AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You know about the file?” She held her breath.
“She left her bag in my office, and when I picked it up, the file fell out.”
“Did you read it?” she asked, pulling away enough to face him.
His grip tightened on her. “No. I didn’t. I saw your name on it, and Shattered Cove hospital records. I wouldn’t betray your trust like that.”
She let out the breath she’d been holding. Of course he wouldn’t betray her trust like that—not Aaron. “Thank you.”
“I get it, sunshine. Everyone in your life who you were supposed to be able to trust let you down and betrayed you. I promise I won’t be one of them.”
“I . . . I believe you.”
The corners of his lips quirked as happiness reflected in his gaze. He reached up and grasped a lock of her hair, twirling it in his fingers.
After a beat of silence, she asked, “Do you want to know the rest?”
“I want to know everything about you, but only when you’re ready to share it.”
That right there was the reason she wanted to give this man every part of her. “Belle was the nurse they brought in to help me in the emergency room. I wouldn’t have gone except . . . I had a dislocated shoulder, a sprained ankle, cracked rib, and my face was so swollen I could barely see.”
Aaron’s chest heaved again, brushing against her breasts. “I want to kill that fucker.”
“Aaron,” she pleaded, fear streaking through her that he’d do something stupid and put everything they had in jeopardy. “I shouldn’t have told you.”
“No.” He cupped her jaw. “I’m glad you did. I’m sorry. It’s hard to imagine you hurting so much and knowing I wasn’t there to help you.”
“You’re here now.” And that meant everything.
“No one will ever hurt you again. Do you hear me? I promise you, if anyone tries, it will be the last thing they do.” His deep voice sent a shiver through her.
“I believe you.”
“You better, because I’m never letting you go. You’re my wife. Mine to protect. Mine to cherish. And mine to love.”
She swallowed the emotion that clogged her throat. “I love you too. I tried not to; I swear.”
His warm chuckle met her ears. “You were resisting this, and I was fighting for you. That should tell you just how determined I was to earn every part of you. And just how much you mean to me.”
“But why? I’m nobody special. And I swear I’m not just looking for compliments. I’m not gorgeous; I’m plain. And I come with so many walls and baggage it’s not funny. Why pick someone who was worth so much work?”
She squeaked out a gasp of surprise as Aaron spun her around so that she was on her back and he on top of her, pinning her to the bed.
His gaze roamed over her face, nothing but lust and awe in his expression. “Let’s get something straight. You are not only the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, Brynn, but you’re fucking it for me. You have a past of horror and darkness, yet still you rose out of the ashes, burning bright like the fucking sunshine you are. You’re the strongest person I know. You don’t need me. But I’m the lucky bastard that gets to call you mine. Because you chose me. You know I’m safe. You know I’m going to treat you like the queen you are. Just like I know you’re the best fucking thing to ever happen to me.”
Wow. When he put it like that . . .
Brynn leaned her head forward, capturing his mouth in a kiss full of promise. Aaron’s lips parted, deepening the kiss and winding her up as he kept her hands pinned down, her body caged in, giving her the freedom to just be and experience the pure, raw love and devotion his every touch transferred to her as he worshipped her body. He only separated from her long enough to grab a condom.
Slow and languid, and without preamble, he slid inside her, taking everything she had to give. His cock thrust deep, blurring everything until her body felt warm and bright like she truly was sunshine. Aaron’s gaze didn’t falter from hers as he crossed her wrists above her head and pinned them down with one hand, using his other to palm her breast. She whimpered as pleasure radiated from her core, unfurling into her limbs with the buzz of electric arousal.
He kissed her again and everything fell away until they were no longer a tangle of body and limbs, but one of two souls connecting in every way imaginable. And when he sent her soaring over the edge into an orgasm, she didn’t even try to hold on. Because there was no falling with Aaron—only flying.
Minutes later, he pulled out of her, lying beside her, and pressed her shoulder until she faced away from him. But instead of snuggling up behind her like she expected, his fingers traced the lines of her scars before his soft lips pressed against each mark embedded into her skin. Tears leaked from her eyes.
His lips brushed against the raised flesh sending a jolt of energy pulsing through her.
“We all have scars. Some just carry them on the inside.”
