Caught by Emma Louise
Chapter Thirty-Six
Fatigue burns at every part of me. I haven’t slept more than an hour or so for days. Every time I close my eyes, I see her. I see the chaos surrounding her. I see Mark lift his gun and aim it so damn close to Darcey. Too fucking close. I still see the spray of blood as the bullet hits, the pained cry she let out as they fell to the floor. The never-ending seconds it took for me to get to her. Those images are etched deep inside of me.
I'll never, not for one single day of my life, forget seeing her on that dirty floor, unconscious and covered in blood. So much blood. She was so still, so quiet amongst the chaos that raged around her that I was absolutely certain she was dead. There was little relief at getting to her and finding a strong pulse was short-lived because she would not fucking wake up.
Ripping my hands through my hair, I tamp down the urge to scream. She's here now, and I know she's safe, I tell myself over and over, but it isn’t doing anything to help yet. Serena is in jail where she'll likely be for a long, long time. There is no more danger, no reason to keep Darcey here. Maybe that's why I've been keeping my distance from her. I'm not ready to let them go, and I'm going to have a fight on my hands to keep them here. I can feel Darcey pulling away from me already.
I have no idea how I'm going to convince her to stay, but I'm going to break my back to show her how much I want them here, how much this place feels like a home with them in it.
I can feel her watching me before I even turn around. Despite the distance that has developed between us, I’m still hyper-aware of her at all times. I feel her eyes on me, and something about the expression on her face has my chest constricting. From this far away I can’t get a lock on what she’s thinking; her face is carefully blank as she stands from her seat. Felix says something to her, but she isn’t looking his way; her eyes on me.
I’ll chase her if she runs, but I don't have to because she takes a step in my direction. It's small, but I'll take it. Felix continues speaking to her, but she still isn’t listening. He might as well not be there anymore.
She takes one more step, looks down at her feet, then takes another. Her movements are hesitant, but when her eyes find mine once again, she finally moves faster. The small, slow steps turn into an all-out run. My first thought is that something is wrong, but one glance behind her shows Felix watching us, Cassidy in his arms chatting away and waving a fist full of papers in the air.
I want to go to her, but part of me knows she needs to do this for herself. She needs to make this decision because once it’s done, once I have her in my arms, that’s it; nothing will come between us ever again. It isn’t until Darcey is just a few feet away that I notice the tears on her cheeks. That's all it takes for my feet to come unglued; I'm done waiting.
Her body slams into mine, taking me back a step, but I don't give a shit because she's finally back in my arms. Without a second thought, I pull her closer and claim her lips with mine. There isn't a sliver of space between us as I wrap an arm around her waist and drag her against me. Tangling a hand in her hair, I tilt her head so I can take the kiss deeper. The sense of peace being with her brings is immediate. The feel of our tongues gliding against each other, her fingers scraping against the back of my neck as she holds onto me tightly, like she's afraid I might let her go; all of it is so damn right.
"I'm sorry," she murmurs against my lips, not stopping the kiss. Cupping her cheeks in my hands, I pull back, resting my forehead against hers. “I’ve been pushing you away, and I didn’t even realize I was doing it.”
"I'm the one who should be apologizing, baby. I'm so sorry for everything. I love you." I say the words that have been on the tip of my tongue for too long now. For a second, I see fear flash through Darcey's eyes, but it's gone in a heartbeat.
"Max…” She sighs, burrowing her body impossibly closer to mine. “You have to understand that for me, love was never a good thing. The people who claimed to have loved me never treated me right. For me, love equalled hurt and pain. Love was being a punching bag. It was being belittled and laughed at."
"Darcey, baby." Her words are killing me. Anger mingles with sorrow. If her ex and her father weren’t already dead, I'd hunt them down and put a bullet in each of them.
"Until you. For the first time I know what love really is because you've shown me in all the ways that count. I love you, Max. I love you." I steal the rest of her words with another kiss, this one hotter, wetter, and longer than the first.
"Alright, lovebirds, there's little people here who don't need to see all that!” Felix yells, breaking us out of our embrace. “We're going for ice cream!" I was so lost in Darcey that I forgot we aren’t alone. Cass gives us an enthusiastic wave as they turn around. "We'll see you in an hour!" Felix calls out as they leave.
