Love Me (Trust Series #2)

by Mayer, Kristin

  “I need—”

  Before I have a chance to finish that thought, he maneuvers right to that spot, and I explode at the same time Damien empties himself into me, filling me.

  Rolling off of me and pulling me to his side, I cuddle into him as our breathing slows. His fingers link with mine. As I bring his hand up to my lips, I notice the detail of his wedding ring for the first time. There are mysterious markings that go all the way around.

  “What are the markings on your ring?”

  He looks at me endearingly. “It says Damien and Alli Forever in Hebrew with the letters entwined to look like a symbol.”

  I smile and give him a light kiss. The tattoo on his chest is his sister’s name, Becky, done in the same fashion as his ring. Damien lost her tragically after she was kidnapped. Everyone else called her Rebecca. The symbolism and importance of this gesture is not lost on me. It’s a reminder of what is important to him in his life.

  “I’m never letting you go, Alli. You’re mine forever. Your sapphire ring has the same inscription on the inside of the band. I want you to keep that ring on always as a symbol of us finding each other in this world. Never take it off.”

  I pull it off and look inside. Sure enough, it has the exact same markings as his ring.

  “I won’t ever take this off. Forever, Damien. Thank you for making this day everything I ever wanted and for giving me my parents in a way I never knew possible. I love you so much.”

  He’s tracing my necklace, my something old that was his grandmother’s, as he takes in my words. “Alli, I’ll give you the world and love you forever.”

  When his hands start to move seductively down my body, I close my eyes at the feeling. Will it always be this way? It’s like fire and ice coming together, combusting and consuming all that’s in its path.

  Three Weeks Later

  On the plane, returning from our overseas honeymoon, we are sitting in the main cabin of the plane. There are no words to describe how incredible our honeymoon was. Damien took me to the most exquisite places all over Italy—Venice, Rome, and Florence to name a few. We leisurely moved our way through the entire country, enjoying each other as we went. If I thought he was insatiable before, I have no idea what to label him now.

  No one knows we are married yet or that we even got engaged. It’s crazy to think that I’m about to celebrate one month of being Mrs. Damien Wales, and the majority of our friends and family have no idea.

  When inquiries were made of our whereabouts, a statement was issued, saying he was with me, recuperating. It was believable because of the hotel incident with Martin holding me at gunpoint. The police have continued to look for Martin as the main suspect for the murder of Damien’s sister, Rebecca. However, I think the police may be chasing the wrong person. At the hotel, Martin said he had been framed and that we needed to work together to bring down the actual killer.

  I’m not sure what I believe at this point. For the past three weeks, I have refused to think about it. Now, reality is setting in, and all the thoughts are trying to invade my brain as Damien and Bane continue to talk about it.

  We’ve decided, for now, to listen to Martin. For the past three weeks, Bane has been gathering info, regarding the clue Martin gave us. Apparently, per the clue he gave, Cassandra’s sex life is something Damien should still be interested in. She’s slept with someone else Damien knows in recent years.

  Ugh.

  Basically, this tidbit clue he gave is supposed to make Damien want to work with Martin to find the real killer, and maybe it will also build a foundation of trust.

  I just don’t know what to think about it.

  Bane is in the cabin of the plane with us as he hands Damien a list. “Mr. Wales, here’s the revised list of names with everyone I have found so far that has a sexual history with Cassandra.”

  Reality of the situation we are in keeps trying to creep back into my mind. We didn’t talk about it at all while we were in Italy even though security was always around.

  Damien takes the list. From what I can see, it’s rather long. If only his parents, Meredith and Jon, knew how much Cassandra is really pining after my husband, I think they would be embarrassed—or maybe not, knowing how delusional they seem to be.

  Damien looks at the list intently. “I don’t see anything here that jumps out. Dean Michaels and Jake Hunnington were acquaintances of mine in college, but we haven’t kept in touch. Knowing Martin, whoever it is must still be a part of my life. I’ll continue to look at the list to see if anything comes to mind.”

