Taking It All (Surrender Trilogy #3)(29)

“You do,” she whispered.

“Who loves you?” he asked in a softer voice.

Her heart surged to overflowing. Tears pricked her eyelids and she closed her eyes briefly to hold them at bay.

“You do.”

“Who knows you’re his world? The one who’s gifted with your submission?”

“You, Tate. Only you.”

He kissed her skin again, a soft benediction as his words whispered over her flesh.

“I love you, Chessy. Only you. Remember you’re my girl.”

“I love you too, Tate.”

She had to stop because tears were running freely down her face, wetting the mattress her cheek rested on.

“Chess?”

The concern in his voice made her scrub her tear-stained face into the mattress. She didn’t want to fall apart now of all times.

He withdrew carefully, mindful not to hurt her. Then he immediately untied her hands, tossing aside the rope.

“Chessy?” he asked again as he climbed onto the bed beside her. “Talk to me, baby. What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”

He pulled her into his arms, positioning her on her side, and used his arm to pillow her head. Then he slid his hand over her damp cheek, wiping away the tears. He leaned over, kissing away every bit of moisture from her face before cupping her jaw and tilting her chin upward so she met his gaze.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

The concern in his eyes was nearly her undoing and damn it but the tears started all over again. She gave a quiet hiccup, the strain of trying to keep her emotions at bay making her chest ache.

It was as if a dam had suddenly burst and tears ran like a river as she stared back at her husband. They were back. It was as if the last two years had been erased and all that mattered was here and now. Her in his arms. Him taking back control.

“Chessy, you’re starting to scare me. What the hell is going on? Talk to me.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” she finally managed to say in a faltering voice. “Everything is right.”

He heaved a visible sigh of relief and touched his forehead to hers. “You nearly gave me a heart attack, baby. I thought I’d done something wrong. Or hurt you.”

She shook her head as he wiped another trail of tears from her cheek. “I love you so much, Tate. I’ve waited so long for this. It seems like I waited for an eternity. And now we’re back. I’ve missed you—this—so much.”

He gathered her more closely in his arms and kissed her tenderly. “You’ve always had me, Chess. I know it doesn’t seem like it. I haven’t acted like it. I haven’t given you what you need—what you deserve. But I swear all of that is going to change starting now. I don’t want to lose you. I can’t envision a future without you.”

She snuggled into his arms, tucking her head underneath his chin. “You’ll never lose me, Tate. I don’t want to be without you either. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”

He chuckled, the sound rumbling from his chest and vibrating her cheek. “I’ll suffer the inconvenience of me being stuck with you.”

TWELVE

CHESSY entered the Lux Café wearing a broad smile and with a skip in her step. Kylie was there, and as usual, excluding the last time they’d met for lunch, Joss was running late. Kylie lifted one eyebrow when Chessy all but danced up to their booth. But there was relief in her eyes when she stood to hug Chessy.

“Thank God,” Kylie said fervently. “Joss and I have been so worried, Chessy. We didn’t hear from you all weekend! Jensen swore that was a good thing but I wasn’t so sure until now. You’re positively glowing!”

They were interrupted as Joss hurried up to the table. Like Kylie, there was concern in Joss’s eyes but as she studied a beaming Chessy, her eyes brightened and a smile lit up her face.

“You look so happy, Chessy!” Joss said in a hushed whisper.

“Let’s sit,” Chessy urged. “I don’t want the entire restaurant to hear the sordid details of my anniversary weekend!”

“Ooohh, sordid!” Kylie crowed as she pushed into the booth and then motioned for Chessy to slide into the middle from the other side so she’d be flanked by Joss and Kylie.

Chessy complied and then Joss scooted in next to her.

“We’re dying to hear the down and dirty,” Joss said. “When we didn’t hear from you I knew it had to be a good sign because if things went badly you would have called us.”

Chessy smiled and nodded. Then she let out a wistful sigh. “Oh you guys, it was wonderful. Just like old times. I had my Tate back.”

“So did you spill your heart?” Kylie asked. “Tell me you didn’t back down and not bring up your issues.”

Chessy shook her head. “No, I didn’t back down,” she said softly. “It actually began a total disaster.”

Joss’s mouth dropped open and Kylie’s eyes narrowed.

“How was it a disaster?” Joss exclaimed.

Chessy winced. “He didn’t show for our dinner. I was on my way out and I saw him in the bar with another woman.”

“Oh. My. God,” Kylie said, fury evident in her voice. “What the hell? On your anniversary?”

“It wasn’t pretty,” Chessy admitted. “I jumped to some major conclusions and walked out. He came after me and we had it out.”