"Make it two!" I call back, suddenly desperate to get to a bed so I can show Darcey just how fucking ecstatic I am that she's here with me right now and that she’s willing to take a chance on me.
"Max!" she gasps, staring up at me, cheeks turning pink with embarrassment.
"Baby, trust me, two hours is me being generous. If I had my way, we would have all day alone." Not wanting her to argue, I dip down, wrap my hands around her waist and lift her up so her legs are around my hips. And then I'm moving, walking us to the house so I can lay her out on our bed and worship her body like she deserves.
"I can walk, you know," she says lightly against the skin of my neck where she nuzzles her nose softly.
"I like you better right here," I tell her, making sure she can feel the solid length of my cock pressing against her pussy as we move. I can feel the heat of her there, and it's driving me insane.
"Max, I want you," she breathes right before I tip her back on the bed. Taking a step back, I revel in the sight before me. All that wild dark hair against the pale sheets, her chest rising and falling as she pants with desire, but it's her eyes that pierce through me. Those huge, dark dilated eyes that are burning with need.
I make quick work of stripping her bare, dropping kisses on her soft skin as I go. There's no time for teasing touches right now; my need for her is all-consuming. I need to be inside her. I need the connection because I only feel whole when I'm inside of her.
* * *
His touch is like fire, leaving a heated trail across my skin as he removes each item of clothing, torturously slow. With each caress, he drives me closer and closer to the edge. I'm going to detonate before he even gets me naked.
"I don't know how gentle I can be right now," Max growls, lightly running his fingers up my leg and sliding one finger inside me. "Mmm, soaked. Are you ready for me, baby?"
"More than ready." I don't even recognize the sound of my voice; the desperation I hear is completely foreign to me. Without hesitation, he takes a hold of his cock, uses the broad head to swipe through my folds once, twice, and then he pushes inside, his blazing eyes never leaving where we’re now joined.
"Fuck. I fucking love you," he groans as he plants himself as deeply as he can. His head drops to rest against my neck. I can feel the effort he's putting into restraining himself.
"I love you too. Now, please move." Wrapping all four limbs around him, I whisper the words against his shoulder. He pulls back, and I almost cry out when I think he's going to pull all the way out. Instead, he snaps his hips forward, plunging even deeper than he was before.
And then that thin hold on his desire snaps, and he fucks me hard and fast.
"You're mine, Darcey," he groans, the sound sending shockwaves of pleasure all the way to my toes. "You’re mine to protect, mine to love, and I'm never letting you go. Never again."
"Please, don't." I gasp as he hits a spot deep inside of me that makes my stomach curl in delight. “Never let me go,” I practically beg because no matter how much I want this, or how sure I am that Max is the love of my life, I know I’ll get scared. I’ll push him away when I should be holding him closer.
"Never," he repeats on a thrust that is so harsh it has me pushed right up to the headboard. It doesn't take long before he has me barrelling headfirst into the most intense orgasm I've ever had. I'm barely back to reality when I feel the change in his movements, he's close to losing it, and I have to force my eyes open to watch it happen.
The tendons in his neck go taut as he grips onto my hips. I'll have fingerprints there tomorrow. He groans out my name, and I feel the heavy jerk of his cock inside me as he comes.
Neither of us moves for the longest time, and the only sound in the room is our labored breaths as we both fight to get it under control. Max keeps me pinned to the bed, most of his weight held by his forearms that are braced around my head, but we're still touching from chest to toes, the thick weight of his still hard cock deep inside me.
"You're not leaving," he finally says, shifting so his hands are framing my face. "You and Cass are moving in here officially." The look on his face is so stern, so serious that I have to roll my lips to stop from laughing.
"Okay," I agree easily.
"Okay?"
"Yep. There's nowhere else I'd rather be." His eyes narrow like he's waiting for me to fight him on this. Silly man, he doesn't understand the depths of my feelings for him yet. But he will. I plan to spend the rest of my life showing him that he is it for me. There will be hard times. The fears I have, the self-doubt isn’t going to disappear overnight, but I'm going to bend over backward to make this thing work because I love this man.
I'm done being caught up in the past.