Page 60 of Colombian Chemistry

“Mostly?”

“He still has a lot of nightmares. You never fully recover from that. I know I wouldn’t.”

She pressed a hand to my chest, and her soft touch caused my heart to thump. “Thank you for telling me all this. I know it can’t be easy.”

“No. It’s not. But I feel like I can tell you things, and I don’t even know why.”

“Because you trust me now.” She smiled. “Just like I trust you.”

I matched her smile. “I suppose you’re right.”

I leaned down and kissed her, then pulled her on top of me. I’d given up on my “one and done” motto the minute our lips touched last night. With Irene, I could never be done. Even if she was physically gone from my life, I’d never let her go. We’d forgone condoms last night when we’d run out, and she’d told me she was on birth control. I’d never been one to go in without a raincoat, but with Irene, it felt natural to do so.

I slid her down my shaft and moaned when I got deep inside her. Nothing else in the world had ever moved me the way she did. I held her waist tight while she ground on top of me, and I tried not to think about how this would be the last time. It nearly killed me to think of letting her go.

I watched her above me, the way she let herself go so freely as she took her pleasure on me. The Irene I’d met that first day was nowhere to be seen in the body of the woman riding my cock with uninhibited pleasure. I reached up, grabbed her breasts, and she tossed her head back.

“God, you feel good,” I breathed out as I felt my body tightening.

Wanting to be sure I got her off before I couldn’t hold my orgasm back any longer, I slid my hand down between her legs and rubbed her swollen spot with my thumb. She panted and breathed harder, arching her back as she started crying out. When I felt her release, I let my own release loose. I grabbed her hips and stopped her movement while my body pulsed and shuddered. We both finished and collapsed into a boneless heap.

“You’re making putting you on a plane and sending you away impossible,” I breathed as she snuggled against me.

“Then I’ll stay here with you. We’ll get my father back together.”

As much as I wanted to say yes, to envelop her in my arms and never let her go, I shook my head. “It’s too dangerous. I’ll get him back. I promise. But I can’t do that while I’m worrying about you.” She sighed, and I tightened my grip. “We have to leave in ten minutes if we’re going to get there in time.”

“And then what?”

“What do you mean?”

“After I leave with Knox, will I ever see you again?”

My stomach plummeted at the thought of a life without Irene, but those demons from my past roared to life, reminding me that life with me wouldn’t be safe for her.

“It’s not what I want, and you need to understand that, but it’s best for you to get on with your life without me.”

“Why? I don’t understand?”

“To keep you safe, Irene.”

She pursed her lips and leveled me with a powerful stare. “Your past is over, Marcus. There’s no more danger for me to be with you then there is for you to be with me. You said it yourself.”

I’d said it, but I still didn’t believe it. Thinking that I got out scot-free after everything I’d been through, everything I’d done, felt impossible.

“I can’t take that risk with you, Irene. I won’t. What if my past catches up to me and you get caught in the crossfire? What if someone trying to get to me, takes you? Just like what happened with your dad. I can’t put you in danger, Irene. I won’t. I—”

I stopped myself from spitting out the words I couldn’t believe I almost said.

Irene looked over at me and brushed her fingers through my hair. “I get to decide what’s best for me, Marcus. I’m done being afraid all the time. It’s stopped me from living a full life, and I don’t care what the statistics say about the chances of your old life coming back to haunt you. I don’t care if they are a hundred percent, which they’re not, by the way. I will take those risks anyway. Please, Marcus. Don’t make this the last time I see you. Don’t do that to me.”

As much as I wanted to give in and promise her that I’d see her again, I couldn’t bring myself to utter the words. What if I was wrong? What if being with me meant the end of her? As much as it would kill me never to see her again, to know she’d move on with someone else, I’d rather know she was alive and safe than be selfish and bring her into my world... a world filled with dangers.

“I can’t promise you anything, Irene. I’m sorry. All that matters right now is getting you out of here safely so I can focus on finding your father.”

I knew she wanted to argue more, but bringing up the importance of finding her father quieted her argument.

She wiped a tear away from her eye then nodded. “Okay. But I really don’t want to get out of this bed.”