  Bane takes a small sip of his water. “I’ll keep digging. I’ve prepared the team in regard to the announcement your Public Relations Manager is making today about your nuptials.”

  It was decided to announce our marriage on our return flight before anyone saw my ring. Stories about me taming the untamable were published while we were gone.

  I hate the press.

  Considering how fast we got married, I groan internally at the thought that people might think I’ve trapped him by getting pregnant. Who doesn’t love a good, juicy story behind a shotgun wedding?

  Damien’s still focused on the list. “Thank you, Bane. Are there any other developments regarding Martin?”

  All this talk of his ex and Martin is trying to burst the bubble I’ve been living in. I’m just not ready to leave my blissful sanctuary yet.

  Putting my hand on Damien’s leg, I say, “I’m going to the back to check my emails.”

  He looks me over, like he always does, as if he’s reaching into my soul to see every part of me. “Okay, I’ll be back there in a bit. I just have a few more things to discuss with Bane.”

  Rising up, I give him a kiss. “Sounds good.”

  Once I make it to the bed, I boot up my laptop to check my email. The first one is from Sam, and the subject line makes me giggle.

  She’s a riot. For a second, my mouth dropped open when she said she had moved in with someone. She always runs the other way, screaming, the moment a guy gets the look that tells her he wants something more. I miss her, and I can’t wait to spend some time with her when we get back.

  I click the next email, expecting it to be from Sam, and then the blood starts to drain from my face as my scalp gets a prickly feeling from apprehension.

  Then, there’s another one.

  And then, I read another one.

  I don’t know how long I sit there and stare at the computer screen. I read the words over and over again, not able to look away. My hands start shaking. How can this be happening?

  The door to our room opens, and Damien strides through. I think he says something, but through the haze that has set up residence in my head, I’m not sure as I continue to look at my screen. He’s by my side before I can even register his words.

  Moving the laptop out of the way, he comes in front of me and searches my body for any signs of distress. “Alli, what’s wrong? What happened?”

  I look up at him with tears in my eyes, and I must appear absolutely terrified. I am terrified.

  He gives my shoulders a light shake as he starts to panic himself. “Damn it, Alli, you’re scaring the hell out of me. What happened?”

  “He found me, Damien. He’s crazy. He wants to take me from you.”

  I climb onto his lap and hug him so tightly. I’m still shaken and rattled from the emails. My mind is suspended, not moving forward or backward but stuck on the endless loop of reading the emails.

  “Baby, who found you? No one is taking you from me. I’ve got you. You’re completely safe. Baby, you’re going to have to start talking to me because I’m freaking the fuck out.”

  I pull back and look into his eyes, seeing the concern emanating from them. I grab my laptop and hand it to him for him to read the emails. I cannot say anything out loud at this point. I don’t even know what to say.

  He reads, curses, and then yells, “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Bane!”

  Instantly, Bane is in our bedroom with his gun drawn, which
causes my nerves to become more and more frazzled.

  Before Bane can get anything out, Damien says, “Someone sent Alli an email two days ago. He’s a fucking lunatic. Find out who sent it.”

  Numbly, I say, “There’s more than one.”

  Damien holds me to him with one hand and uses the other to read through the rest of them.

  His grip tightens on me as he hands the laptop off to Bane. “I’m staying in here with Alli. Keep me posted. Cancel the PR release of our marriage, if it’s not too late. Let me know either way.”

  Bane’s voice sounds in the room. “Yes, sir.”

  The sound of the door closing causes me to snuggle deeper into Damien’s chest. I need to anchor myself to him to keep me calm.

  He starts rubbing my back. “Baby, I swear you’re safe. We’ll figure this out. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

  His steady voice begins to act as a sedative as I let him invade all of my senses.

  Molding myself against his body, I murmur, “Please just hold me. I know I’m safe when I’m in your arms.”

