ex-fiancé's father, that I've complicated an already impossible situation.
"Hey." Richard tilts my chin up. "Don't spiral. We'll figure it out. Together. But right now, let's just focus on getting clean and fed. The rest can wait a few more hours."
I nod, letting him lead me to the shower. Letting him wash me gently like I'm something precious. Letting myself believe, just for a little while, that everything might actually be okay.
That I might have finally found someone who sees me, wants me, will protect me from the monsters I left behind.
Even if that someone is exactly the wrong person in every conventional sense. But conventional hasn't done me any favors. Maybe it's time to try something different.
Maybe it's time to stop apologizing for wanting something good, even if that something is complicated and inappropriate and completely impossible to explain to anyone else.
Richard Kane is mine now.
And I'm never letting go.
Chapter 8 - Richard
I watch Belle eat like it's the most fascinating thing I've ever seen.
We're in the kitchen now, and she's perched on one of the bar stools at the island, wearing one of my t-shirts that hangs to mid-thigh, her damp hair falling around her shoulders. Mrs. Annie prepared a late lunch: grilled chicken, roasted vegetables, fresh bread. Simple, nutritious, exactly what Belle needs.
"When did you last eat?" I ask, watching her take another bite of chicken.
She pauses, thinking. "Last night." She makes a face. "But I couldn't finish it. My stomach was in knots."
"Understandable, given what you had just done." I lean against the counter opposite her, nursing a cup of coffee.
A small smile plays at her lips. "Best decision I ever made. Running, I mean."
"Second best." I can't help the possessive edge that creeps into my voice. "Coming here was the best."
She blushes, and I watch the color spread down her neck, disappearing under the collar of my shirt. My mark is visible just above that collar, a dark bruise where I sucked on her throat while buried inside her.
Mine. She's mine now, marked inside and out.
"We need to talk about practicalities," I say, forcing myself to focus on logistics instead of the urge to carry her back to my bedroom and spend the rest of the day proving exactly how thoroughly she belongs to me.
Belle sets down her fork, her expression growing serious. "Nathan."
"Nathan," I confirm. "And Victoria. They're going to come looking for you eventually. Probably sooner rather than later. We need to be prepared."
"What can they actually do?" She wraps her arms around herself, suddenly looking vulnerable despite being in my kitchen, wearing my clothes, still smelling like my soap. "I mean, legally. I didn't marry him. I'm an adult. I can go where I want."
"Legally, you're right. They have no claim on you." I set down my coffee cup and move around the island to stand beside her. "But Nathan doesn't care about legalities. He cares about possession and control. You embarrassed him, damaged his ego. He's not going to let that go easily."
"So, what do we do?"
