His chest rumbled slightly. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you… if Mick hadn’t—”
“But you didn’t,” I cut him off, tipping my head back to capture his troubled gaze. “And he did.”
“Laurel Ocean, you are the strongest woman I’ve ever met… and possibly the most stubborn…”
I let out a watery laugh as his lips descended on mine. Warm and solid. A spark to the kindling inside me that was dry and desperate to burn after being doused with fear and adrenaline.
I sighed against him, leaning into his cocoon of strength.
“You’re the one who taught me love is worth fighting for, even when it involves facing loss along the way.”
He grunted. “I’d just rather you didn’t face loaded guns pointed at you if at all possible.”
I chuckled and buried my head into his chest, feeling like I was finally home.
Tonight, I’d faced my worst fear—another loss. It had come in a way I’d never expected—wrapped in a nice suit and wielding pure malice—and I hadn’t faltered. Instead, I fought.
In the middle of everything that happened tonight—the fear, the worry, the uncertainty—I stood tall because of the roots love had grown here. I’d faced loss and conquered it.
And holding on to love amid the most chaotic of circumstances was the most beautiful act of rebellion.
“What did Ace say?” I asked after another minute, knowing that was who he’d been on the phone with. “What did the police say? Is Roasters…”
“Ace has it under control and only a few minor scrapes at Roasters. Easy fixes.” He cleared his throat. “The police questioned him and took his statement.” His voice grew quiet. “They are going to want to talk to you. Probably tomorrow.”
“Okay.” I nodded.
“Are you up for that?”
I knew what he was asking. Are you up for lying to the police?
“Yes.” My answer was immediate and firm. I didn’t care whether or not he had a piece of paper giving him permission to carry a firearm; I wasn’t going to risk Mick being punished for saving my life.
“What about her?” I nodded to Jules.
“Did she see Mick?” he asked. “Does she remember seeing Mick?”
I chewed on my lip. I couldn’t be sure.
“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. For right now, we will keep Mick safe and let your cousin recover. They may not even need to talk to her, you never know.” He didn’t sound too hopeful.
“What about the cartel?” As I peeled away the immediate worries, deep ones emerged. “Are they still going to come after Roasters?”
His mouth pulled tight. “I’m not sure. Neither is Ace. All we can do now is clean up from this mess and hope they look elsewhere rather than continuing to pursue this.”
I nodded. “I almost wish Mick wasn’t such a good shot so we could’ve at least gotten some answers.”
“Laurel…” Eli growled.
I gave him a half smile. “I know.” If Mick wasn’t such a good shot, I might be dead. “But you know what I mean…”
“All that matters,” he continued, barreling through my unsteady worries, “is that you and Jules are okay. Roasters is fine. And Blackman is gone.”
I sighed and nodded. “You’re right.”
There was no point in worrying about possibilities when we had no reason to—and every reason to be grateful we’d come out of this alive.
“My aunt should be here soon,” I said softly.
I’d called her about an hour ago and told her there’d been an accident. She’d said she’d be right over, but, judging by the delay, ‘right over’ was a term relative to the time it took her to get dolled up.
“We’ll stay as long as you want.” He nodded, adding with a rasped growl, “But then I’m taking you home and not letting you out of bed for a week.”
I laughed as I melted against him, wanting nothing more than to be home and in bed with his body wrapped around mine. But only after I knew my cousin was okay… only after I
“Deal.” I reached up on my toes for another kiss. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
“Oh my God!” I grimaced at my aunt’s shrill voice as it rang down the hospital hall. “Where is she? Where is my daughter?”
I turned and pulled from Eli’s embrace to block my Aunt Jackie from the door to Jules’ room. I wanted to prepare her for what she was about to see.
Her eyes were swollen and face streaked with tears—a surprising show of emotion for her. My uncle Rich followed several paces behind her, his face also red but with frustration rather than concern. Probably from dealing with my aunt’s hysterics.
“Laurel, where is she? What happened?” She tried to peer around me. Thankfully, Eli stood firmly at my back to help keep her at bay.
I reached for her hands, white-knuckle-clasped in front of her chest.
“She’s okay.” I started with the most important fact. “She’s going to be fine. But there was an incident. She was coming to meet me at the coffee shop when someone—this man, Blackman, grabbed her from the resort.”
The color continued to drain from her face.
“He has been trying to buy Roasters from me and when I declined, he decided to threaten me to get what he wanted,” I quickly explained. “And he used Jules to do it.”
“What are you talking about? For a damn coffee shop?” Rich scoffed and looked away, scanning the halls as though he expected to see other people here waiting for him.
I ignored him and continued, “He… hurt her pretty badly. She has a concussion, a broken rib, and several bruised ones. They’re monitoring her now for any signs of her brain swelling or internal bleeding—”
“Oh my God.” She gasped, pulling her hands from my grip like I’d developed leprosy and forcing her way to the door in horror.
She stared at Jules for a long second before she turned, her face contorting as accusation dripped acerbically from her lips. “So, this is your fault?” I tensed under the unexpected attack. “Not even in town a few weeks and my daughter is already almost dead because of you.”
