30. Rook

30

ROOK

M y first step in taking care of Kitty is to help her shower. Her blood-stained clothes peeled from her body, leaving her standing in her underwear with blood painting her skin.

Paul’s blood.

It was still unclear whether he would pull through or not, but knowing he was in the hospital was all the relief we needed. I tossed her clothes aside, turned the shower on hot, and then held her hand as she stepped under the spray. I planned on giving her some privacy to wash herself, but as I moved to step away, Kitty’s hand tightened on mine.

“Don’t leave me,” she said softly as the water plastered her hair to her head and sent pink droplets running down her body.

“I won’t,” I assured her quietly. “I’m right here.” I stripped off my own clothes, and once I was naked, I stepped into the shower with her. Kitty was trembling faintly under my touch. I couldn’t tell if it was because of the temperature change or the adrenaline from everything that had happened to her over the past twenty-four hours, but I was here to make sure she didn’t feel unsafe.

Kitty leaned against my bare chest, and I took the time to lather up my hands. Only once she looked up at me with those gorgeous eyes did I begin to wash her. I kept my touch gentle and caressed her carefully and only applied pressure when I needed it to wash Paul’s blood from her body. Wash after wash, I repeated until finally, the water ran clear and there wasn’t a drop of blood left on her.

Her hair was next, and it was the first time I had ever seen her with her hair down. It was always braided in some form because she didn’t like her hair getting in the way, but now in the shower, all these gorgeous blonde curls turned gold with the water. I soaped up my hands and ran my fingers through her hair, sending a shiver through her body as she rested against me. We didn’t speak. I followed the cues of her body and massaged her scalp while stroking through those golden blonde strands.

Kitty closed her eyes and tipped her head back against my arm when it came to rinsing the shampoo free, and soon, she was all clean with her skin flushed from the heat.

“I want to stay here,” Kitty murmured, her lips pressed to my bare shoulder. “Right here, with you.”

I slowly wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to my chest so that we were both standing under the hot spray.

“We can stay here,” I said quietly, “for as long as you need.”

What Kitty suffered was unimaginable, but I would be here to help her through it and secure her each time she felt unsafe. Being attacked in your own home is traumatizing enough, but knowing she had fallen next to Paul without knowing he was still alive was even worse.

He might be fine, but that memory will stay with her for a long time.

I didn’t keep track of how long we stayed under the water, rocking back and forth. I held her because she needed to be held, and I wasn’t going to let her go until she wanted me to. Even when my fingertips began to prune and my toes curled, I remained right there for her.

And I would stay for as long as she needed me.

Eventually, Kitty was ready to leave the shower, so we stepped out onto the heated floor and wrapped one another in thick, fluffy blue towels. I carried her through to the bedroom and set her down on the bed, but Kitty quickly stood.

“I don’t want to sleep here,” she said.

“That’s okay. Should we get another room? Or do you want to come with me to the motel?” I understood her apprehension, and I was ready to provide more options if she needed them. To my surprise, Kitty shook her head.

“No, let’s sleep here.” Taking all the pillows she could carry, she moved out onto her balcony and dropped them down onto the ground. Then she came back for the blankets and more, which is when I stepped in to help.

I carried everything from her bed and all the blankets from her closet to create a nest out on the balcony. The only difficulty was how bitingly cold it was after such a hot shower, but Kitty didn’t seem affected at all. She created a thick, snug nest, then discarded her towel and dove right in.

I followed suit, and the moment I was comfortable with countless blankets on top of me, Kitty latched onto my side and cuddled in.

“I don’t want to be inside,” Kitty said, her voice muffled against my arm.

“That’s okay,” I assured her, kissing the top of her damp head. “I’ll keep you warm out here. I promise.”

Above us, the dark sky was filled with a million twinkling stars that stretched out in all directions. It reminded me of the night we spent on the flatbed of my truck. If this was where Kitty felt safe, then this was where we would sleep.

Her body cuddled into mine as she aligned us body to body and leg to leg as much as she could. Our height differences made that a little difficult, but Kitty had no problem tangling our legs together as she cuddled in. Her head rested on my shoulder, and her hand started to dance across my chest.

“It doesn’t feel real,” Kitty murmured.

“Which part?”

“All of it. I replay it in my head, and it doesn’t feel real. Not Anton. Not Paul. Not my dad being a dick. None of it.”

I tightened my arm around her and pressed my lips to her hairline. “I know. But I’ll take care of you, okay? No matter what happens, no matter who I have to fight or how many lawyers I have to hire, I will be right here for you.”

“Why?” Kitty asked, and her voice was hoarse.

When I looked down, her eyelashes sparkled with unshed tears. “Kitty, what do you mean, why?”

“Why are you being so good to me? Look at what I’ve done. I can’t help the people of this town. I can barely get my parents to understand me. I was the one who reached out to Anton, and Paul is in the hospital. And now you might end up in prison, and I’ll be alone with this baby.”

“Kitty.” I rolled over and gently grasped her chin to tilt her head up to meet my eyes. “None of this is your fault. The people here suffer because of your dad who doesn’t listen because he’s a stubborn prick. Anton was clearly always a psychotic prick, and Paul is paid more than enough to make taking a bullet worthwhile. He will be okay. And as for me?” I nudged my nose gently against hers. “I love you. I made my choice, and if there are consequences, then I will face them, but I do not regret it. Not even for a second. Because I love you. And I love that we have created a life together that’s growing inside you. I have gained a family with you, and I love you. There is no why .”

Kitty tilted her head up and kissed me slowly, almost lazily, and I pressed into it with a happy hum rumbling in the back of my throat.

Anything she wanted, I was happy to give.

