“Baby girl.” I said it softly, just as she sucked in a huge breath and started to cry.
I flattened her on my chest, stroking the soft brown hair I was damned lucky to feel once again. I wondered how the hell it always stayed magnificent, sexy, even when she'd just been on a round trip through Hades.
“The asshole's dead. So are all the shits who did this to you. It's over, babe. There's nothing left for you to fear.”
“Brass.” She croaked my name and I helped pivot her face up to mine. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry. I had to do the right thing. I didn't realize saving her and putting myself on the line would hurt you, hurt Jackie.”
She shuddered. Her face scrunched up and I thought the waterworks were gonna keep flowing, but she caught herself at the last second, drawing in a deep breath.
“I'm a screwed up mess. I thought I was strong, but I cracked in there.” She gestured to the van. “They left me bound up, and then I heard the gunshots...look at me. I'm a fucking mess.”
“Quiet, babe,” I growled, a little more angrily than I intended. She blinked. “It's okay to scream and scratch the ground when some fuck keeps you under the gun. You're doing what comes natural. But I want you to listen real fucking close and get this through your head.”
She tensed up in my arms. I clenched her tighter. No fucking way was I letting her slip away before I drilled it into her pretty skull.
“You're my fucking mess. You're my old lady. I own you, babe, now 'til the last day I'm alive and breathing on this rock. If you think freaking out or showing me you're scared and hurt's gonna drive me away, think again. Open up your head and make sure you're thinking at all, if that's what's running through your sweet head.” I paused, inhaling her delicious scent, pressing my forehead to hers. “I love you, Missy. I don't say that shit easy – I never fucking said it to anyone 'til you came along. Not even Shelly. My love's a wrecking ball and it only swings one way once it gets going. You got it? You're mine, babe, mine to love and only mine, whether you're howling underneath me in bed or walking into mine fields to save some chick.”
When I pulled my face away from her, she was trembling a little, but I knew it wasn't fear. She was fucking overwhelmed. And that was okay. Long as she was full of the same crazy thing I had ticking for her in my chest, I didn't give a damn.
I was about to start walking her back when she pinched her hands around me, feeling me up right there in the forest, raking her nails down my back like she couldn't believe I was real. Fuck me if I didn't get goosebumps singeing my skin while my dick swelled in my dirty pants.
“Babe, we need to get the fuck –“
She flung her face forward, crushing her lips against mine before I could say another word. And I mean really pressed them tight in the hungriest kiss I'd ever had with a chick in my entire life. It sucked all the hot air right outta my lungs, shocked me through my skull, lit my fucking blood on fire.
Then I couldn't think about anything at all except this incredible kiss. My brain knew it was better than sex, though my cock would've protested that with all his might.
We kissed for what felt like an hour out there in the wilderness, the wind blowing small wafts of burned flesh and blood toward us every so often. Shit, the club was gonna be cleaning up this mess for days, hopefully before any badges figured out who left a small battlefield behind.
None of that mattered. It was as distant as the damned moon. I just focused on her taste, her smell, swirling my tongue around hers.
Didn't matter how many times I took what was mine. It never got old, and it never would. She was like a perfect fruit that stayed ripe, waiting for my mouth, waiting for me to own her flesh the best way I knew how.
“I love you, Jordan,” she said, after a small eternity locking lips. “You know I'm not going anywhere as long as you keep giving me chances. I can't promise I won't screw up again...my life's got a lot of work left to straighten it out. And Jackie – God! Where is she?”
I smiled. “Shelly's bringing her down with a rental as soon as we sound the all clear. Should be here tomorrow now that we've cleaned house. The Devils won't be hanging too long. They'll be itching to get home as fast as they can, rather than clean up our fucking mess.”
“Wow. You've really thought of everything, haven't you?” She quirked an eyebrow.
“No way, babe. I've got a lot of shit on my plate. I've still gotta find a place for us to settle down. Maybe book a nice long getaway to Vegas or Reno. We've all got a lot to clear outta our heads. Best way I know how is drinking, fucking, and gambling.” She cocked her head, looking at me like the crazy bastard I was. “All right. We can throw in a mud bath massage thing or two at the spa. Whatever you girls like.”