Heat flared in my cheeks and I felt lightheaded from the charge after everything that had happened to bring us here.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Eli growled from behind me. “Laurel saved your daughter’s life tonight at the risk of her own—”
“Eli,” I chided, raising a steadying hand and pleading for him to let me handle this.
His low growl reverberated down my back, his hold tightening protectively.
“Aunt Jackie,” I began with an unsteady breath. “I’m sorry for what happened to Jules—more than you will ever know,” I told her, praying her harsh comments stemmed from unbelievable hurt rather than truth. “I know she’s hurt and I know that’s scary, but she’s going to be okay. Jules is strong; she’s going to be fine.” I took a deep breath and told her the rest of what I knew. “The doctor wants to keep her a few days under observation, but he expects her to recover quickly. The only thing he warned was that she might have some short-term memory loss and not recall what happened tonight.”
“Oh my God…” Her hand covered her mouth as a strangled wail escaped.
“Jacqueline,” my uncle chided under his breath to his wife who was about to go into hysterics.
“I’m so sorry that this happened, Aunt Jackie,” I apologized, not because she deserved it, but because Jules did. “If there is anything I can do, anything that Jules needs, please, let me know.”
She sniffled and dug into her designer purse for a tissue, jerking away from his touch. “My daughter almost died tonight,” she spat bitterly, but I wasn’t sure to whom. “You should go,” she then added, looking to me. “You should go just like you should’ve gone weeks ago. If you would have just sold that good-for-nothing place, none of this would have happened.”
Her accusation shocked and stung as she pushed around me, her heels clanking angrily on the hospital flo
or as she pushed into Jules’ room, leaving me speechless in the hall.
My heart thudded against my chest. Their attitude fit with the atmosphere of the hospital. Cold. Sterile. Cruel. I looked up to my uncle Rich whose expression suggested a similar opinion to that of his wife.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated with a slight nod.
He didn’t even acknowledge me, about to brush by me when Eli reached out and grabbed his arm.
“I hope you and your wife know that Laurel—your niece—risked her life tonight to save your daughter. I can’t imagine your concern and stress right now, but I would think twice before either of you say anything like that again to my future wife.”
My jaw hit the floor for a second time that night. I would have been less shocked had I actually been shot in the course of the events of the evening than hearing Eli refer to me as his future wife.
Rich glared at him for a hard second before blustering and disappearing into the room after his wife, leaving Eli and me alone in the hall.
“Fucking ridiculous,” Eli murmured next to me, tension radiating off of him once again. “You okay, sweetheart?”
I gaped at him “You… you just…” I pointed and paused, swinging my gaze between him and where my uncle stood in the room. “You just told him I was your future wife!” I exclaimed with a forceful whisper.
“For several eternity-filled minutes tonight, Laurel, I had to consider I wouldn’t reach you in time. That I wouldn’t be able to protect you from what Blackman had in store. And ultimately, imagine what my life would be like without you in it,” he began with a deep, rasped voice. “Those were the worst fucking minutes of my whole life, and just as clearly as they made me picture life without you, they showed me with perfect clarity that my life needs you in it. By my side. As my wife.”
Shivers raced up and down my spine as all unpleasant thoughts about the past faded against the bright light of what our future held.
“So, this isn’t me asking you. Not yet,” he swore. “But it is me telling you it’s going to happen, sweetheart. You. Me. Here. Forever.”
My eyes pricked with more tears that eagerly spilled like confetti down my cheeks.
“Eli…”
“I will marry you… no matter how many times you throw up on me.” Laughter bubbled through my tears. “Nor how many times you try to impale me with a whisk.”
“Glad to know that neither a little vomit nor attempted whisking will deter you,” I replied wryly, continuing to tease, “So, is this like the time you took my clothes off for me without asking? You’re just going to marry me without asking, too?”
“I did not—You took your own clothes off that night!” He growled, and I let out a small squeal as he hauled me tightly into his arms.
“We’d had too much to drink, I guess we’ll never know the truth.” I giggled.
Our laughter simmered into a kiss and I pulled away to rest my head on his chest, the sting of my aunt’s words hurting less in his arms.
“I want to stay,” I whispered, looking at Jules. “But I know they don’t want me here.”
He kissed my head. “There’s nothing else you can do for her tonight, Laurel. She’s safe. She’s in good hands. She needs time to heal, and so do you.”
I sighed, stress making my muscles ache in ways I hadn’t felt before.
“We’ll come back tomorrow.”
“Absolutely. We’ll come back every day until she’s okay to go home.”
Until she was okay enough to share the rest of her story with us.
“Thank you.”
I watched my aunt and uncle for another second, their harsh expressions a mix of emotions I could only partially decipher. Sending up a silent prayer in my cousin’s direction, I molded to Eli’s warmth and let him lead me out of the hospital, each step highlighting just how exhausted I was.
I squealed as Eli hoisted me into his arms as soon as we hit the parking lot. “I’m fine.” I laughed.
“No, you’re mine,” he grunted with a devious grin. “And tonight, there will be no question that I’m the one taking off all your clothes.”
