The love he felt for her was strong. Stronger than anything else he’d ever experienced. He’d been with his fair share of women over the years, but none of them had ever made him commit like this. It was … fucking magical.
Only, he’d been given a taste of it and hadn’t been able to have anything else. Reaper had taken the one person who mattered to him more than anything and to know he’d done so for fun sickened him.
Running a hand down his face, he stared at the ink on her wrists. He had no doubt she’d been forced to get the ink, and he’d also seen the one with Reaper’s name at the base of her back. Her body told so many different stories, and none of them she could remember. He didn’t know if he should even let her remember them.
The minutes ticked on by, turning to hours before she finally sighed and started to move. She opened her eyes and looked up at him.
“Preacher?” she asked. “What happened?”
“You had a panic attack. It’s okay now. You’re fine.”
“The baby room? I was pregnant, wasn’t I?”
“Are you hungry?”
“Was it Bishop’s baby?” she asked.
He stared at her, wondering what he should say. “I don’t think you’re ready to know the truth. I’m going to go and warm us up some food.”
“Was it yours?” she asked. “There is only one reason everyone is keeping stuff from me. The ultrasound picture I have, it’s of my baby, isn’t it? Not me. My baby girl?”
Preacher turned to look at her. “You don’t want these answers.”
She was crying and he didn’t want to hurt her. “If there’s no baby then that means I lost it, right?”
He moved toward the bed, pulling her into his arms and holding her. “You don’t need to remember this.”
“But it doesn’t feel right, thinking of having Bishop’s baby. I don’t feel anything for him but when I’m with you, it feels right. Why does it feel right? Were we cheating? I don’t know what’s going on.”
The pain in her voice was more than anything he could bear. “We … we did make a baby together. It’s a long, complicated story. We didn’t start out by cheating. In fact, I don’t even know if you liked me all that much when we first met.”
“You don’t?”
“I was Bishop’s dad and you’ve seen me do a lot of bad things.”
“But I started to have feelings for you?”
“Robin, I can’t tell you what you felt. We were together a short time before you were taken, that’s all I know. We didn’t get into the details. There was an attraction there, but I don’t know what else to say after that.”
He ran his fingers through her hair, holding her close, never wanting to let her go.
“Did you love me?” she asked.
Preacher didn’t respond. Randall hadn’t given him these kinds of instructions for these difficult questions and he didn’t know what to fucking do with them. “I … yes, I loved, love, you.”
She tilted her head back. “Do you love me still? Or did you find someone else when I was gone?”
Chapter Nine
Her time with Reaper
Another move. Robin couldn’t remember the name of the last hotel or even where it was. They moved so often, the scenery blended into one. She hated moving more than anything and craved being back at Preacher’s house.
There still hadn’t been a sign of him, but she believed on several occasions now, he’d been close, so close. There had been only two times Reaper had moved in the middle of the night and she knew it was because Preacher was closing in and he had to try to be one step ahead.
She flicked over the page of the latest romance book he’d bought for her. He’d probably robbed a bookstore or killed whoever worked there. She wouldn’t put it past him to do the unspeakable to get what he wanted. She hated him so much.
Do you hate him?
Robin tried to cut out the memories of them together at night. Reaper was a force to be reckoned with and he knew what he was doing with his body. It had stopped being rape even though she didn’t want his touch.
Each time Reaper took her to bed, it would start out with her not wanting his touch. She hated to respond to him and what was worse, Reaper knew she couldn’t resist. He’d touch, caress, and tease her into submission, and there was nothing she could do about it.
He was the one who held all the power while she held nothing.
The only power she had over him was when she responded. She knew he was desperate for her to feel things for him. Robin had already figured out that along with trying to get her pregnant, Reaper was also trying to make her fall in love with him. It was his final piece of revenge for Preacher. If she loved Reaper, then if the time ever came for a showdown, would she allow Preacher to kill him?