Chapter 22

January 20th

11:18 A.M.

All in all,everything considering, it had been a reasonable morning.

Yet Scarlett couldn't help but feel unsettled.

Something was missing.

No, someone was missing.

Tate.

Where was he?

Yesterday he'd spent ages with her in that bedroom at Raul's house, holding her on his lap, giving her orgasm after orgasm until finally the drug was out of her system enough that she'd passed out into an exhausted oblivion.

But he hadn"t left her.

Every time she surfaced into consciousness, his name had been on her lips. She had needed the reassurance of knowing that he was there, that she was safe, and that everything was going to be okay. When they got to the hospital she had still been in his arms. Any doctor or nurse who suggested he set her on the bed on her own was glared at until they backed off.

After a complete thorough exam, she'd begged to be allowed to leave, and Tate had taken her back to his place, bathed her in the bath, then tucked her into his bed where she'd fallen asleep in his arms.

Only when she woke up he'd been gone.

It felt weird to not have him beside her. Weirder still that she was alone at his place. If he was gone it had to be for a reason, and she knew he wouldn't have left her alone and unprotected. The black SUV in the driveway confirmed that theory. So, she knew he was coming back, and she'd taken care of a couple of things that had been high on her to-do list already, but now she was just sitting on his couch, feeling lost and alone, and almost ready to call a cab and go back to her place.

Like he was some sort of mind reader, that exact second, the front door opened, and Tate strolled in, bags of groceries in his hands. As soon as his gaze fell on her with her phone in her hand, his eyes narrowed. "You better not be looking for a way out of here."

Surprised that he'd guessed, since there were a dozen things she could be doing on her phone, Scarlett laughed. "Your mind-reading skills are impressive." The smile faded from her lips as insecurity took hold. "Where were you? I woke up and you were gone."

Setting the grocery bags down, Tate didn"t hesitate to walk right to her and draw her into his arms. "There was something I really wanted to do, and I had hoped you might be exhausted enough from everything that's happened over the last couple of weeks that you'd still be asleep when I got back. Guess I wasn't that lucky. I didn"t leave you alone, a couple of the guys from my team are watching the house."

"I know you"d never put me in danger," she assured him. Until Raul was caught and the mole identified, she would continue to be in danger, but at least her name was cleared, and she had people she trusted watching her back.

"Never," he agreed. "And I wasn't trying to say I didn"t want you here. Because if I didn"t want you here, I wouldn't have brought you here."

There was so much anxiousness in the man she was used to seeing as sure, and confident, if a little arrogant and jerky for a while there, that it softened the edges of her own insecurities. "I know that, Tate. I wasn't worried that you had left, I was at your place after all, I just … missed you," she admitted. "I wish you'd been here when I woke up."

"I wish I had been, too. But there was something I wanted to do for you, and I wanted it to be a surprise."

That piqued her interest. "Oh yeah? What?" Surprises were great fun, but not something that was a big part of her life. As a kid, there hadn't been many birthday or Christmas gifts, and what she and Zander got were never fun presents like toys, they were usually practical things like clothes, toiletries, and school supplies. And not fun clothes either, but practical jeans and T-shirts, and sensible sneakers.

"Well, you told me how much you love cooking, and you know that I don't know how to make pretty much anything other than the basics. So, I went to a cooking class this morning," Tate told her, somewhat nervously, like he wasn't quite sure if she would think that was a good reason for him to disappear for a few hours.

"You took a cooking class?" she asked, thinking it was possibly the sweetest thing ever.

"You've been through a lot, and you've never really had anyone to take care of you, not in the way you should. I was looking up classes while you were sleeping, and I just took the first one I could find."

"What was it?"

"Vegetable soup and bread. I know you already know how to make both but?—"

"But it's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me," Scarlett said, cutting him off. No one had ever done something like that for her before, and for all the reasons Tate hadn"t been there this morning when she woke up, this one had to be right up the top of the list. "Thank you."

Now that he knew she wasn't angry with him, Tate grinned and leaned down to press a kiss to her mouth. "I'm glad you"re not mad. I have all the ingredients, why don't you go take a bubble bath, relax, and I'll get the soup cooking and the bread … proofing, and then I'll whip us up some sandwiches for lunch."