  He squeezes me tighter as he brings me with him to lie back on the bed. After lying there for who knows how long, my brain starts to work again, and my shaking is under control. When I absently start tracing Damien’s tattoo on his chest through his shirt, I can feel him tensing.

  “You’re not going to end up like Becky, Alli. I swear on every fiber of my being that we will catch this fucker. Baby, you are my life. Without you, I’m nothing.”

  I look into his eyes. “That’s not why I trace your tattoo. It comforts me. I know you’re going to keep me safe. I just…it’s just…I don’t know. I’ve been living in our bubble for the last few weeks, and I forgot about this horridness that we had been dealing with. It just felt like he was right here, about to take me.”

  “Baby, he got nowhere near you. He’d be dead if he had. Just rest your eyes. I won’t leave you.”

  He starts rubbing those soothing circles on my back, and I try to relax into his body. He sounds so confident. However, something in the way he holds his muscles causes me to stay just shy of totally being able to put this behind me.

  Tracing his tattoo, I lay my thoughts out. “I know this sounds naive, but I don’t want to become a prisoner, Damien. It’s like he wins that way, too. I don’t want to be stupid either and risk our lives. I just don’t know where the safe balance is. I wish we knew what Martin was talking about regarding Cassandra.”

  I take in a deep breath, encasing all my senses with Damien’s scent. There’s not a drug in this world that could relax me faster than his intoxicating smell.

  “Alli, we will find a safe middle ground. Just bear with me, okay?”

  I nod my assent. I’m so exhausted, and I slowly drift off to the sound of the jet and Damien’s even breathing.

  My hand reaches across the cold bed. I’m alone. My eyes open, and my heart starts beating erratically as panic sets in. The emails I received make their way into my consciousness again.

  My head turns toward the voices I hear nearby. Damien is having a conversation at the door. His tone is low and intense. He doesn’t sound happy with whatever he is discussing. The movement of me sitting up causes Damien to look my way.

  He ends the conversation and walks back to my side of the bed. Kneeling on the floor, he asks, “Hey, baby, how’d you sleep?”

  “Okay. I’m sorry I went off the deep end.”

  I can see the worry lessening on his features. I’m calmer now that I’ve rested.

  He reaches and caresses my cheek. “We will be landing in about thirty minutes, and then we will head straight home. As I promised before, I will keep you as involved as you want to be. You’re my wife now, so everything I do impacts you in some way. Do you want to know what I was discussing with Bane?”

  “Yes.”

  He takes a deep breath. “We’ve increased security again. I know you don’t like the amount we have now, but with the additional measures, I’ll know you’re safe when we need to go somewhere. It should help us both from feeling like we are prisoners. We are still going to keep everything that has happened between you, Bane, and myself—no exceptions.”

  I nod, acknowledging and agreeing.

  His hand scrubs down his face. “I tried to stop the marriage announcement just in case it sent this guy further off the deep end, but it was already released. It’s spreading like wildfire. Apparently, the public loves a romance story.”

  Remembering our story helps to anchor me. “It is the perfect romance story.”

  “That, it is.”

  When I see the sparkle in his eyes, I know that he is thinking about all the places where we made love in Italy—on a boat in Venice, the patio of our hotel suite in Tuscany, the Pantheon where we had our private dinner, and the Boboli Gardens in Florence during our picnic.

  “Thank you for making me yours,” I say.

  The connection of our gaze causes the energy to charge between us.

  Rising up on my knees, I move to the side of the bed. I need a release. “You did say thirty minutes, right?”

  He nods, and I pull my shirt over my head. Next, I unsnap my bra from the front and let it drop off my arms. His eyes immediately move down to my bare breasts. My nipples stand erect as his eyes continue to ravage me.

  “Oh, Alli, you are beautiful.”

  I reach up and start to caress my breasts in a slow, sensual way. I hear his quick intake of breath. I’ve noticed that Damien loves it when I touch myself. It always ratchets up his desire just a little more.

