If not, she was going to regret it.
Like Roxy always did.
Inside, she heard them talking. Heading toward the sounds of their voices, she peeked her head inside.
Avalon ‘saw’ her first.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I have a headache, I swallowed way too much toxic water, and I want to kick the hell out of a stubborn man, but I’ll be okay.”
“We’re glad, Sheriff, that you’re in one piece.”
She crossed to Jagger, who was lounging on the couch chewing gum.
“You’re insane to jump into that water. Someone should give you a psych evaluation, and then have you committed.”
He laughed. “Oddly, that’s not the first time I’ve heard that, Sheriff. Maura says it just about every other week.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you.”
“I’d jump in again.”
“I mean about what you did with Roxy.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, well, you’re the hero one minute, and the villain the next. You get used to it.”
She patted his cheek.
“You’re not planning on working, are you?” Maura asked. The woman looked like hell.
“Actually, I have some personal shit to handle. Tomorrow, I think I’ll stay at my office, letting you guys do your thing. My brain has been scrambled plenty today.”
Nate was glad.
“Your warrant came in a few minutes ago. We’re going to serve it in the morning. How about we handle that, and then we’ll see if we can find Haas Newman?”
“Still nothing?”
“Nope. He’s not around. It’s like he’s hiding from the world.”
She was going to trust them.
Bishop needed some down time.
“Where is he?”
Avalon focused on her. “He’s halfway through a bottle of Jack in his room. You have to do something. He’s trying to punish himself, and it’s going to work.”
“Yeah, I will. I’m going to marry that bastard and really make his life a living hell.”
She grinned. “Good for you, Bishop.”
She headed out the door, glad to be back at Graymoor. When she was there, the place reminded her of him. It was all that old wood, darkness, and intensity.
She belonged there.
She could feel it to her bones.
At his door, she knocked.
“Go away!”
She kept knocking.
“I said, go the fuck away!”
Bishop wiggled the knob. It was locked. So, she did the only logical thing she could do when dealing with a drunken man in a stupor.
She tried to kick the damn door in.
And it hurt like a bitch.
Oh, and it didn’t open—so much for her grand entrance.
She heard his angry footsteps as he headed toward the door. When he flung it open, he looked angry.
Then… he looked shocked.
Finally, scared.
“Bishop,” he whispered.
There were a few ways she could handle this. They could fight, they could argue, or she could forgive him.
She didn’t give him a chance. Instead, she jumped him. Lucian caught her in his arms and stumbled backward into the room.
They hit the floor.
Her mouth found his.
She kissed him through the storm, reveling in the way he held her in his arms.
“Oh God! Please don’t be a dream. Please tell me you’re real,” he whispered, as she tried to kiss him.
When he continued to talk, Bishop bit him on the earlobe.
He moaned, running his hands down her body. “Bishop, baby, you came back.”
She stared into his eye. “Lucian, I’ll always come back.”
She was a mess.
Battered.
Beat.
Bruised.
Yet, he’d never seen a more lovely woman in his life.
“Baby,” he whispered.
“When’s the wedding?”
That caught him off guard.
“Um.”
“Well? I need to get a dress.”
“Wait. What?”
She started laughing. “You told the entire world we were getting married. If you think, for a single second, I’m letting you back out of this, then you’re out of your mind.”
He sat up, holding her in his lap.
“You’re going to marry me?”
“Are you asking me?”
He paused.
“Yes and no.”
She stared at him, looking surprised. Okay, that wasn’t the answer she’d expected.
“Let me explain. I’m not doing it like this.”
“What do you mean, Lucian?”
“I’m going to ask, but I’m doing it right. I’m going to take you out, make it count, and give you what you deserve. I want to have a romantic night with you, show you that you’re the most valuable person in the world to me, and then give you the most beautiful ring you deserve.”
Her heart skipped.
“So you do really want to marry me?”
“Oh, God…I want you in my life more than anything, Bishop. I absolutely want to marry you.”
“I hope you don’t change your mind.”
He heard the hurt. She expected him to flip the script at some point, taking it back.
Lucian had to stop it.
“Come with me.”
He helped her off his lap, and then walked with her hand in hand to the giant ornate dresser in his room. On it sat a box.
“I meant what I said about an evening of romance, but until that moment, I want to give you this one.”
She didn’t know what he was doing.
When he opened a jewelry box, there sat a simple gold band. It had carving in it, but it was very nondescript.
“What is it?” she asked.
“It belongs to Graymoor. Everyone who’s had ‘the gift’ had the ring. I don’t have an engagement ring for you right now, but I want you to have this as a promise. As soon as I can figure out how to ask you, I’m going to do it.”
She touched his cheek. He was making this far more complicated than it had to be.
“Just ask me. That’s all I want.”
He studied her face to see if this was really what she wanted from him.
Was it that simple?
Then he realized it was.
