I was angry, but relieved. Angry because Astrid had manipulated me again, and relieved, because it was no longer permanent. I was no longer tied to her.
Although, none of it compared to the disappointment of learning he wasn’t mine. I wanted kids, I knew that now. But I wanted them with the right woman, and that certainly wasn’t Astrid.
It was all so bittersweet and I needed time to process it.
“I love you.” She took my hand. “Just because he isn’t yours biologically doesn’t need to change things. We can be a family.”
Astrid hadn’t changed a bit.
She was still manipulative and selfish, and she always would be.
I gave her a small smile despite the glow of anger in my chest because here was where it ended.
The manipulation. The lies. The dysfunctional bullshit.
It was done.
I pulled my hand free and reached up to wipe a lock of her hair from her forehead. “You need to tell whoever Lee is that he is a father now. Give him the opportunity to do the right thing by you and your boy.”
She stared at me for a moment, fighting back her tears and biting her lip, before sighing and resigning herself to the fact it was over. “This is goodbye, isn’t it?”
I nodded.
“Will I ever see you again?”
No. She would never see me again.
And I would never forgive her for the time I lost with Chastity. The woman I was desperately in love with and who had probably given up on me in my absence.
“You and your son are going to be just fine,” I said. “You take care of yourself.”
A lone tear spilled down her cheek, but she hurriedly wiped it away with the back of her hand. “Thank you.”
Leaning down, I pressed a kiss to her forehead before I turned toward the door and walked away for good.
Outside, I climbed on my bike and took off into the darkness of an early Louisiana morning.
I was headed for home.
And I was going to get my girl back.
RUGER
I rode through the darkness and arrived home just as dawn began to break on the horizon. Punching in the alarm code, I entered the house quietly. It smelled like home. Like comfort. Like her. And it felt so good to be back. I walked to our bedroom and saw her sound asleep, curled up with my pillow, her long lashes fanning her smooth cheeks. She looked like an angel. Perfect.
I knelt next to the bed and whispered her name, my heart aching to touch her.
Her lashes fluttered open, and in the pale light of dawn, her big blue eyes slowly focused on me.
“Am I dreaming?” she asked, her voice husky and raw.
I smiled. God, she was beautiful. How the fuck had I survived the past few weeks without her?
“No, baby, you’re not dreaming,” I said.
“I miss you,” she whispered sleepily.
I wiped a lock of hair from her face. “You won’t ever have to miss me again, baby.”
“Promise?”
I smiled. She was still half asleep. Still heavy with dreams and slumber. And so fucking gorgeous it made my chest hurt.
Suddenly, the drama of the last thirty-six hours and the lack of sleep, hit me in the face. I was exhausted.
But not too exhausted.
I had something more pressing than sleep I needed to do.
Ached to do.
I pulled off my clothes and slid beneath the blankets and into the warmth, bringing my girl to my chest and kissing her tenderly.
“Don’t break up with me, baby,” I whispered against her lips. “I won’t ever leave you again.”
She stirred against me and curled her warm body toward me.
“Tell me you’re still mine,” I pleaded, my hand sliding between her warm thighs where she was already wet and ready. “Tell me you still want me.”
She moaned as I slid my fingers between her dewy lips and began teasing her.
“That feels so good,” she murmured, her eyes closed.
I brushed her lips with mine. “Tell me…”
Her big blue eyes opened and I saw them fill with lust and pleasure as my fingers teased her clit. She trembled against me and her lips parted as she took in a raspy breath.
“You have no idea how much I missed you,” I whispered.
She said nothing but her eyes told me everything. She was still mine. She still loved me. And if I kept doing what I was doing, she was going to come.
I pressed harder against her clit, swirling her creaminess around it and giving it enough friction to build the tension in her. Her body woke up and her breathing quickened.
“Show me you’re still my queen.”
She bit down on her bottom lip and it was all I could do to hold back from driving into her sweet body.
She started to come and rocked against me, moaning my name as she trembled and clenched her thighs.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” I said as she shuddered and came, her pussy quivering against my fingers. I kissed the moan from her lips and didn’t stop until she softened beneath my touch. “Tell me what you want from me, and it’s all yours.”