A Kingpin Love Affair: The Complete series(51)

“My heart stopped beating. My mind started to think of ways I could have misunderstood what I had seen. I thought I knew what it was like to feel broken, but when I thought you were— God, I can’t even say it! I knew then what it really felt like to be broken.” The beeping of the machines filled the silence she had allowed to form between us before she continued on.

“I thought you were gone. You were. You died. I saw it with my own two eyes. You were shot in the chest. You were bleeding to death—there was so much blood. Blood everywhere. On my hands, on you…” In her voice, I knew something was off—that everything wasn’t right. That something had happened and she didn’t want to burden me with whatever she was carrying.

“It was a miracle really. I didn’t understand how they had found us. I didn’t know they were there… Alzerro said he tracked us by your phone and car. That-t-t he had put some sort of device on your GPS system in case something happened. He said, after calling you and getting no answer, he started to worry. That something told him you and I were in danger.”

I smiled inside as my eyes stayed trained on her. God, we were so f*cking lucky. I couldn’t even picture what life would be like if we were still there.

Isabella’s words played back in my mind.

You died.

I would still be dead.

Emotions continued to swarm me. I was breathing now, I was alive, and I had never felt more life flowing through me—more now than ever.





Chapter Thirty


Isabella

Two months had passed, and I still felt as if a part of me had been left behind in that warehouse. I had told Jared everything I could in between the tears that had escaped. He understood, so much so he hadn’t touched me with more than a hug or a kiss. He didn’t want to hurt me or make me feel trapped. He wouldn’t even sleep next to me in fear I would have a nightmare thinking I was back in the warehouse.

That fear, that anger in his eyes as I told him what Israel had done to me and what I had done in return to him, I’ll never forget it. Just like I would never regret taking Israel’s life. They didn’t charge me. In their eyes, it was self-defense, and the fact they had orders to kill him when they got their hands on him anyway. It didn’t matter to them who took his life as long as he was no longer breathing. I had just done them and the rest of the world a favor it would seem.

“Isabella?” Jared called my name so softly I almost missed it. I spent a lot of time inside of my head now. Words didn’t need to be said between us as all it took was one look for him to understand where I was in my mind.

“Jared?” I said his name as I turned my head away from the television and smiled at him. I hated the distance he had put between us. Because of others, he felt even the littlest of things would push me over the edge. He didn’t realize he was the one thing that could cure the ache inside of me. The memories.

“I love you.” He pulled me from my spot on the couch and into his lap, his arms wrapping around me. The smell of soap and the intoxicating scent only Jared could hold filled my nostrils causing my body to come to life. Jared’s nose nuzzled against my neck as he breathed against my flesh. He was calming me. He had done this numerous times as a way to relieve the stress. We both knew the good that being close could do for one another. To feel his breath upon me put my soul at ease.

“How are you feeling?” I barely got the question out. My body and mind were thinking about two very different things.

“I’m feeling…” a kiss replaced the warm breath against my neck, “…like I need to be close to you.” Another kiss. “One with you.” Another kiss. My mind was swirling, my body becoming a puddle of lust.

“It’s okay now. I’m okay now...” I reassured him as he picked me up and turned me around to face him as if I weighed nothing at all. We now faced each other, our eyes bleeding into one another’s.

“The moment I let you get underneath my skin was the moment I knew things would be different for the rest of my life.” I could feel tears prick at my eyes. I wrapped my arms around him tightly, never wanting to let go.

“Shhh. I want my body to say the words I know I will never be able to. I want you to know how much I love you, not only with my touch but with my heart.” He pushed the sides of my tank top down and blazed a trail of kisses across my chest. My body grew warmer with every kiss against my skin.

“Ahhh…” I moaned out as pleasure took over. Without blinking, I found myself removing my shirt, the frenzy to finally have our bodies meet one another’s after two months of nothing. I healed, I was moving past it, but now I wanted to bare myself to him. I wanted to feel something other than the past. I wanted to feel his love in every single way.

Jared’s hands roamed over my body as if he were painting our future and undoing the past. He gripped my waist, lifting me off him so he could unbutton his pants as I let my flowy skirt and panties hit the floor. I stood before him, naked and ready to take on the world.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered. I watched his muscles flex and took in the scar on his chest that signified the pain we had endured—and what we were.

We were a miracle. He was a miracle, and our love was a miracle.

He stood up, pulled my body into his as he pressed his mouth against mine. His lips were soft, yet his tongue was harsh against my own as if we were dancing to the beat of our own drums. His hardness flushed with my softness, turned the simmering fire to a burning blaze. I wanted our bodies touching in the most intimate ways. I wanted to feel every part of him all over me.