His Bishop was beautiful inside and out. One of the reasons he was drawn to her was because she didn’t make him jump through hoops.
She said what she meant.
She meant what she said.
He dropped to his knees—not one, but two. Gently, he left kisses across her battered knuckles.
“Marry me, Bishop. I can’t live without you. Be my wife even when I know I don’t deserve your love.”
“Did you mean everything in your letter?”
“You read it?”
“Yes.”
“I meant every single word.”
“I want a promise from you, Lucian.”
“What?”
“Trust.”
He understood.
“I promise.”
“Yes, I’ll marry you. I’m not a ring kind of girl. This one is perfect.”
And that’s how he knew she was the real deal. When he and Wendy went ring shopping, she picked out the biggest one she could get her greedy little hands on. It was about showing off and being the center of attention.
Not his Bishop.
She was his beauty.
She calmed his beast.
Bishop pulled him to his feet. “Welcome me home, Lucian. I’m never leaving again.”
His heart skipped. “Are you saying that you’ll move in with me?”
She touched his scarred cheek. “I won’t have it any other way. I can’t live without you. I love you so much that it hurts. When I thought you didn’t love…want me …I hurt so much inside that I wanted to die.”
“I always want you,
Bishop. I’ll die wanting you. There won’t be a day that goes by that the need won’t be there. With you, it’s all I live for each day.”
“Make love to me.”
Oh, he would.
Last time, she’d healed him. This time, he was going to show Bishop what lived in him—for her—and only her.
Scooping her up, he carried her toward the monstrous bed. When he put her on her feet, he had to know.
“How hurt are you?”
“My heart is dinged up pretty damn bad.”
He took that as his sign. He’d be slow, gentle, and make her feel everything she deserved.
Slowly, he pulled off the t-shirt covering her body.
She was a mess.
“Oh, Bishop, I’m so sorry.”
“Make the hurt go away, Lucian. I need you. Tonight, I need to feel.”
He dropped to his knees to work on her sneakers, jeans, and belt. When he got them all undone, he helped her slip them down her body.
There was a cut on her hip, her ribs were starting to bruise, and he craved kissing each and every one to show her what she meant to him.
It was tenderness.
It was her coming back, even when he didn’t deserve it.
He was going to give her the world.
It started now.
When she was free of her clothes, he slipped her panties down her legs. To say he wasn’t turned on would be a lie. As his fingers touched soft, silky skin, he knew this was going to be Heaven and Hell.
He was going to dine on the woman he loved, but be patient. He never was very good at holding back. Lucian Monroe was accustomed to just taking.
Now he was giving.
As he stood, Lucian reached around her back, setting the clasp on her bra free.
“Are you sure you’re up for this?”
“Yes, I need you. I need to feel. Make the fear go away. I’m afraid I’m going to wake up and you’re going to be gone. I’m afraid you’ll leave me again, or tell me to go.”
He lifted her chin, and then kissed the tears on her cheeks. “I’m not leaving you. I promise.”
He picked up her hand and on the finger where her ring sat, he kissed the simple band.
“You belong to me. You’re mine, Bishop, and there’s no leaving. We’ll fight, argue, hell…throw shit at me, but you can’t leave. You’re going to be my wife. You’re going to be mine.”
“I always was yours.”
He believed it. “Let me show you what I feel.”
Gently, he lifted her to place her in the center of THEIR bed. He didn’t hesitate to join her. His mouth found hers, and he started there, sealing his promises with a kiss.
When she came alive beneath his fingers, he let his mouth trail lower, seeking what he wanted more than anything in the world.
Her.
His mouth teased, tormented, and nipped at her full breasts, and he wanted more.
Lucian wanted all.
He moved lower, gently parting her legs. This was what he craved. He was dying to know what she’d taste like on his lips. He bet she’d be sweet like that cherry soda.
With the tip of his tongue, he teased her.
She moaned.
It was music to his ears.
With renewed need, he dove in, feasting on everything Bishop had to offer him. Her hands found his hair, her legs were over his shoulders, and she was begging him to keep going.
He’d never stop.
If he could do this every day, he’d never leave this bed. In his mind, he could picture her with him, by his side for the rest of time.
Then he pictured her pregnant, carrying his child.
Suddenly, Graymoor didn’t seem so empty and like a prison. He could feel life coming back, and it was because of her.
Bishop was the answer.
When she shook, moaning his name, he nipped her, shoving the woman he loved over the edge.
She came hard, and he kept going.
It wasn’t enough.
He couldn’t satiate that need. He wanted to hear her breathy gasps over and over again as she shouted his name in release.
“Lucian!”
He couldn’t stop.
He wanted this never to end.
When he added the rough slide of fingers to the wetness, she shook.
“I am going to enjoy this every day for the rest of our lives. I’m going to wake up like this, go to bed like this, and devour my wife all night long. I’ve lived too long without you.”
