Secret Curves (Dangerous Curves Book 5)
Page 21
He reared back, startled to the point of shock. “You did?”
“Yes. I knew he’d be in jail over the holidays… and I wanted to give you that. I want you to have your first Christmas ever where you don’t have to worry for even one second about him hurting you or your Mom, or showing up at your door drunk and shouting for money. I want you to just – to have Christmas.”
“My God,” he whispered. “Tessa… nobody’s ever done anything like that for me before.”
“And nobody’s ever fought for me before, babe,” she said. “Nobody’s ever stepped up and defended me, and from the day you first met me, that’s all you’ve ever done.”
He tightened his grip around her. “I’ll do it for you until the day I die.”
“I know.” She traced his lips. “And I love you for it.”
“I love you too.” He tugged her to the bedroom now. “Let me hold you, and show you how much I love you.”
“About time!” she huffed. “You and your endless talking, I swear.”
Curtis laughed again, feeling lighter and happier than he ever thought he could. She was healing him, he knew, and for the first time in his life, he felt that he deserved to heal. After all, he’d helped Tessa stop punishing and hurting herself: why shouldn’t he stop doing the same thing? He deserved good things, beautiful things; he really did. He deserved Tessa.
Yeah, he did. He finally believed it.
In the bedroom, he carefully undressed her, his large hands moving tenderly over her body, then stripped off his own clothing. Despite her protests, he turned her away from him so he could examine her back. He needed to see her injuries; he needed to truly know and face what he’d done. He wasn’t going to hate himself for it – well, not too much, anyway – but he was going to feel regret about it.
Curtis hissed in a breath at the purple and black marks on her upper back. His hand actually trembled as he reached out to stroke the ugly bruises marring her creamy skin.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he said, his voice low. “I’d do anything to change this.”
“I know. It’s yet another reason why I love you as much as I do.”
She turned to him, her eyes so warm and loving. Curtis tangled his hands in her long hair, just held on to her with near-desperation. God, he’d come so fucking close to losing her that day, more than once, and in more than one way. He had to hold her now, to know that she was safe. He needed it just as much as she did.
Maybe more.
He helped her in to bed, and right away, she curled up against him on her side. And Curtis held her; he just held her, and breathed, and was so damn grateful.
**
“Tessa. You awake?”
She snuggled closer to Curtis, made a small sound. “I could be. Why?”
“It’s past midnight, baby. It’s Christmas.”
“Ooooh.” She struggled to sit up, and he helped her. “Really?”
“Umm-hmmm. You want your present?”
She gave him a slow, hot smile. “I thought you were going to give it to me tomorrow morning.”
“Not that one,” he huffed. “That one’s not exclusive to Christmas.”
“God, I hope not.” Her long hair fell over her shoulders, hiding her lush breasts from his view. “So you want to give me my other present now?”
“Is that OK?” he said, suddenly unsure. “It’s just that – I’ve never had anyone like you to give a gift to before. I kind of can’t wait.”
“God, Curtis.” Her heart broke for him, just a little bit. “Of course it’s OK.”
“Be right back.”
He kissed her mouth carefully, avoiding the worst of the swelling and bruising, jumped out of bed, and wandered out of the bedroom totally naked. She practically drooled at the sight of his amazing ass and shoulders, then almost drooled again at the view on his return. Yeah, the man was nothing but hot, hard, bulging muscle, and a part of her still couldn’t quite believe that all that strength and power were hers.
Curtis climbed back in to bed next to her, handed her the small box. “Here you go, sweetness.”
“Thank you,” she said, incredibly touched. “I love it.”
He stared down at her, bemused. “You haven’t even opened it.”
“I don’t care. I know I love it.”
“Fuck, Tessa.” He spoke so softly, she barely heard him. “You’re something else, baby. You’re everything.”
She smiled, ducked her head. “I’ll open it, then?”
“Yeah.”
Nervously, he watched her unwrap the paper, lift the lid off the box. She held the box up to catch the light from the street lights outside, and when she saw them, she gasped.
“Oh, Curtis. They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
“You really think so?” he said. “If you don’t like them, we can exchange them for something else…it’s no problem. I mean, just say if –”
She cut him off with a kiss. “Stop talking, I beg of you. I love them.”
“Yeah?” His breath was coming a bit easier now. “For real?”
“For real.” Carefully, Tessa plucked the amethyst earrings from the box, stared down at them in delight. “Silver and purple.”
“Uh-huh.” He smiled at her, and she loved seeing it. “All I thought when I saw these online was that they’re just so you. You’ve got your sparkle back now, you know… you’re just bursting with color and life again.”
“You helped with that,” she said quietly. “You helped more than you’ll ever know.”
“I hope so. It’s all I ever wanted to do, to make you happy.”
“You do.” Carefully, she slipped the earrings on. They dangled a bit, perfectly framed by her golden curls. “How do they look?”
“Gorgeous.”
She blushed a bit. “Do you want your present now, too?”
“I thought I was going to get it tomorrow morning,” he teased. “After you rested up a bit.”
“Not that one. The other one.”
