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I’m once again stunned by her fire. I knew she had it in her, but I’ve never seen her this fierce before. This is definitely not the girl I found in that church. She’s braver now, more herself. I’d like to think I had at least a small part in making that happen.
My men finally let me go when they’re sure I’m not going to inflict any more harm on Niko, and I race towards Kat, embracing her. She collapses in my arms, her strength gone. She was brave without me, stronger than I could have imagined. But now I’m here, she doesn’t have to be strong anymore. I’ll be strong for both of us.
“She isn’t yours,” I spit at Niko, who watches us with disgust. “She’s free. You’ll never have her.”
She buries her face in my neck, and I pull her forward, away from this mess. I instruct my men to take care of Niko as we walk together through the park and back to the penthouse. He’s not my problem right now. She’s my sole focus.
When we’re finally inside, I go to my liquor cabinet and pull out my finest bottle of Scotch. I pour us both a shot, downing mine quickly.
“You’re okay?” I ask, unable to control my anger.
She simply nods, staring down at the liquid in her glass with a strange look on her face.
“I meant what I said,” I tell her. “You’re free. You don’t belong to that asshole, but you don’t belong to me either. You’re right, you aren’t a piece of property. If you don’t want to be here anymore, you’re free to go. I won’t stop you.”
She eyes me curiously, then takes a long swig of the amber liquid and slams the glass down on the counter. She turns on her heel and walks out of the living room and toward the stairs. I watch as she climbs them and turns toward her room. A moment later, I hear her bedroom door slam.
I hang my head, afraid I’ve lost her forever. She’s probably upstairs right now, packing her things to leave. I want her to know that she has her freedom, even if it means losing her forever. But I’m afraid I may have just made the biggest mistake of my life.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
Kat
I take a long, hot shower, wanting to scrub away every trace of Niko. What a clusterfuck of a day. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I should have just stayed in the apartment.
I can’t stop thinking about what Johnny said, though. How could he think that I would want to leave him after everything he’s done for me? How could he not know that I do belong to him? My heart and my body are his. He needs to know.
I finish my shower and quickly dress, needing to be with him. He has to know not only how I feel about him, but that I choose to be with him. Part of me chose him the second he slid his flask under the bathroom door at the church. If I didn’t have a choice in the matter, it was only because I fell head over heels in love for him before I realized it.
I walk down the stairs, but he’s not in the living room anymore. I call out his name, but get no response. I go back to the second floor and turn left at the landing, toward his room.
I haven’t been in his room before. He always comes to me. At least I’ll be able to check this room off my sexual to-do list. I knock softly on his door, and I hear movement. It sounds like he was on his bed.
He opens the door, and his expression is miserable. “Have you decided?” he asks, and I’m confused. “Do you know where you’d like to go?”
I shake my head, pushing him back into the room and shutting the door.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell him, and his hands instinctively wrap around my wrists, pulling me closer to him.
“You aren’t?” he asks, looking like he’s just shaken off a heavy burden.
I laugh, breaking the growing tension. “Where would I go, Johnny? I’m completely in love with you. There’s nowhere I could go because I would just want to be back in your arms.”
He pulls me into a long, relieved kiss. It’s unlike any of our previous kisses. It isn’t desperate or longing, it’s simply grateful.
“I love you too,” he whispers against my lips. “I was so afraid that I was going to lose you.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him into another kiss. “You couldn’t lose me,” I tell him. “I’m yours. Always.”
He walks us backward until we reach the bed. He peers at me, a searching look in his eyes.
“I want you to make love to me,” I whisper against his mouth. “And when you’re done, I want to stay. And I want you to stay. I’m tired of you leaving me in the middle of the night.”
He chuckles and mutters, “Fucking finally,” before kissing me tenderly. He sits on the bed, his hands going to the hem of my shirt. My skin is still damp from the shower, so I feel it pull against my skin as he pushes it up my body.
He lifts it over my head before tossing it across the room. I gasp as he gently nips at my lower lip. I reach behind my back, quickly unclasping my bra and discarding that as well. I want to be completely bare in front of him, to give myself over to him. Not that he hasn’t possessed me from the moment I met him. I’ve always been his.
I’m only now admitting it to him.