He dove back in, all the while, struggling to get through the intense lust he was feeling. With each taste of Bishop, he wanted more.
He needed more.
She came again, and her breathy pleas made him crazy.
“Be my heart. Be my soul. Chase the demons away, Bishop.”
She opened her eyes through the pleasure. “Forever, Lucian. I’ll be yours forever.”
He slid off her body.
“I need to feel you beneath me. Tell me if I hurt you,” he said, pulling off his shirt, and then stripping from his jeans.
It felt like so many layers to get free from even to touch her.
He was desperate.
He was wild.
It felt like a fever was overtaking him.
When she reached out and ran her fingers over his erection, he moaned.
“I’m waiting for you, fiancé.”
His heart skipped. “Bishop, you’re my world.”
He climbed onto the bed and gently placed his body over hers. She winced a little, and he thought that maybe he should stop.
“I don’t want to hurt you, baby.”
“You won’t,” she offered, nothing but trust and love in her eyes.
When her fingers ran across his face, and to his lips, Lucian left a kiss on the tips.
“You’re mine.”
He slid into her.
She came again. It was the way he felt pushing into her, as the bulkiness of him was protectively over her body.
He didn’t move as she shook around him. “Jesus, that’s amazing,” he muttered in her ear.
Then he whispered his wildest dream. “Have my babies. Be the mother of my children. Give me life, Bishop. I’m tired of the cage. Set me free.”
She wrapped her legs around his hips. “Yes, Lucian. It’ll always be yes.”
He never wanted a woman like he craved her. There was something about that silky feel of her skin against his. Where his scars were rough, raw, and horrible, she was soft, sweet, and gentle.
She was everything he wasn’t.
They were the perfect whole package. Without her, he couldn’t live.
He couldn’t face the world without the woman he loved.
As he moved in and out of her body, she clung to him, enjoying what he was doing to her body.
It was Heaven.
“God! Bishop! So good.”
She couldn’t agree more. He was shaking, and she wanted to give him everything he deserved. As he kept the rhythm, holding out for her, she wanted him to fall.
Her mouth found his ear.
“Cum in me. I want to have your children. I want to be your wife.”
It caught him off guard, and he lost it.
The need, the words, and the heat sucked control from him as he buried himself into her body in one long stroke. There was something about the way she could always undo him. Bishop had that power, and he didn’t mind.
They both came.
They moaned.
Then they both found peace, wrapped in each other’s arms. It was the most amazing feeling.
They drifted, and he didn’t want to move. He wanted to stay this way forever, buried in her body. Finally, he rolled, so he could tuck her battered and bruised body beneath the comforter on his bed.
“Lucian?” she whispered. “Did you mean everything you told the media about coming back?”
He thought about it. “Yeah, I did. Why?”
“Because I’m going to help you find who hurt you. We’r
e going to fix Ravenswood together.”
He didn’t doubt it.
When it came to Bishop, she was strong enough to do it.
That was a fact.
Chapter Twenty
Saturday morning
When he woke up, she was still by his side. His heart did that little skip and then evened out. It wasn’t a dream.
She had really returned and taken him back. For a while, he’d believed it had been the booze and a figment of his imagination, but now that she was curled beside him, Lucian could finally relax.
His beauty had returned to the lonely manor.
As he stared down at his chest, her hand was there, and on it was his ring. That sight made him want to shout a chorus of hallelujahs to the heavens.
Somehow, he’d managed to score the woman of his dreams. When he glanced over at the clock, they’d only been asleep for a little over four hours, and he knew she needed to rest a bit, and then eat something.
He was in the mood to take care of his girl.
Lucian grinned.
Those words were music to his ears.
Gently, he slid her arm off his chest, and she repositioned herself. Lucian knew this was his opportunity to escape. Grabbing his jeans, he tugged them on, all the while watching her sleep.
She was gorgeous.
All that red hair—it fanned out around her like a halo. She was definitely his angel. He was going to protect and love her for the rest of his life.
When he looked for his t-shirt, he couldn’t find it, so he grabbed his hoodie off the chair. He thought about the people downstairs, and the eye patch.
Yeah, he skipped it.
It was time to move on with his life. The media, by now, was showing his face all over the city, and he didn’t care. Bishop loved him. She forgave him, and he wasn’t going to waste this last chance.
If she could see past his wounds, so could he. She simply loved him for him.
That was a beautiful thing, and he knew it.
Heading downstairs, he found Avalon, Jagger, and Maura in his kitchen. When he came in whistling, everyone looked up.
“Well, someone is in a good mood,” Jagger said.
Before he could make a crass comment about the likely reason, Maura put her hand over his mouth.
“He’s the host. Tread lightly.”
Jagger grinned from behind her palm. “Yes, Mom,” he mumbled against her hand.
Oracle Seeing (The Phoenix Files Book 2) Page 36