  I moan as I say, “I need my husband.”

  “All you have to do is ask, baby.”

  We both strip simultaneously, and in two seconds flat, the rest of our clothes are on the floor. We pause and take in each other. His beautifully sculpted muscles are every girl’s dream.

  Damien strokes his length a couple of times as I continue the assault on my nipples. It’s me who gives in first. I can’t stand it any longer. I need him inside me, like yesterday. Standing and moving into his arms, I wrap my legs around his waist.

  Immediately, he pushes me against the wall and positions his erection at my entrance. “Baby, I want you so fucking bad.”

  “Please don’t hold back.”

  With that, he’s inside me, all the way. I moan as he relentlessly hammers into me.

  “Damien, please, harder.”

  He complies.

  “Yes, yes, yes!” I scream.

  At some point, he had the bedroom on this plane soundproofed. Knowing someone is just outside the door but can’t hear or see anything is erotic.

  With the ferocity in which he is pounding into me, we both find our release in no time at all. My body is languid, and Damien totally supports all my weight as my head drops to his shoulder. We both let out breaths of contentment. He always knows exactly what I need.

  “Absolutely perfect, Alli, each and every time.”

  I giggle as he lets me down. When I turn to find my clothes, he swats my ass, and I let out a little yelp.

  As I pull on my T-shirt, I ask, “Were you and Bane arguing about something when I woke up?”

  After removing his green polo shirt, he looks over at me. “I was going to tell you, but it seems like you needed my dick inside you instead. A husband aims to please his wife.”

  I grab my yoga pants off the floor, and then I give him a playful slap on the chest.

  He smirks at me. I know he’s trying to keep the situation as light as possible.

  “Bane wants me to let him respond to the emails, acting as you, to see if we can flush this asshole out.”

  His serious tone freezes me in place. My hand falters as I reach for my tennis shoes. My heart feels like it skipped about ten beats.

  I close my eyes for a moment as I gather my thoughts. “What did you decide?”

  I know Damien would never put me in harm’s way. I trust his decision even though I’m terrified on so many levels.

&nbs
p; I open my eyes to see he’s staring back at me, and his blue eyes are on fire.

  “I didn’t. I wanted to talk it over with you first. Like I said before, we are in this together.”

  We are truly a united front.

  “What do you think we should do?” I ask.

  “I’m still thinking about it. Let’s just get home, and then we can decide what to do.” He moves closer to me and grabs the sides of my face. “You aren’t going to be alone for a second. If I’m not with you, someone will be there—no exceptions. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  I finish gathering my things. After being gone all this time, I’m anxious to get home and get my bearings.

  We pull up into our driveway. It feels good to be back even though our honeymoon was a thing dreams are made of. Getting out of the vehicle, I stand and look at our home.

  It’s ours now, a place we’ll share together. It’s weird saying the word our all the time now. For the last few months, I tried not to blur the lines, and I made sure to say his all the time. At the beginning of the honeymoon, he constantly had to keep correcting me. It was funny how something so small like that could irritate him.

  Damien comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me. “Welcome home, baby.”

  “It’s good to be home.”

  He nuzzles my neck. “If there are any changes you want to make to our place, you can.”

  The thought of making a lot of changes at this point is a little overwhelming. For now, I just want to enjoy life with Damien.

  “Okay, I’ll let you know.”

  As we start approaching the front steps of the house, Damien lifts me up, and I squeal while he spins me around.

  “How very proper of you, Mr. Wales.”

  He gives me a quick kiss. “I want to carry you in my arms as we enter into our home for the first time as husband and wife. After that, what I have planned for us is anything but proper.”

  I smile and giggle in anticipation. Maybe we don’t have to leave our bubble quite yet after all.

  After making love upon arriving into our home, we ended up taking a small nap. When we awake, it’s midafternoon. With the time change, my body still feels completely out of whack.