As nice as a bath might be, right now, she'd much rather hang out with Tate than go off and be on her own. She'd had more than enough alone time to last an entire lifetime. "Actually, I'd love to watch you cook," she said with a grin. Sweet as it was that he'd gone and taken a cooking class just because cooking was something she enjoyed, and because he wanted to take care of her, she doubted he'd picked up many skills this quickly. Watching him in the kitchen was going to be highly amusing, she was sure of it.

Tate's unusual eyes narrowed. "Do you think I"m going to make a fool of myself, Ms. Madden?"

She giggled. "Umm … no … of course not."

"I think you do." His lips nibbled at a sensitive spot on her neck, making her moan and arch into his touch. Kissing and nipping his way up her neck, his tongue touched a spot behind her ear that drew another moan from her, and then he kissed his way along her jaw. When his lips touched the corner of hers, a content sigh slipped out this time as she waited for his mouth to claim hers.

Only it didn"t.

Instead, he stepped back and smirked. "Come on, my little fighter, let's go give you some entertainment."

"You"re mean, you know that?" She pouted, but followed him into the kitchen anyway when he scooped up the bags and headed through the living room.

Tate laughed. A wonderful free sound she hadn"t heard from him before. It warmed her heart, and she didn"t even hear whatever it was he said because she was too busy feeling such a wonderful array of emotions.

Climbing onto one of the stools at the breakfast bar, she watched as Tate slipped on an apron and began to bustle around the kitchen. His movements were a little clunky and it was obvious that he didn"t spend much time cooking. She could have chopped the vegetables in half the time, but she liked watching his large hands and muscled forearms as he worked. Who knew a shirt rolled up to the elbows, showcasing forearms was so sexy?

This was the future she wanted so badly.

Simple things like hanging out in the kitchen cooking. She wasn't after anything extraordinary, she didn"t need big gestures or expensive gifts. All she wanted was to be loved, to feel important to someone, and to know that no matter what happened, someone would always be there for her.

"I talked to Piper Hamilton-Eden," she announced.

From the way Tate froze, his eyes lifting to meet hers, she knew he knew who Piper was. "To help you process what you went through?"

"In part. But I also had a lot of time to think while I was sitting in that prison cell, and I realized that I have issues from my childhood I want to address. I've been so desperate to be loved that I've tried to force relationships with anyone, just so I wouldn't be alone."

For a moment Tate looked stricken. "Are you trying to tell me that you"re rethinking things between us?"

That shocked her enough that she jumped out of her seat and hurried around the counter to wrap her arms around his waist. "No. Not at all. I knew the second I met you that you were different. I've felt so unworthy and unlovable for so long, that I was prepared to pretend to be in love because it was easier than being alone. But with you … I can"t even explain it. It's so … big. So filling. All that emptiness is just gone when I"m with you. I had doubts about you at first, I couldn't believe you would put your job on the line for me, but you did. You pushed to keep your team helping Prey with this situation when you didn"t have to, and you"re here with me now. I want what we have to be real, I want it to grow, and I hope it lasts a lifetime. For that to happen, I know I have to confront my feelings of unworthiness, and abandonment issues. I want to be my best, for you."

"Sweetheart, you already are the best."

"It's sweet you say that," she said, snuggling against him, resting her head against his chest where she could feel the steady beating of his heart. "But I don't want to have doubts. I want to be able to love me for me. I don't want to feel unworthy anymore. This is something I want to do, and I"m excited to do it."

"Then I"m here to support you every step of the way."

The words she'd hoped to hear. It might feel like it was too soon to say the words I love you, but it didn"t change the fact that she knew deep down in her heart that it was true. For some crazy reason, she'd loved this man from the second their eyes met at the Halloween party at the bar three months ago.

It might not have been an easy road getting here, but standing in his kitchen, in the arms of a man who was offering her everything she'd ever wanted, Scarlett knew she was on the cusp of having the family she'd always craved.

January 20th

6:44 P.M.

