“I love you, Brody Saint Clair-Reinhardt,” I repeat.
“There is no other woman that can hold a candle next to you. You are all I want and all I ever need. You are my everything.” He cups my face and there’s a flash of desire in his eyes. “I love you and only you, Dorothy.”
His lips meet mine again and the way he kisses me, it’s as if he is kissing parts of me he hadn’t touched yet. The deepest parts of my soul and my spirit. Kissing all my fears away and leaving his mark and erasing every uncertainty I ever had.
When our lips touch, it’s as if the heavens open and answer all my prayers as he embraces me. I close my eyes while he holds me for what feels like an eternity.
I don’t want to let go.
I allow a single tear to fall down my cheek, but it’s not a tear of hurt or pain. It’s a tear of contentment, bliss, and the harmony I feel when I’m with him. This is where I belong, in his arms, in his embrace, and I never want to run away from him ever again.
Epilogue
Brody
“Where are you taking me now?” Delilah asks as she fiddles with the blindfold over her eyes.
“You better not peek,” I tell her as I reach out and link her fingers with mine, keeping my eyes on the road. “I told you, it’s a surprise.”
“I hate surprises,” she pouts, hiding the tug at the corner of her pretty lips.
“I can just turn around and we can go back to your place. Turn on some Netflix and order in some Thai food.”
“Well, maybe I don’t totally hate surprises.”
“At least this surprise is not at the ass crack of dawn,” I joke.
It’s been seven months since that horrifying night. Seven months of therapy with one of the best doctors in Los Angeles. Seven months of healing. Seven months of helping her through the night terrors and being afraid of the dark.
It’s like that saying, have you ever loved someone so much it hurts? It’s exactly how I feel everyday I’m with her. It’s worse when I’m not with her, on an assignment whenever Cole Security Forces needs me in Virginia or overseas.
Our love for each other is intense. There is so much passion, it’s powerful and amazing. And along with this feeling, I truly am afraid to lose her.
Am I a pansy-ass, as Drake would call me?
Or pussy-lassoed, as Kyle would say?
Hell yes, I am, and I proudly admit it.
But I’ll never forget the words from Dylan, the night we rescued her. Delilah is a priority. She will always be my priority. This woman has turned my world upside down and inside out. She consumes me and I’m loving every bit of it.
“Can you at least give me a little hint?” she asks, fidgeting in her seat before turning her body to face me.
“Fine . . . Let’s just say we have reservations.” My left leg shakes. This is, by far, the hardest surprise I have hidden from her.
Ever since she was discharged from the hospital, I have stayed at her home and taken care of her, hand and foot. I know I was a bit smothering, but fuck I cared.
After several weeks of my smothering, it was quite comical when she actually pointed the pepper spray at me and forced me out of her house. She told me to go hang out with Kyle since he’d been bugging me to have a beer and shoot the shit. Dee also took advantage of it and had her girls’ night with Sydney.
“Can I just take this off . . . um, ’cause I’m scared of the dark.”
Her eagerness is cute as hell and I debate if I should take the long route to our destination just to watch her squirm in the passenger seat. But decide not to only because I remember I’m on a deadline.
“Nice try, Dorothy. It’s just a few more miles.” I exit the freeway and wait for the light to turn green. “Why don’t you tell me about your week to help keep your mind occupied?”
“Sure, I guess I can do that.” She takes in a deep breath and there is a brief silence as the music softly plays on the radio before she says, “Phoebe wants me to be a guest on her show. To talk about my experience.”
My grip tightens on the steering wheel. Ever since that night, when I thought I lost her, when all I saw was her lifeless body in the dark room lying on the cold floor, all I want to do is make her forget it ever happened. And now Phoebe wants her to talk about that horrific night? That’s the last thing I want to see her go through. But this is Dee’s call, her choice, and I need to let her make it and support her, if she decides to do it.
“Are you sure you’re ready?” I ask through clenched teeth, my thumb caressing her knuckles to calm my anxiety.
“I am. Therapy and attending the group sessions has helped me. My nightmares aren’t as frequent. And it’s not just about me. I want women out there to know they’re not alone, and they can go find help. That they’re not victims, but survivors. I also spoke with Kayla yesterday and the retreat for battered women is all set. We have so much planned.” She claps her hands in excitement and a smile spreads across her face. “It’s scheduled for the first weekend of April and the entire resort is reserved. Phoebe’s friend, Chloe, is coordinating the event. It will be their time to be spoiled and enjoy themselves with other women just like them and eat lots of food.”
“I think you are amazing and beautiful.”
I kiss the top of her hand as I glance at her from behind my sunglasses. I take in her chestnut hair as the breeze blows through the strands from the open sunroof, thankful for the warm November weather.
“Oh, and Phoebe’s bachelorette party is next weekend,” she continues.
“Next weekend already?”
“Did you forget? We go to Napa and you go fishing with my brothers . . . at least that’s what you’re making us think you’re doing.”
“I didn’t forget . . . and we are going on a fishing trip. It’ll be us guys, lots of beer, and hopefully we’ll catch some fish.”
“That better be all you’re catching,” she chides as she straightens her shoulders.
I kiss her hand and laugh at how adorably jealous she gets. But she knows I only have eyes for her.
As I make a left on Birch, a right on Springdale, and up the winding road, it feels like it’s been forever since I have been here. The car idles as nostalgia hits me full force when I shift the gear and park.
Being back here reminds me of the good times and there was so much of it that I want to share with Delilah. It’s the last piece of me that I have not been able to share with her.
I cut the engine and can’t help but smile. “Okay, we’re here. But you can’t take off the blindfold just yet.”
“Oh my god, Brody. Hurry up!” she squeals.
I climb out, quickly walk to the other side of the car, and open her door. I help her out and steady her feet once they touch the ground. Unable to resist those soft lips, I give her a tender kiss. She wraps her hands around my neck, as her fingers play with my hair. She deepens the kiss when she opens her mouth, an invitation I would never turn down.
I groan and regretfully pull away as our foreheads touch. “You’re killing me, Dorothy. I promise there will be more of that later tonight,” I say, drinking her in one last time by placing a kiss on her delicious lips.