Chapter Thirty-Nine
Moon
I stayed with Mr. Loche for two hours. When I came back to the cabin, Father Andrews and Madison were cooking dinner together in the kitchen. She was laughing and he was telling her that anyone can learn to cook, it just takes practice. I don’t add my two cents that the meal Mrs. Loche prepared would have been safer. I word it a little more carefully, “Please don’t encourage her. Gabriella will throw a fit if Madison moves in on her territory.” They stop what they’re doing and I receive my first genuine smile from Madison that I’ve seen in weeks.
“It’s a simple lasagna. Mak can make it when you’re here at the cabin. Even I wouldn’t do anything to piss off Gabriella.” He cringes with great exaggeration and Madison laughs.
She looks at him with a huge smile. “You didn’t tell me you know Gabriella.”
“I know her daughter. I’ve heard all the stories from her and I’m terrified of her mother.”
I walk to my wife and wrap my arms around her from behind. She leans into me and places her hands on mine. “He’s doing most of the work, so it will probably be edible.”
“I’ll eat every bite even if it isn’t,” I whisper. Father Andrews places the delicious-looking meal in the oven and sets the timer.
“It’s time for me to go. I have a long drive and I really need to be home before tomorrow.”
“No,” Madison says. “You need to at least enjoy the meal you cooked.”
He looks over and gives her a smile. “I’ll need your help on this, Xavier. I really need to get home.”
“Thank you,” I say. Even if Madison isn’t miraculously cured, seeing her mood lightened has helped.
Madison walks out of my arms and wraps hers around Father Andrews. “Thank you. I’ll think about everything you said.”
“That’s all I can ask, my child,” he says and winks. After giving me a firm handshake, he walks out the front door, gets in his car, and drives away.
“You okay?” I ask.
“No, but I think I will be.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Sit down and talk to me.”
We walk to the couch and take a seat. Madison moves to the loveseat so our knees are touching and we can see each other without twisting our necks. I don’t like it because I want her closer, but this is her show and I’ll follow whatever lead she gives me.
“You’ve never asked me outright about the rape and I need to tell you exactly what happened and how I feel about it.” The words are rushed and I can tell she’s nervous.
She talks for an hour and every word stabs me in the gut. I knew exactly why she stopped fighting the bastard, but she needs to say it. She ends her story with, “Thank you for killing him for me.”
“It’s not who you are. You might kill because you have no choice, but that’s the only reason.”
“I think I understand that now.” She shrugs. “What happened made me doubt who I really am. I wasn’t sure if the world you live in is one I want to be part of.”
It’s nearly impossible to hear the words. I love her so damn much and I knew how conflicted she was. I felt her pain deep in my bones and there was nothing I could do. I take her hand and squeeze it gently. “I would walk away today. I have enough money to give us a good life away from here. Away from the drugs and weapons and men trying to kill us.”
“Father Andrews was a cop. Did you know that?”
“Yes, I know.”
“He’s not a bad man.”
I smile because he’s the exact opposite. “No, he isn’t.”
“You’re not a bad man either.”
We’ve been through this. I’ve done horrible things and I can’t take them back. Most I wouldn’t take back. I can’t say what comes next with the distance between us. I move from the couch to my knees in front of her and take her hands.
“You see me through rose colored glasses. I’m not just a killer, I’m a mass murderer.” She just stares at me so I continue, “Before I met you I felt myself sliding into a dark hole that was filled with death and destruction. It pulled me further in with every drop of blood I took. The day I first saw you, in that bed, you became my light. When I was around you, I wanted to be a good man.” I lift my hand from hers and wipe tears from her cheek. “Without you, I’m lost to the darkness.”
“No, Moon.” She squeezes my hand. “I love you and you are filled with good. I want to help you do good in a bad world. I need to feel useful and I need to take some of the burden you carry off your shoulders. We’re in this together.”
A strange feeling twists inside me. Part of me knows she should walk away and I’m not sure if that’s what she’s saying. “What exactly are we in together?”
