Page 66 of Hope and Country

A tsunami rose from the pith of my heart. With my arms folded over my stomach, I leaned forward, the pain unquantifiable. Every cell in me screamed in pain and victory. There was so much I wished I could say. But my words translated as muffled cries.

My entire body shuddered.

Freedom was a word I never thought I could use to describe my life.

At the epiphany, something detached and dissolved in my chest.

A weight I’d been carrying around for most of my life. The one that grew when I was still an innocent child with princess dreams. A chain that had coiled around my vital organs to protect them from the pain. And the fear.

Everything shifted in me.

Lightness replaced the darkness. With something brisk. Colorful. Beautiful.

Riley’s hand rubbed my back as the tidal waves of grief furloughed inside me.

The man I loved leaned closer, wrapping his arms around me, comforting me with just a touch.

“Baby, you did great. I’m proud of ya. You are incredible. Let it go now. All of it. And no matter what, I’m here. I’m here for you.”

His lips lingered on the back of my head.

In the safety of his arms, I did as he said as a mix of happiness, relief, and sadness for the little girl I used to be who could finally put violence behind her—for good—brewed together. And knowing I couldn’t get hurt by my stepbrother anymore. Knowing Riley had my back and would never let me dwell in sorrows. And knowing I was stronger than I ever thought possible.

A ghost of a smile curved my lips. The tears flowing out weren’t from pain anymore. But a million other things I was feeling for the very first time.

Tonight, I had done something I had always wished I could do but believed it would never happen. I had been the bigger person. The one who stood up for herself. The one who looked the devil in the eyes and said, fuck you, you’ll never hurt me ever again.

I had been that brave princess. The maiden warrior who took charge of her own life and stopped the maleficent force of terror from hurting her any longer.

Never again would I let someone belittle me. Or make me feel unimportant. Or worthless. Nobody would ever again put a hand on me.

A grin slowly emerged as I wiped the tears off my face, the entire night replaying in my mind. And reality hit me. Hard.

I was finally free.

And this time, it wasn’t a dream.

* * *

When the adrenaline dissipated hours later and sleep came knocking, we went to bed. I had stopped crying a long time ago. For the rest of the night, Riley and I cuddled on the couch, his fingers playing with the curls of my hair.

Something Riley said earlier flashed in my mind as I got comfortable under the covers. “Remember seconds before your lawyers called, you started telling me something. About coming clean… Wish I knew what it was about, you never finished that thought.”

My man scooted closer to me and hauled me on top of him, our face a hair’s breadth apart, my breasts pressing against his hard chest, loving how our bodies molded together all the time. “You sure you’re ready to hear me out?” he asked, his voice soft as dripping honey, sending tingles along each of my vertebrae, the tips of his fingers awakening goosebumps all over my back. “The night has already been emotional…”

His eyes brightened in the darkness, the only light coming from the silver moonbeam shining through the giant window in the hallway. His stare enveloped me in a cocoon I never wanted to leave.

My tongue traced the length of his lips.

“I’m not that tired anymore. We should celebrate. I think I could maybe—” I lowered myself, kissing my way down his body. Riley’s breath hitched, and he tensed when my tongue followed the path to his manhood, ready to kick in the celebrations. I had everything to be thankful for. And I owed all this gratefulness to this man. My man.

His dick twitched when my palm curled around it, working him as my tongue circled the tip.

With a jagged breath, Riley fisted my hair as I continued my discovery of his anatomy, taking all of him in my mouth.

I pumped him faster while my tongue lapped at him.

“Fuck, Dev. That’s not how I wanted to tell ya.”