I never thought I’d see those journals again. Somehow Green got them back for me. They’d collected everything they needed from them. Now they are hidden away in my closet. I’m not really sure what to do with them.
“You going to be okay with that?” He reaches up, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.
“If it helps put some of those men behind bars then I’m okay with anything. I told them I’d do anything they wanted me to do.” He drops his forehead to mine, his eyes closing. “So I understand if you might not want to be hanging out with me soon. It’s only a matter of time before…”
He cuts me off with his mouth, kissing me long and hard. I melt into him, feeling lighter having told him everything and relieved that he’s still kissing me.
“You’re mine, GG. I don’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks.”
For the first time I don’t either.
Chapter Nineteen
Colt
I desperately want to get her horizontal to lay my claim on her. She doesn’t belong to anyone else but me. When she told me about getting married, it was a fight to keep my control. A barbaric part of me rose to the surface needing to claim her.
GG might be soft and sweet, but underneath that there is a fighter who would do anything if she thought it would help someone else. She’s a protector, and I want to be her protector. How the hell she ended up so sweet and caring after the life she’s led I have no freaking clue, but I’m going to make sure no one ever tries to threaten that.
“I want to take you inside,” I mutter against her mouth, “but Tuck is there.”
“It’s okay,” she says.
It’s not, but I’m going to make do. I pop the seat and recline it as far back as it goes. She laughs as she falls with me. “Here?”
“Why not?”
“My grandparents have a greenhouse. There’s a sofa in there where my grandma sits and arranges flowers.”
I put her in the seat and have the car in drive before she can squeak out her next laugh.
“So baseball, huh?”
“Yeah.” I try not to speed. It’s really hard.
“How come?”
“I dunno. I’ve loved it ever since I can remember. My dad--” I stop talking and then take a deep breath. “My dad put a ball in my hand before I could walk.”
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” Her gentle voice is a warm hand on my shoulder.
“Nah. It’s fine. We’ve all got issues, right? My dad wasn’t cut out for fatherhood. He bounces in and out. When I sign with the bigs, I expect him to be around a lot. You’ll have to run interference for me.”
“Me?” I can see her point to her chest.
“Yeah. Baseball in the pros is a lot of traveling. It’s a big sacrifice for you but I promise to make it worthwhile.”
“Me?” she asks again.
I pull onto the curb next to her house and cut the engine. “Yeah. Like I’m in it for the long haul, aren’t you?”
“I…” She trails off. Her head is down, and her hair covers her face like a curtain. I can’t tell what she’s thinking but her hesitation is giving me bad vibes. Damn, what was I thinking though? She just escaped from a cult. The last thing she wants is to be tied down forever. She wants to live a normal life, not hitch her wagon to a baseball player. Plus, it’s not like she’s poor like me. She’s got that insurance policy money and her grandparents are well off.
“Don’t sweat it.” I unbuckle her seatbelt and then hop out. I’ll just have to prove to her that I’m worth it. That being with me for the rest of her life is a good bet. Step one, making her body sing again. Step two…well, let’s start with step one. I pull her out of the car and tuck her into my side. “Where’s this sofa you were talking about?”
“What about—“
“Let’s worry about how often I can get you off tonight,” I interrupt.
Even in the dark I can see her flush. I wonder how far down that pink goes and suddenly all the worries I have about our future are washed away with a powerful wave of need. If I don’t get her naked in the next minute, I’ll probably drop dead, so the future isn’t going to matter much.
“Come on,” I say gruffly. “I’ve never been in a greenhouse before.”
The place is humid, like the seventh inning on the day after a rain and there’s still some water on the grass.
“Grandma is a fan of roses,” GG says. She points to a bush where flowers are blooming in colors of pink and red and yellow.
“I didn’t know they grew on bushes.” I run a finger across one stem.