Need pooled in my stomach. Even though I was exhausted. I needed to be with him more. To kiss him. To feel him. To take his body in mine and savor every moment knowing how close I’d come to losing it all.
“Are you going to ask this time?”
“Nope,” he grunted.
I pulled his face to mine and kissed him. “Good.”
Eli
“I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”
I sealed my mouth over hers, kicking the door shut behind us.
Laurel wrapped her arms around my neck, her tongue locking with mine.
Earlier, words had been enough. Earlier, holding her had been enough.
Enough to calm me. To soothe my fears and sate my nerves. But now? Now that we were back at the house and she was all mine there was a need that words couldn’t satisfy.
“Eli…” she moaned my name as we pulled our clothes from each other.
Each drop of fabric onto the floor was like another wave crashing against the shore. Fierce. Demanding. Unending.
Naked and panting, I pinned her up against the wall, grinding my cock against the slick heat between her legs and swallowing every whimper of need it elicited.
“Don’t ever”—I bit her lip and sucked—“Scare me like that again.”
She hummed her agreement, rolling her hips along my erection, coating me with her desire.
Need pulsed through me like an angry devil. Unforgiving and punishing.
She’d been through so much and yet, I wanted to punish her for how she’d scared me at the same time as I wanted to pleasure her for a strength I couldn’t help but admire.
“Please, Eli,” she begged against my mouth, her nails scoring my back.
Grunting, I wrapped her legs tight around my waist and carried her to the dining table.
Setting her on the edge, I dragged my lips from hers, licking a hot path of unfiltered lust down her neck and on to her chest. I flicked the tip of my tongue over her nipple, her eager gasp making my dick leak, and then continued my way down over her quivering stomach to the hot sweetness between her thighs.
The way her nails scored the wood of the table as I closed my mouth over her wet pussy was music to my ears—a symphony I strung higher and higher with each lick and suck and probe of my tongue against her sex.
It wasn’t enough. Not one taste. Not one moan. It wasn’t enough until I built her up and made her fall apart screaming my name. It wasn’t enough until I felt and tasted her fall apart because it was the only way I knew she was still here. And still mine.
“I love you,” I said, still licking up her desire. “I’m never letting you go.”
“Eli.”
I looked up from between her parted legs, her red hair like a blaze against the rich wood.
“I need you.”
My straining cock pulsed in agreement, the painful ache taking a backseat as my mouth took its fill of her body. Now, it was time to fill her with mine.
“Need you, too, sweetheart,” I rasped, lifting myself up.
Yanking her hips right to the edge, I stared down at my cock aligning with her pink, swollen entrance, glistening from her release and my mouth.
Groaning, I spread her folds with the reddened tip of my cock, watching as the blunt flesh disappeared into her heat.
“So incredible,” I bit out, my eyes squeezing shut with pleasure.
There are moments when words aren’t good enough. When loss or the potential for it was too great and too close that relief and desire and the need to anchor yourself to that person in the most animalistic way possible was the only thing that mattered.
That was this moment.
And this was my anchor.
Slowly, I pushed deeper into her tightening muscles.
“Fuck, Laurel, you feel so damn good,” I ground out as I sank all the way to the hilt. “Like heaven. Like hom
e. Like everything.”
Her pussy clenched as I bumped against her G-spot, sending white spots into my vision. I heard a growl that must have come from me as I began to thrust into her. Steady and demanding turned into hard and possessing as I claimed her—as she begged me for more.
She was home. Every goddamn thing about her. Her eyes that were as deep as the ocean, her strength that kept her standing amid more loss than any heart should have to endure, and her love that was so beautiful and overflowing I could hardly breathe.
She cried out my name, gasping for breath as I slammed into her. My fingers dug into the soft skin of her narrow hips, holding them steady so I could fill her completely each and every time.
I couldn’t breathe.
“Fuck, I love you,” I ground out, feeling her start to shake and convulse against me with the start of her orgasm.
I’d come here and found a home in this place, but it wasn’t until her that it had become my home.
My fingers tweaked her clit in the way she needed, the way I knew would send her over the edge. And a second later, she screamed as another release gushed around my cock, harder and wetter than the first.
Warm and welcoming, she soaked my length and then wrung me out. I groaned low, my cock the only thing guiding me as I drove into her again and again until I lost my mind, my orgasm overtaking each and every one of my senses.
My teeth sunk into the joint where her neck met her shoulder as a roar ripped from my chest and my dick pulsed, shooting streams of cum inside her.
Every level of satisfaction claimed me. Having her. Taking her. But knowing she was all mine, that one took the cake.
“I love you, too,” she murmured as I carried her to the bedroom.
Minutes blurred together until she was in my arms underneath the covers, the weight of today finally taking its final toll.
“Thank you.”
My chest rumbled. “For what?”
“For not letting me lose anyone else.” She laid her hand on my chest.
I grunted. “I think you did that all on your own tonight, sweetheart.”
She hummed, sinking closer to sleep. “You’re the one who showed me it’s worth fighting for.”
Beholden: A Small-Town Standalone Romance (Carmel Cove Book 1) Page 31