32. Elio

32

ELIO

I 'm no stranger to police interrogations, but this time, I'm antsy, irritated. I should take my family home so they can begin to recover from the horror of the day.

Finally, after hours of questioning, I'm able to drive Piper and Elysse home. Matteo stays behind a little longer to make sure he and I are in the clear of any wrongdoing.

The night has been long and emotionally draining for all of us, but especially for Elysse. She's been through a traumatic ordeal no child should ever have to face. I grew up in a family that wasn't beyond using violence, but I'd never seen it until I was a teenager. Elysse is only seven!

I glance over at Piper in the passenger seat beside me. She looks exhausted, her face drawn and pale. But there's a fierce protectiveness in the way she holds Elysse close. I'm breaking the law driving them with Elysse in Piper's lap, but there was no way Piper was going to stop holding Elysse.

I roll my shoulders, feeling unsettled, although I can't pinpoint why. Piper and Elysse are safe from Gabriel forever. Perhaps that's it. They don't need me to protect them anymore. Piper is free to pursue her goals and dreams, find herself without me. After everything that's happened, I wouldn't blame her if she wanted nothing more to do with me or the violence that follows me.

When we arrive back at the house, I carry Elysse as Piper and I walk through the front door.

Lana greets us. "Thank God you're safe."

"Is there anything for them to eat?" It's way past dinnertime. In fact, it's past Elysse's bedtime. But I want normalcy for them before they go to bed.

"I'll check." Lana leaves us to check the kitchen.

"Daddy?" Elysse whispers. "I was so scared."

I smooth her hair back from her face. "I know, baby girl. But you were so brave. I'm so proud of you."

Elysse's bottom lip trembles as tears fill her eyes. "He said he was going to hurt Mommy if I didn't behave. That it would be all my fault."

White hot rage fills me at Gabriel's cruel manipulation. But I push it down. He's dead, and Elysse needs me to be calm, steady.

"He was wrong. Nothing he did was your fault. And Mommy and I will always protect you, no matter what." I carry her to the family room and sit on the couch with her on my lap. I desperately need a shot of something one-hundred proof.

"He said you weren't my real daddy. That you stole me and Mommy from him and he was going to make you pay."

I exchange a pained look with Piper over our daughter's head.

"That's not true. Remember, I knew your daddy a long time ago. We're his family," Piper says, resting her hand on Elysse's.

Her words fill me with hope that Piper isn't going to decide she needs independence from me.

Elysse curls into my body. "I tried to tell him I wanted to go back to school and wait for Mommy to pick me up. But he got really mad." A shudder racks her small frame. "He grabbed my arm really hard and said if I didn't do what he said, he'd hurt Mommy."

Piper makes a choked sound, tears spilling down her cheeks. I feel sick to my stomach. I want to resurrect Gabriel just so I can kill him again, slowly and painfully.

But I focus on my little girl. "You listen to me, Elysse. You did nothing wrong. What Gabriel did, the things he said, he was wrong. You were so brave today. So strong. Mommy and I are so proud of you."

"That's right, baby," Piper says tearfully.

"Just remember, you should only leave school with Mommy or me. Maybe Matteo or Lana." Perhaps I should discuss that with Piper first. In fact, I should discuss private school with her. I have no problem with public school, but private establishments are easier to assert my control over. With a few bucks, I can make sure Elysse has a guard with her.

Elysse nods solemnly. "Okay." She snuggles against me again, her little body growing heavy, her breathing evening out as she succumbs to exhaustion.

"She's asleep." Piper brushes Elysse's hair away from her face. "We should put her to bed."

"Shouldn't she eat?"

"I think she'll be okay. I was able to give her a snack when I got to… well…"

I take Piper's hand and squeeze it. "Let's put her to bed."

I carry Elysse upstairs to her bedroom, using my elbow to flick on the lights. She stirs slightly as I lower her to the bed but doesn't fully wake. I tuck the covers around her, making sure her favorite stuffed bunny is nestled in the crook of her arm.

For a long moment, I simply stand there, my arm around Piper as we watch Elysse looking peaceful in sleep. The events of the day replay in my mind. I came so close to losing her, losing both of them.

I lean down to press a kiss to Elysse's forehead. "I love you, baby girl."

I make sure to turn on the nightlight before quietly slipping out of the room with Piper, leaving the door cracked so the hall light filters in.

"How are you?" I ask, taking Piper into my arms. "Hungry?"

She shakes her head and lets out a laugh. "I left dinner on the stove."

"Don't worry about that. Let's go down?—"

"I'm tired too. I want to go to bed."

I lead her back to our bedroom. When I close the door, Piper presses herself into me.

"Thank you. For protecting Elysse. For keeping her safe."

I tighten my arms around her. "I'll always protect her, Piper. Her and you." Will she let me keep protecting them?