"That was delicious,"Scarlett announced setting down her spoon.

"It was not," Tate said plainly. Somehow, she had managed to eat her entire bowl of soup, and three slices of the bread he'd made.

Well, attempted to make, might be more realistic.

Because the food was a disaster.

Flat out.

No other way to put it.

"Was so," she countered.

"Sweetheart, that was not food and we both know it. Somehow, I managed to burn the bread on the outside, yet it's not even cooked properly inside. And the soup … how does someone even ruin vegetable soup? I mean, it's only cutting up vegetables and boiling them in broth. I have no idea why mine manages to taste so awful."

"I enjoyed it," Scarlett said stubbornly.

And that right there was why he was falling in love with her.

There was no way she could have actually enjoyed the food itself. What she enjoyed was that someone had cared enough to try to take care of her. To prepare a meal just for her, with no other motivation than love.

"Thank you," he told her sincerely.

Her brow did that adorable scrunching thing it did when she was confused. "For what? You"re the one who cooked dinner for us."

"For eating it, and actually enjoying it. Come here, sweetheart." Pushing back from the table, Tate patted his lap, already growing hard as Scarlett's tongue peeped out and ran along her bottom lip as she rounded the table and straddled his thighs.

Didn"t seem to matter how many times he touched this woman, it was never enough. He was completely and utterly addicted to her. There was just something about her willingness to keep going after what she wanted, continuing to stand up every time she got knocked down, that drew him in.

It showed him what life could be like if only he was willing to give it a chance.

And he was willing.

More than willing.

Anything to keep Scarlett in his life.

Because giving her up and not having her was worse than the possibility of accepting something amazing between them and losing her along the way.

"What do you want, sweetheart?" he asked as he kissed the pulse point in her neck where her pulse was fluttering wildly.

"You," she whispered, tilting her head to the side to give him better access to her neck.

Accepting the invitation, he kissed his way up the slender column just like he had when he'd been teasing her earlier, only this time, he didn"t stop when his lips reached the corner of her mouth. His hands lifted, fingers tangling in her hair as he framed her face, and then his mouth was on hers, pouring every ounce of tenderness, admiration, respect, and love he felt for her into that kiss.

When they both needed to draw in air, he pulled back, staying close enough that there were mere millimeters between them. "Tonight is for you, baby. For you to take what you want, what you need, I"m all yours. You want sex, you've got it. You"re not ready for that yet, then we can just fool around a little. We can stay here, move to the living room, go upstairs to the bedroom or the bathroom. You tell me what you want, and you got it."

"I"m not scared of sex because of what almost happened," Scarlett told him. "Well, maybe that's not quite true, but I"m not scared of sex with you. I"m not scared of anything with you. When you touch me it's all I can think about. It makes me feel special, wanted, and desired."

"You are all those things, Scarlett. All of them and so much more."

"Only to you," she said, but the smile on her face told him it was enough even before she said the words. "But that's all I ever needed. You"re all I'll ever need."

Those words should terrify him considering everything he'd thought he hadn"t wanted, but they didn"t. Instead, they warmed him and stoked the fire of his desire for this woman who so bravely bared her heart and soul for the world to see, regardless of the consequences.

"The bedroom," she said.

"Your wish is my command. Forever, Scarlett, not just for tonight," Tate promised as he stood, lifting her with him. "I'll always do everything within my power to make you happy. To make you feel treasured. So you never again feel alone and unwanted."

"I know you will."

With her legs wrapped around his hips, her hot center was pressed against the bulge in his pants, and when she began to rock against him, Tate groaned as he carried her up the stairs to his bedroom. They hadn"t had sex since before Scarlett was kidnapped the second time, and because he knew what she'd been threatened with, he intended to make sure she had complete control over what happened between them.

Despite her assurances she didn"t have any fears about sex, he wanted to make sure that was true. After all she'd been through, he wanted tonight to be perfect for her. Wanted everything in her life to be perfect from here on out.

In the bedroom, he set her on her feet but stopped her when she went to reach for the hem of her sweater. "Let me undress you, baby."