“The one wrapped under the tree?”
“Uh-huh. You want that one?”
“Yes. Definitely.”
“OK.”
She moved to get out of bed, but he stopped her.
“You sit still, baby. I’ll get it.”
She nodded, and then enjoyed Curtis leaving and returning yet again. No way she’d ever get her fill of admiring his physical beauty. Never, ever.
Curtis held the present in his hand, putting off the moment of actually opening it for a bit longer. Yeah, his Mom had tried hard to make Christmas special, and his aunt and uncle had bought him gifts, but he’d never really accepted them in the right spirit. He’d been too closed-off, too pissed-off. But this, this here with Tessa? This was accepting a gift with an open heart – and that made all the difference in the world.
Carefully, he ripped off the paper, stared down in heart-stopping shock at what he’d just uncovered.
His mother looked up at him from four photos all gathered together in a single, heavy, wooden frame. In three of the pictures, she was with Curtis, but in the last one, she was by herself. In all of them she was smiling, and so was he.
“Tessa,” he said, dumbfounded. “My God. How did you –”
“I called your aunt and uncle in Florida,” she said. “I asked if they had any pictures of your Mom, and your Aunt Grace sent me these. She said she’d kept these pictures of her sister for a long, long time, waiting for you to come and ask for them.”
“I had no fucking idea that she even had any.” Curtis was almost paralyzed with the shock. “She never mentioned my Mom again after she was killed… she never wanted to talk about her. Not once.”
“She’s sorry for that,” Tessa said. “She wants to know if we can come and visit them, maybe in the spring?”
“God, yes.�
� Curtis couldn’t tear his eyes from his mother’s face, so young and beautiful, surrounded by flowing, blonde hair. Seeing her again after almost thirty years was like a balm being spread over every hurt he’d ever known. He glanced up at Tessa, and he didn’t give a good goddamn that his eyes were full of tears. “Thank you.”
She smiled at him through her own tears. “You’re welcome.”
Curtis set the frame on the bedside table, turned it slightly so it faced him. Then he held out his arms to Tessa, and she came. Slowly, being careful about her back, he lowered them both down to the mattress. She settled her head on his chest, gazed up at Cassie’s smiling face.
“She was beautiful, huh?” Tessa said softly.
“She was.”
“I see a lot of her in you, you know.”
Curtis twisted to gaze down at her. “You do?”
“Yeah. Your eyes, and your smile, babe. Your smile is exactly the same as hers.”
“It is?”
“Umm-hmmm. All those good things in you? I think they come from her.”
“God, I hope so.” His words were nothing less than a fervent prayer. “I’d love to think that. It’d mean that I still have her, in some ways.”
Tessa kissed his chest, and he felt her start to droop against him a bit. She had to be tired, he knew. The shock and the pain and the painkillers were all taking their toll on her, and he wanted her to go back to sleep.
He stroked her hair now, his hand gentle. “Close your eyes, baby.”
“Mmmmm,” she murmured. “I’m sorry. I’m really wiped out.”
“Nah, don’t apologize.” He kissed her forehead. “Just let go and go to sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yeah.” She was drifting off, and he held her closer. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight. I love you, sweetness.”
“I love you, too.” She heaved a deep sigh. “So, so much.”
Tessa tumbled in to sleep quickly, but Curtis stayed awake for the rest of the night, staring at the pictures next to him, staring in to his Mom’s sparkling blue eyes. Eyes so much like his own, he was thrilled to see for the first time in his life. He just lay awake, remembering when and where the pictures had been taken, remembering his mother more clearly and fully than he had in years. In decades.
When the sun rose in the morning, highlighting the gold in Tessa’s curls spread across his naked chest, Curtis greeted the day as a new man. One who had made peace with some of the darkest, most troubling things about himself, and who had rediscovered and reclaimed some of the best and brightest things inside him, too. And he knew – knew with everything that he was, both good and bad – that there was no better gift to be received.
Best. Present. Ever.
**
Dear Reader,
I very much hope that you enjoyed Tessa and Curtis’ story, and catching up with all the ‘Dangerous Curves’ characters. ‘Dark Curves’ (Dangerous Curves #6), Warren and Shay’s story, will be published in December 2015.
And remember to sign up for my newsletter, to get all my news, sneak peeks of upcoming books, early cover reveals, and chances to win free copies of my books! You can subscribe here.
Thank you for reading!
Marysol
About the author
Marysol James is the author of the 'Open Skies', ‘Fighting For Love’, 'Unseen Enemy' and 'Dangerous Curves' series.
She writes steamy, sexy, slinky romances which feature strong, complex women and equally fascinating men. Marysol is interested in producing well-written and passionate stories with characters who learn to let go of control and to trust – both in and out of the bedroom.
Her stories are very sensual (very!), and offer smart plots, a bit of humor, and lots of character development, so her books will appeal to readers who want emotional connection as well as sexuality.
When not writing, Marysol can be found swimming, doing yoga, listening to music and drinking coffee. To stay up-to-date with her, visit her official author website at www.marysoljames.com
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