Salvation (Surrender 3)

His eyes told me all I needed to know.

“No! You can’t do that. Please, Robbie, let it go. He wasn’t a monster. I’m the idiot in the situation.”

“Fuck no, you weren’t!”

“Please don’t do this.”

“It’s done.” He looks at me hard, showing no emotion, and I close down. His mind was made up. He was going to come face to face with the biggest mistake of my life.

I wanted to cry, scream, plead with both of them, but it was no use. So I did what I do best and built a wall to hide my hurt. It had been ages since I’d had to do it, but I was the master at acting the part. Or at least I thought.

“Babe, stop pretending to be asleep.”

I stay quiet.

“Your chest is heaving, pulse elevated, eyes leaking small streams of tears. I know you’re not sleeping.” His thumb rubs across my cheek softly, wiping the moisture.

Shit!

“Heard that, too.”

I open my eyes to him on the side of the bed, leaning into me with only a towel. “Why do I always do that with you?”

“Because it’s adorable.”

“Hmmpt.” I turn over, and he eases in behind me, leaving no space between our bodies.

“I’ve put up with your snit for too long, trying to give you time. But five days is long enough. We leave tomorrow, and I can’t go with you being upset. You have to understand where we’re all coming from. We love you.”

“I get the whole Dad and Mom thing. But what’s the deal with Brad? It’s been along time.”

His body goes still against me and hope creeps in. “Robbie, please? Leave it alone? He’s dead to me. I’ve moved on. If you go there, it will dredge up memories that need to be forgotten. If you love me enough, why can’t you let it go?”

“Fucking Christ! I want to kill him, beat him to a fucking pulp. Of course I love you enough. You’re everything to me.”

“I’ve lived with it long enough, knowing I was a piece of ass. Now, I’m not. I feel cherished every time you touch me.”

One arm maneuvers under my side and the other across my stomach, caging me in. “I need to do this,” he whispers against my ear.

My heart pounds so hard against my chest, there’s no doubt he can feel it. His fingertips skim up my shirt and draw a pattern on my stomach, giving me goose bumps. I turn into him and place my hand against his cheek, searching his face, and my eyes get lost in the depth o

f his gaze. We stare as the energy in the room starts buzzing. Weakness for his touch flows overwhelms me. I physically feel the need for him to love me.

“Every time you touch me, kiss me, make love to me erases the memories of him. You’ve changed my life in so many ways. So you do what you need to do, but know that he ceases to exist in my world with you by my side.”

“Jesus Christ, Ember, what do I say to that?”

“Nothing, I had to let you know.”

“You tame the beast in me that wants to beat the shit out of him. How’s that possible?”

My hand slinks down his chest and over the ripples of his abdomen until it touches the towel. I loosen the edge and push it over his hip, then run my hand back around to touch the tip of his hard erection. He hisses through his teeth when I wrap my hand around his length, pumping gently.

His fingertips move up until they circle my hardened nipple. He alternates between massaging my breast and pinching my nipples, until I arch into him with need.

Desire pools low in my stomach when he sucks his lower lip between his teeth and releases a low, grumbling sound.

“Get naked, now.” He shifts us, instantly moving me to my back and lifting the shirt over my head in one swoop, forcing my hand to release him. My shorts are next, and his legs go to my waist, trapping me.