“You need my help. I said before I wanted to be more involved in what you do and I meant it. I just had a lack of confidence in myself and my values. The only way I’ll ever be whole again is if I can take control and be by your side without guilt mixing up my head. I love you. I would kill for you and you for me. There are things we can do to make this world better for people who don’t have that opportunity and that’s what I want to be part of. Maybe while we do that I can rediscover myself.”
I lift her hands and kiss them. “Whoever you become will be the best you can be.”
“That’s what I’m praying for.” She looks to the kitchen and then back to me. “I need a nap. I didn’t sleep well. Will you wake me when dinner is ready?”
“Promise.” I didn’t ask if she would consider having a child with me one day because this isn’t the time. I walk her upstairs and watch her curl into the tight ball like she’s done these past few days. And I worry as I walk back downstairs.
When the smell of lasagna fills the room and the timer goes off, I climb the stairs to wake her. She’s no longer curled into a ball with the covers practically over her head. She’s splayed with the sheet half off her body and a long leg stretched out on my side of the bed. Her breathing is deep and untroubled. When I touch her shoulder, she doesn’t move. Quietly, I head back downstairs, put the casserole in the refrigerator, feed the cat, and then join my wife in bed for needed rest.
∞∞∞
A warm body pressed against my back and a hand on my lengthening cock wakes me. Sunshine pours through the windows. Madison wiggles closer to me and kisses my neck. The fingers of her other hand run over my shoulder, down my bare chest, and then over my ass. She pinches me. “I know you’re awake,” she whispers.
“Not awake. It’s a porn dream and I’m not ready to open my eyes.” My voice is gruff from sleep. My dick is hard from Madison.
“How about you lie there and let me do the work so I don’t interrupt your porn dream,” is her husky reply. The nails of her free hand skim over my back and head around to join her other. I groan when she cups my balls and slides her other hand up and down my hard length. She kisses my back and her tongue comes out and she licks me.
I growl and roll over, pulling her on top of me. Her eyes have their sparkle back. Her tangled hair surrounds her beautiful face. This is the woman I fell in love with.
She lifts up her chest and positions the vee of her thighs over my cock. Her breasts fill my hands as she slides down in slow increments. I tweak her nipples and her head goes back, her hair brushing my thighs and her long neck arched.
Exquisite.
Slowly she begins a slow sensual rhythm sliding up and down my swollen cock. We watch each other until her eyes close and she shudders above me. I roll us again and slide just as slowly in and out until my balls clench and I convulse and lose myself inside my beautiful wife.
“I love you,” she whispers, and our world falls back into alignment.
∞∞∞
A short time later, we eat breakfast together in the kitchen. I manage eggs, but burn the bacon. It makes us laugh and it won’t be the last burned food we eat when it comes to either of us cooking.
“Have you heard from Cori?” I ask Madison.
“Funny you ask that. I was just going to send Celina a text and see what’s up with Cori and how she’s doing.”
I place a folded sheet of paper in front of her. I pulled it out from my pants pocket last night before I added them to the laundry basket for Mrs. Loche. “Dax gave me this before we left Fernandez’s place. I stuck it in my pocket and forgot about it.”
I stare down at what’s written on the paper.
Cori will be staying with me until she’s ready to face the world as a warrior should, Duke.
“What the hell?” she whispers.
I give her a smile. “If anyone can handle that giant, it’s Cori.”
“I don’t know if I should worry or not. Cori is strong and she could handle just about anything before Fernandez destroyed us. Could you call Dax and check in?” she asks.
“Sure. Could you kiss me first?”
I kiss the woman I love and wonder what our lives will hold after we leave here and go back to the real world of sex, crime, and love. One day we’ll retire and become the Loches. If Madison wants to leave this life at any time, I’ll go with her and never look back. Someday we may bring a baby into this world. That too will wait.
Until we’re ready, the woman at my side will kick ass and take names. I’ll be her loyal servant while she does it. Most of all, we’ll love each other.