Beyond(25)

He rolls me under him, his heavy body pressing into mine. “I’m many things but a cheater isn’t one of them, okay? Besides, I only have eyes to you. No other woman makes me hard anymore,” he says, grinding his hardness against me. “You feel that? All for you baby.”

“Dane,” I breathe. “I want you.”

“I want you too,” he says, lifting my nightdress up. “No panties. Hmmm.”

I help him pull down his pants, spread my legs and urge him into me.

“Yes,” I whisper as he slides inside me.

How did I ever live without this?





“Dane,” I say, sleepy and sated after our lovemaking.

“Yes, beautiful,” he replies gently.

“Where did you go, before our wedding?”

The fingers that were running up my arm still. “Do you remember what happened five years ago?”

I nod. “Sure. The virus spread from country to country. They couldn’t contain it anymore. I remember a loud blast, like the world was coming to an end. Chaos. Everyone was losing it. Looting, breaking things. Running, hiding. Killing. My dad protected me. Made sure we got out safely.”

“Right,” he murmurs. “A lot of us escaped the city and came out here, where there were grasslands and fields. We came to live like we would have in old times, where we could hide, and live off the land in peace. Unfortunately, not everyone wanted that. I came across a man, Dravid, his name was. I’d met a girl and we were travelling together. She was alone and I was protecting her. This was before I met Gina.”

I kiss his arm, silently asking him to continue.

“Dravid invited us to stay with him, gave us food and shelter. I thought he was just a nice man, helping people, like I would do,” he says, his voice hardening. “But the truth is there aren’t many good people out there anymore. He was an evil man. He used to sell slaves. Human trafficking. He’d doused the food and it put us to sleep. When I woke up, I was locked in a cell.”

“What happened?” I ask, rubbing my chest absently where it was suddenly hurting.

“He had women captive there. Passing men that had something to barter with, he would offer them one of the women as payment. He was acting like a pimp, forcing women that he had found to sleep with whoever he demanded.”

I gasp. “Gina?”

“Yes, Gina,” he replies sadly. “One day a man came in, and wanted to see a live sex show. Dravid said that if I didn’t have sex with Gina in front of them, he was going to kill her and I was going to watch, and it would be my fault.”

Tears pool in my eyes. “I’m so sorry Dane.”

So that’s what he meant when he said he didn’t have a choice. He really was a good man and I kept throwing Gina in his face.

“No wonder you’re so protective of her,” I whisper. “So what happened?”

“Your dad happened actually,” he says, sounding amused. “He came across us and saved us all. Dravid got away though. When I went away before the wedding, we’d gotten word on his whereabouts. I wanted him dead. I had to go. I wanted him to be gone from this world before I married you. Evan wanted it too. We’d been working hard to find him. He was pure evil Olivia, I’m not even going to tell you the things he’s done. I wanted to stay for the wedding, I did, but we couldn’t let him get away. More innocent lives were at stake, and I couldn’t be that selfish. Luckily, I was able to find him and return in time for that wedding kiss.”

“Did you kill him?”

“Yes, does that bother you?” he asks slowly.

“No,” I reply honestly. “It doesn’t.”

He’s quiet for a few moments. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“I ask myself the same thing about you,” I whisper into the darkened room.





Chapter Thirteen





The days pass quickly, and soon Dane and several of his men are getting ready to leave in search of supplies.

“I’ll be back in a few days,” Dane tells me as I tie his hair back with a leather thong at the nape of his neck. “I’ll look for some honeysuckle flowers for you.”

I smile at his thoughtfulness. “Don’t worry about anything except coming home to me in one piece.”

“I always do,” he says, standing and turning to me, wrapping me in his arms. I felt safe, cared for, in his arms. Like I was meant to be there.

“Sam and Jase will be here, along with others. I know you think Jase is a pain in the ass but he’s a skilled fighter and does whatever needs to be done. I’ll feel better with both of them here, at your side.”

“You’re taking Lars?” I ask.

He nods. “I’ll also feel better with Lars at my side. He’s my right hand man. You know this.”

I did. “I’ll feel better if you have Lars with you as well.”

His lips suddenly kick up at the corners. “Who thought we’d be here right now? Sure as f*ck not me.”

I smile back. “Now that I have you, I’m not letting you go.”

“Wouldn’t want you to,” he says, leaning his forehead against mine. “I have the most beautiful, brave, courageous woman by my side. What else could I want?”