“I love you too,” Kitty murmured against my lips.

“I like how that tastes.” I smiled against her, and Kitty finally laughed. It was a soft, warm sound that chased away any lingering cold in my soul. With firm hands, she pulled me slowly on top of her, and as I settled, careful to distribute my weight, she wrapped her legs around my thighs and hooked her ankles together.

“I want to feel you,” Kitty whispered, kissing the tip of my nose. “Inside me.”

I didn’t need to be asked twice. I kissed her again, and we eased into a lazy pattern of kissing one way for a few minutes, then tilting our heads and kissing in the other direction. Her hands wandered lazily up and down my back while our hips lazily rolled against one another. I kept one hand braced next to her head, balancing myself while the other trailed up and down her torso. From her breasts to her hips, I caressed the same paths I’d taken with the soap, only with more intent behind them now.

Soon, each kiss we broke made Kitty gasp for air, and the warmth that built between us was smothering. Nothing else mattered, and my cock, which had swelled with interest within the first thirty seconds, was aching between my thighs as I continued to grind down against Kitty. I was listening to her gasps, feeling her rapid heart beneath my fingertips, and tasting the desire on her tongue.

I teased her until I was certain she was ready, and then, when she begged me with a whispering moan, I eased inside her slowly.

Kitty arched up against me and whimpered as each thick inch spread her open. I settled inside her, deep and warm as my eyes rolled back into darkness. She was soaked, and her wetness dampened my thighs as I snugly ground our hips together and seated myself fully inside her. She tightened her legs around my hips and her arms around my shoulders, then Kitty cupped my face and looked into my eyes.

“Not yet,” she whispered as crimson flushed from her cheeks to her throat. “I want to feel you.”

“And do you?” I asked, losing myself in her beauty.

Kitty nodded, then her face lit up with a wide smile and her eyes sparkled in awe as she looked past me and toward the sky. “Oh, my God.”

“What?” I turned my head and above us, the stars started to fall. Sort of.

In the time we had been nuzzling and exploring one another, thick clouds had rolled overhead, and the first snow of Christmas was floating down to greet us. Fat snowflakes danced around us and settled onto the blankets, only to melt instantly in the heat we had created.

“It’s beautiful,” Kitty whimpered, then she clenched around my cock and moaned. “Okay. I feel you.”

With her permission, I turned back to face her and kissed her deeply as I started to move my hips. With each thrust, I poured all my love and desire into her, as if I could imprint my promise to protect her onto her soul with every second we were connected. She moaned and writhed beneath me, never breaking eye contact, and when she did look away, I brought her back to me with a kiss.

It was the most intimate I had ever been with someone, staring right into her eyes as I fucked her with snow falling around us and creating a gentle blanket of white.

When we came, we came together, and I etched Kitty’s gorgeous, pleasure-filled face into my memory with the intent of seeing it every day for the rest of my life.

“I love you,” became a promise of eternity.

The next morning, the Morgan manor was draped in a thick blanket of snow. It was as if the crispness was trying to give us a fresh canvas to work from. A fresh start.

Kitty and I stood in the lounge with hot coffee, observing a few of the guards trying to navigate their morning patrol through the snow. It was quite amusing, and the sight of the snow had given Kitty a permanent smile until her parents arrived with breakfast.

“Kitty, darling. How did you sleep?” asked her mom.

Kitty glanced at me. “Like a baby.”

“I’m glad. I’m glad. Come, sit. We have croissants!”

Kitty squeezed my hand then let go and moved to sit near her mother. I followed until Samuel appeared, and then I froze.

“Samuel.”

“Hugo.”

“Dad.” Kitty pulled one of the croissants onto her plate. “If you’re here for another argument, then none of us want to hear it.”

“No,” Samuel sighed deeply like a weathered bag losing the last of its structure. “I… I am here to apologize.”

Stiffness worked its way up my spine as I regarded him. “For?”

“For… everything. I… am sorry. Yesterday, I almost lost the most important thing in my life. My daughter. I was blinded by stubbornness, I know, and then when everything worked out in its own way, I was angry that you could protect my family, Rook, and I couldn’t.”

I remained silent, observing him.

“I have made a lot of mistakes, and it takes me time to process things. I didn’t want to accept that my actions and my choices brought such danger to my family, but it is an unavoidable fact, and for that I am sorry.”

Mrs. Morgan reached out for her husband and took his hand, smiling as though she wrote part of this apology. Given her scolding yesterday, I wouldn’t be surprised.

“Dad,” Kitty sighed. “I’m not ready to forgive you, but I know it must be hard to stand there and say this, so I am listening.” She looked at me, then wrinkled her nose and glanced back at her father. “Is Rook safe? You’re not going to do anything about his contract, are you?”

“No,” Samuel said quietly. “I won’t be. You’ve done a great service to me, Rook, and to this family. And now you will be a part of it because you are giving me a grandchild.”

I could tell just how hard it was for him to admit that out loud, but it was progress and that was all I could ask for. At his reassurance that nothing would become of my contract, my shoulders suddenly became lighter.

“I’m going to need that in writing,” I said firmly. “Just in case.”

Kitty snorted softly, and Samuel nodded at me. Then Mrs. Morgan clapped her hands together and clutched at Kitty.

“Alright, let’s not linger on how awkward that was for your father. We have more important things to focus on!”

“Like?” Kitty asked between bites.

“Tomorrow, silly!” Mrs. Morgan smiled brightly. “Christmas Eve? What better way to blow away the cobwebs of this whole ordeal than the Yuletide Ball!”

Kitty straightened up and her head whipped around to me. “Be my date?”

I smiled. “Suit’s already secured.”