Her smile was sweet and shy, and utter perfection. Scarlett let her hands drop to her sides, and he pulled one arm from the sleeve, touching a kiss to her palm, and then the inside of her wrist, kissing his way up to her shoulder. Then he repeated the process with her other arm, taking his time, keeping the kisses featherlight, enjoying the way tiny goosebumps broke out on her petal soft skin.

With her arms free, he quickly tugged the sweater over her head and tossed it aside, then stripped off her yoga pants and panties, leaving her perfectly naked before him. There wasn't a single part of her delectable body he didn"t want to kiss and touch. Those long lean legs wrapped around his waist as he sunk into her tight, wet heat would be pure bliss, and those perfect breasts of hers were practically begging to be licked and sucked.

"Umm, Tate? I can"t help but notice things are a little uneven," Scarlett said, voice husky with desire, indicating her naked body and his fully clothed one.

"Then we better rectify that, hadn"t we, sweetheart?" Pulling his T-shirt over his head, it quickly joined her clothes on the floor as did his sweat pants and boxers.

After trailing along his pecs, and abs, Scarlett's gaze landed on his erection and stuck there. She did that cute thing again where her tongue darted out to sweep across her bottom lip, and right now it sent every drop of blood not already headed south zinging straight there.

"The things you do to me," he murmured as he scooped her up and laid them both down on the bed.

"What do I do to you?"

"The craziest things. I didn"t know I could feel like this," he admitted as he rolled onto his back so Scarlett was on top.

"I didn"t know either. It's almost too much, and yet at the same time, the fullness feels like … perfection. Happiness. Belonging." As she spoke she lifted her hips so they were right above his hard length and sunk down just enough to take the tip of him inside her.

While he was certainly no teenage boy who came before his girl did, just the smallest feel of Scarlett around him was almost enough to make him come.

Not that he had any intention of hurrying her.

Tonight was Scarlett's night, and he was going to let her do whatever she wanted. Even if it was the most exquisite torture.

Instead, as she sank down slowly, one inch at a time, and her head fell back in delight, he claimed one of her breasts that was thrust forward as his other hand found her bud and began to work it over. Her pebbled nipples and bundle of nerves responded to his touch, and he could feel the pleasure beginning to hum through her body in the small tremors that rippled through it.

Each tug of a nipple, each swipe of his thumb across her bud, elicited another moan from her lips. His length jerked and pulsed as Scarlett took more of it inside her, and by the time he was finally buried deep, he was clinging to control so he didn"t grab her hips and began to thrust into her, pushing both of them over the edge.

Staying in the moment, focused purely on the expression of bliss on Scarlett's face, he held onto his control as she began to rock her hips, finding a rhythm that worked for her. Lifting her hips until only his tip remained inside her, she sank back down again, then she'd roll her hips bringing him dangerously close to coming, before lifting up again.

Their breathing began to grow choppy as they drew ever closer to the inevitable.

Desperation had his fingers working faster, pressing harder as he tweaked her nipples, and rolled her bundle of nerves between a thumb and forefinger.

"I"m so close, Tate, but I can"t … I can"t get there," Scarlett whispered in a tortured voice.

"I got you, sweetheart, always." Grabbing her hips, he positioned his hands so that with every thrust, his fingertips would graze her bud and set a faster pace, a harder pace, shoving everything he felt for her into each thrust.

Her internal muscles began to quiver, each breath more a pant, he felt her getting tighter, and then all of a sudden, she snapped. Her head fell back as a scream of pleasure tore through her and his name tumbled from her lips.

Allowing himself to hit his release it exploded through him with a ferocity he hadn"t been expecting, although he probably should have.

As the pleasure began to dim, he pulled Scarlett down to rest against his chest, keeping himself buried inside her. "You"re everything I was sure I didn"t want, and didn"t know I needed, sweetheart. Thank you for giving me this chance to prove to you I can be the answer to your dreams."

With a content sigh, she nuzzled her face against his neck. "Thank you for showing me what it feels like to be treasured."

"Always," he promised, finding it the easiest promise he'd ever made, and one he knew he wouldn't have any trouble keeping.