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I lifted my head slightly to see her smiling. It didn't fill her eyes as usual, but it was closer.
"I'm sorry, too," she said, her voice quiet with remorse. "I let you down. I let my issues get in the way of my decisions, too. You should have been my priority. I should have trusted that we'd figure out a way to make everything work out."
I started to interrupt, but she shook her head.
"Thank you for telling me. I know that wasn't easy. And I do forgive you. Not because of your background, but because I love you. And I hope you forgive me, too. I'm not sure exactly where we go from here."
"I love you, too, Grace. And as from here? The answer is still forward. We keep moving forward if you'll have me."
This time, her eyes lit like the sun shined from within her. "I'm here, Jax. I'm here."
39
Grace
I swore I saw his eyes shimmer with moisture, but I couldn't be sure because his head drew close as he kissed me. Oh, how I'd missed those lips on mine!
Our kiss was sweet and unhurried, the kind new lovers have when they're discovering each other for the first time. It wasn't our first kiss by any means, but it represented something new between us. There was more certainty, more security in the future.
"I love you," Jax whispered against my lips. Our foreheads rested together. "I have for a long time, but I fought it. I was afraid it would make me weak, and I swore I'd never be vulnerable again."
"And now?" I had to ask. I needed the affirmation once again.
"You make me stronger."
This time I knew it was tears that stung my eyes as I buried my face against his chest and clung to him. His lips traveled across my jaw until they met mine once again. This time, our kiss was less sweet, more desperate with need.
His hands pus
hed through my hair, down my back, and dug into my bottom as he lifted me. We never broke as my legs wrapped around his waist. He carried me like that to my bedroom where he paused next to my bed. I let my legs fall to the ground, but I held tight to him, not trusting them to hold me up.
After a time, our kiss slowed and Jax's hold in my hair lessened to stroke my cheeks. Our gazes held each other's, saying quietly the words our minds and hearts shouted.
It was going to take some time to process the dramatic turn of events that happened in the past few hours. I loved the man before me, but my heart still broke for the boy he'd been.
"I'm sorry for everything you've been through in your past, Jax." My voice trembled as I spoke.
His expression was amazingly calm, peaceful even. "Don't be. It's the past. You've given me something much bigger, the future. Say you're with me, Grace."
More tears spilled down my cheeks as I heard the raw hope in his voice, the slight pleading. "I'm here, Jax. And I'll be there tomorrow and all the days after, too."
There were no more words. Jax pulled back the covers of the bed and laid me down on it. He stripped me slowly, pausing to kiss almost every inch of skin he uncovered. And then he made love to me, over and over again.
The first rays of the sun were coming up as we lay in each other's arms. My fingers drifted lazily over the phoenix on his arm. "Does this have anything to do with what happened to you."
"More than you know."
"It's you, isn't it? It's you moving on, starting over. A rebirth of sorts."
He chuckled. "You sound like a walking thesaurus, but yes, it's symbolic that way. You're very insightful."
My thumb rubbed over the small ridges that I could barely feel beneath the ink. "Did you scar when you got it? That's not normal, is it?"
He kissed the top of my head, then rolled over on his side to face me. "They're scars, but not from the tattoo. Part of the reason I got the tattoo was to cover them up, to remind myself I was stronger than what caused them."
I sat up, the sheet falling to my waist. "Did she hurt you? I mean, more than, you know, the other? God, I'd like to strangle her."
Jax snorted as he fluffed the pillows and sat up against my headboard. "No, you wouldn't. You'd find a way to help her. She was a messed-up girl who suffered more abuse than any of us know about. It doesn't excuse what she did, but she'd been a victim, too." He pulled me into his arms again.
