Predator - A Stand Alone Suspense Romance(71)

Alex, the man who’s supposed to be my husband. The handyman who loves fixing things.

Who is the real man that’s lying next to me?

I hear him move, and I whisper, “Why did you really keep me?”

It’s quiet for a while, but I know he’s awake. I can feel his energy.

“I saw someone who was broken, and I wanted to fix you.”

“Because you couldn’t save Leah?”

“Partly, but mainly because your own uncle wanted you dead. My father tried to kill me once - that’s when I left for the army. We had that in common. Our own blood wanted us dead.”

I absorb what he’s telling me and then turn on my back. I stare up at the dark ceiling.

“Why are you staying with me now?” I close my eyes, scared of what his answer might be.

“I’ve never met anyone as strong as you. Normally, people are scared shitless of me, but although you were scared in the beginning, you didn’t back down. You were at your lowest and you still stood your ground in front of me. I’ve never seen such strength in anyone. It’s a rare beauty. Life just keeps taking blows at you, and you just keep getting up.”

“Life hits like a bitch,” I joke and we both chuckle, knowing it’s not the truth. Life hits hard, so fucking hard, but it helps to joke sometimes.

“I’m not angry,” I whisper. “It just hit me that I’m alone. I have no family. I don’t know who you really are.” I suck in a deep breath and whisper, “I just feel so alone.”

I feel him turn on his side, his eyes on me. “I’m just a man in love with a kick-ass girl.”

I chuckle and turn on my side, too, looking into his eyes for the first time in days. I’m glad it’s dark so I don’t get the full impact of those grays.

I want to make a joke to break the tension but instead a sob bubbles over my lips and the words come out thick with tears, “So you won’t leave me?”

He moves closer to me, and then his fingers brush over the curve of my cheek. “Never.”

“Not even when I grow old and fat?”

He laughs and leans in until I can feel the heat of his breath on my lips. “Not even then.” He presses a kiss to my lips and then whispers, “I live you, Cara. I live for you, and I’ll die for you. There’s nothing here for me but you.”

“I live you, Alex,” I whisper, and he pulls back.

“Why Alex all of a sudden?”

“Sam belongs in your past. I’ll never get to know him. I think he died with Leah, and I’ll let her have him to keep her safe wherever she is. Damian is a cleaner who saved my life, but Alex is my husband, and he pieced me back together. Alex is my family.”

He presses a kiss to my lips again and then whispers, “I live you, Nina.”

This time it’s my turn to pull back with a grin pulling at my lips. “Why Nina all of a sudden?”

“Cara is an eighteen-year-old girl who died the day her parents died. I think we should let her rest in peace with them. Karen, she suffered so much heartache. To be honest, no one can possibly survive everything she had to endure. I think it’s best we let her go, but Nina, she’s this kick-ass chick who works down at the hardware store, and I really want to score with her.”

Laughter bursts from my lips, and I roll onto his chest. “So you want to get into my pants?”

“Hell, yeah,” he growls, his hands slipping over my hips and gripping my ass tight.

I push off of him and laugh. “Then you better buy me dinner first. I’m not that easy.”

I hear him chuckle as I walk to the kitchen to make myself some tea. The smell of coffee has made my stomach churn the last couple of days.

I’m glad we had this talk. I feel better, as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Sure we have to get to know each other, but that’s what the future is for.





Alex~

It’s been two days since the talk. Things feel better between us, and those deafening silences are gone.

I’m leaning against the truck, waiting for Nina to get off from work. I’m forcing myself to think of her as Nina, because she’s fought so hard for that name. It will also reduce the risk of one of us slipping up.

It’s time to put the past behind us and to focus on a future neither of us thought we’d ever have.

I hear her greeting Joshua and then she comes walking out of the store. Her eyes find me and she smiles wide.

I grin back at her and say, “Hey, Nina.” I push away from the truck when she gets to me. “Wanna go for a ride in my truck?” Laughter bubbles over her lips and I lean in even closer. “We could get ice cream.”

“Oh, we could?” she asks.

I move into her personal space, almost touching her. “Yeah, and I could watch you lick it off your fingers,” I whisper.

“Uh-huh,” she mumbles. I can see the heat flaring in her eyes.

“And then you can suck the ice cream off my fingers.”

She starts to nod. “I like the sound of ice cream.”

I hurry to open the door and bundle her inside. I can hear her laughing as I race around the truck.

We get our ice creams at the diner, and then I drive us to the same spot we parked at before. We get on the back of the truck and I watch her lick the ice cream. She’s a fucking tease because she’s eating that thing as slow as she can. I’ve finished mine already and she’s only halfway.