Chapter 17

When I see my father's gun, the only thing I'm able to do is scream. By that point it's too late, and everything happens in slow motion. Luke lets out a loud grunt when the bullet hits him in the back. As I reach for him, I see Rue slamming her fist into my father"s face. Then I watch in horror as three shots hit my father in the center of his chest and he crumples to the ground.

"Luke!" I cry out, but I'm pinned under him and can't see how bad it is. "Luke!" No, he can't leave me.

"That always fuckin hurts," he grunts and then lifts his head.

"Are you bleeding?" I try to push him off me so I can look at his back, but he doesn't move.

"No, I've got a vest on."

I close my eyes as relief floods me.

"Don't cry." He presses his mouth to mine in a soft kiss, but it only makes me cry more.

"I'm sorry I left the house," I hiccup. "What a mess I've made."

"It's fine, sweetness. Everyone is okay, and that's all that matters," he reassures me.

Luke moves off of me, and when he gets up, he pulls me with him. I know he said he has a vest on but I still lift his shirt to see for myself. I run my fingers across where the bullet is lodged into the thick vest and say a silent prayer of thanks that he was protected.

"He's dead," Marco mutters from beside me.

He's staring at our father's dead body while Rue nudges him with her foot.

"Yep," she chirps, confirming that Vince Sledge is truly dead.

"Who the hell are you?" the man that came in with Luke asks her.

"She's Rue," Marco answers for her.

"Are you okay?" I lay my hands on Marco's shoulder. I know we hate our father, but this is a lot to take in.

"He's dead," Marco repeats, and it's like his entire body unclenches with relief. "Do we have to bury them or something?"

"Why don't you go to your room and grab anything you want to take with us," Luke tells him. Marco doesn't have to be asked twice before he rushes off.

"I'll clean this up if you want to get them out of here," the other man says and then tucks his gun into the holster under his arm.

"Great. I'm going to dip out. It was nice meeting everyone." Rue creeps closer towards the door, but the man's voice stops him.

"You're not going anywhere."

"Who is he?" I whisper to Luke.

"My foster brother Maxim."

"You a cop or something?" Rue tosses back at Maxim, putting her hands on her hips.

"Or something." He nods toward the couch. "Sit your pretty ass down." That chipper expression falls from Rue's face, and I can practically see her carefully crafted fa?ade fade. She glares at him with contempt, and I wonder for the hundredth time where the hell she came from.

"She kinda helped us," I tell them because I don't want her to get swept up in whatever this cleanup is.

"She stays put," Maxim responds, pulling out his phone.

"You all right?" Luke pulls my attention back to him.

"You're the one who was shot. Are you all right?"

"I am now that I got you and Marco back."

Those words make me melt into him. He was as worried about both of us.

"I love you," I blurt out, and his brows lift. "I know it's soon, and we don't really know each other enough, but with everything?—"

He cuts off my rambling with a kiss that nearly knocks me to my ass. When he breaks away, I'm left breathless as he looks into my eyes.

"I love you too." He touches his forehead to mine. "Now let's go home."

The idea fills me with hope and warmth. "I'd like that."

After we get our things and Maxim assures us that everything will be taken care of, we don't go back to the safe house. Instead, Luke packs us up and takes us to his home. By the time we get there, it's late and Marco is out cold. We get him inside and settled into one of the guest rooms without so much as a peep. I know that eventually we'll have to talk about what went on today, but for now, I'm going to let him rest.

After we close the door to Marco's bedroom, Luke turns to me with a serious expression. "He can do whatever he wants to the room to make it feel like his or we can find a bigger place. Whatever you?—"

This time I'm the one kissing the words away as I slide my tongue over his and he moans into my mouth. He presses his body against mine, and my curves meet every hard edge.

"Make love to me," I manage to say between desperate kisses.

Luke grips my ass, lifting me off my feet. My legs go around him, and he doesn't stop kissing me until my back hits a soft bed.

"Lose the clothes, sweetness," he orders, and I scurry to my knees to shed all of them. My eyes never leave him as I watch him do the same, and I had no idea how hot this could be.

Watching him get naked is erotic as hell, but it's not only that. It"s all the gear he put on when he came to save us too. His vest hits the floor with a loud thud, and Luke reaches down to remove a gun and a few knives from his ankles. He places all his weapons on the nightstand before the rest of his clothes hit the floor.

When he's completely naked, I lick my lips as I take in the size of his cock. He wraps his hand around it, stroking himself, and I can't take my eyes off of him.

"It will fit," he says like he's reading my thoughts.

"I know. I trust you." I crawl over to the side of the bed and realize just how true those words are. I've never trusted anyone more in my life, and I trust him more than I do myself.

A bead of cum forms at the tip of his cock, and I lean forward to lick it up. When I steal the taste of him, Luke lets out a deep groan before his fingers slip into my hair.

"I need to be inside of you."

I open my mouth to take more of him, but he shakes his head. He pushes me back on the bed and spreads my legs. Before I get the chance to say anything, Luke dips his head between my thighs and buries his face in my pussy.

"Luke," I moan and rock against his face. It feels incredible, but we both want something more. I want that connection, and I need it right this second. "Inside me."

He takes one last lick across my clit before he gives me what I want and crawls up my body. When his body covers mine, he grabs the base of his cock and guides it to my opening.

"I love you," he says before thrusting all the way inside of me.

I gasp, losing my breath for a second at the sharp pinch of pain. I don't want him to stop, so I wrap my legs around him to keep him from retreating.

"Tell me you're okay."

"I'm more than okay," I whisper against his lips as my hands move up his chest. "Make love to me."

Luke pulls out then thrusts back in, and any pain I had before has dissolved into nothing but pleasure.

"Fuck, you're tight," he grits out. "Not going to last."

"Don't hold back. We have forever." I know I'm going to spend my life making love to this man, so we've got all the time in the world.

"Fuck, yes we do." His hand slips between us, and I feel him gently stroking my clit. "But you're going to cum on my cock first."

I moan at his dirty words and raise my hips for him to go deeper. I'm so close, and he feels like heaven between my legs.

"You'll be my wife." He says it like an order, and I nod.

"Yes."

"You'll be the mother of my children," he orders again.

"God, yes!" I moan as the pleasure builds and builds.

"Then cum around my dick and prove how much you love me."

The fullness of his cock combined with the steady strum against my clit makes me fall to pieces. My climax is like a bright star bursting into a million little lights, and I'm blinded by how good it feels. There are tears in my eyes as the pleasure overwhelms me, and then I feel his warm release. I cry out his name while he buries his face in my neck. His heavy breathing is the only thing I can hear as our hearts race and we gasp for air.

"We're getting married tomorrow," Luke says, breaking the silence, and a laugh bubbles out of me.

"Okay," I agree. I'd agree to anything for this man but especially now while I'm a puddle of love and lust.

"There is no going back." He lifts his head to show me how serious he is. It's written all over his handsome face, and I can see my own love reflected in him.

"I don't want to go back," I tell him. "I've finally found where I belong. I'm all in."