She pulls back to look at me, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I was so scared, Elio. When I realized Gabriel had taken her from school, I thought…" She chokes on a sob, unable to finish.

I cup her face in my hands, brushing away her tears with my thumbs. "I know. But she's safe now. We all are."

I lean in to capture her lips in a soft, tender kiss. It's not about passion or desire, but rather a reaffirmation of love and my commitment to her.

When she breaks away, she presses her head against my chest. "I'm sorry for putting you and Elysse through all that fear today. You were right about Gabriel. I should have listened to you from the start."

My instinct is to tell her it's alright, but I don't. I want her to trust me, trust me to honor her need to make her own choices, but also to trust my advice.

"I understand why you wanted to handle things your way. You've had so much taken out of your control. It's natural to want to take some of that back. But sometimes, you need to heed warnings and advice."

She nods, sniffling softly. "I'm still struggling with finding my center, my sense of self again."

I tense, worried this is where she's going to tell me she needs time away to find herself. "I get that, Piper. I do. I'm always going to support you in finding your way. But I need you to know that you can lean on me, too. That accepting help and support doesn't mean you're giving up a piece of yourself."

She gives me a wobbly smile. "I know. I'm working on trusting that you have my best interests at heart."

I swallow hard, steeling myself to ask the question I'm afraid to find out the answer to. "Is that what your resistance has been about? Not wanting to need a man? Or do you equate Gabriel's behaviors with my work?"

Piper's eyes widen. "What? Elio, no. I know I said that, but you're not like him."

"It's okay if it is," I assure her, even as my heart clenches at the thought. "I know my life isn't easy, that loving me comes with a price, a risk. And after everything you've been through, I wouldn't blame you for being uncertain. You said since you were forced to move to England, you haven't been in charge of your own life. Maybe that's what you want. Without me." My breath stalls in my chest as I wait, wondering what she wants.

She shakes her head vehemently, reaching out to cradle my face in her hands. "Elio, I meant what I said earlier when I thought I might not make it out of that house. I love you. I've always loved you. It won't ever change."

Relief crashes through me, but I have to be sure. "Even if loving me means dealing with the darker parts of my world?"

Piper holds my gaze, her blue eyes fierce and unwavering. "Even then. I'm not going to pretend it doesn't scare me sometimes. But I know the man you are, Elio. The father you are. And that's the man I love, the man I choose."

I capture her lips with mine. I pour every ounce of my love, my devotion, into the kiss. Piper responds with equal fervor, her hands sliding into my hair to hold me close.

When we finally break apart, I rest my forehead against hers, breathing heavily. "I love you, Piper. You and Elysse are my entire world."

She smiles. "I trust you, Elio. With my life, with our daughter's life. With my heart."

I pull her into my arms, holding her close as we sink back down onto the bed. "I can't tell you how much I needed to hear that."

"Maybe you can show me."

I smile as my heart, on the verge of cracking apart since the moment I heard Gabriel had Elysse, begins to mend. "I'll do my best."

I take my time touching her, exposing and caressing her soft skin as I undress her. I kiss her languidly, wanting to draw this moment out forever.

She pushes me back, her own hands sliding over me, touching me like she's wanting to reacquaint herself with me. She settles over my thighs, and I lever up, cupping her tits, rubbing my thumbs over the hard, pink nipples.

She gasps, and it's beautiful.

"I'm sorry I didn't come looking for you eight years ago," I say. The guilt of that mistake will haunt me forever. To think of all I've missed. To think if I'd hunted her down, she'd never have been subjected to Gabriel's battery.

"Like you said. That's the past. Let's just move forward, Elio. Can we?"

I nod as I guide her hips over me. "We can. We will." I ease her down, her body surrounding my dick, embracing it.

She lets out a sigh as she wraps her arms around me. "Starting now."

"Starting now," I agree.

Words are lost as we give in to sensation. The pure love radiating between us. The glorious sensations of my body joined with hers. It's beyond perfection.

I roll her under me, pushing her knees up so she can open more, so I can sink in deeper. I want to be a part of her. Not just her body, but her very soul.

Her legs hook around me. Her body moves with mine. I take her hands, gripping them in mine as I dip down and kiss her. We are connected deeper than ever before. My heart has always been hers, but now I'm sure hers is mine too.

"Elio." She arches back, exposing her long, graceful neck. I lean over, gently sucking, not caring if I leave a mark.

"Yes, baby. What do you need?" I shift, wanting to make sure I'm reaching all her most erotic parts.

"Oh!" Her body goes taut. "I love you… I love you." She comes apart chanting the words I've always wanted to hear.

"I love you…" I want to say more. To ask for a lifetime. But my orgasm crashes into me, consuming me. I hold on, hoping she can feel my love, my intention to love her forever.