chapter TWENTY-FIVE

Grace

A Month Later

I stir languidly from my sleeping-beauty state as a groan of satisfaction leaves my lips. For the very first time since I left the convent, I wake up with a smile already plastered on my face. My mind free of worry about the man who wanted me dead.

My lips spread into an even bigger grin when Nix’s sexy smile and handsomely rugged face appear in my mind’s eye. I let out a content sigh, knowing that he is mine. That he loves me. That we broke the chains together. That we’re finally free.

I turn to my side, opening my eyes slowly. Once my peepers are wide open, they land on my man’s trance-inducing browns. I let out a scream, roll off the bed, taking the comforter with me, and land on the plush carpeted floor in a heap of tangled limbs.

“Jesus! Grace, are you okay?” Nix asks.

The tension in his voice for how much he cares for me should make me smile in glee. But my embarrassment from my falling off without grace supersedes any kind of fuzzy feelings.

I groan. “You have to stop creeping up on me. I’m a jumpy person. Don’t you know that by now?”

He chuckles loudly, lifts me off the floor, and cradles me in his arms. With my head against his chest and my eyes still tightly shut in embarrassment, he sits on the bed and rocks me like a baby. His body is still shaking, courtesy of his uncontrollable laughter.

“I just wanted to see you first thing in the morning. Is that bad?”

I sigh. This time, there is a smile on my face. Why wouldn’t there be? My boyfriend loves me. “For my butt, it’s a bad thing.”

“May I kiss it to ease the pain?” There’s mirth in his tone. But the seductive circling of his hands on my tushy is all kinds of arousing and enticing.

“No kissing. You know it leads to something.”

I open my eyes, hesitantly scanning his face. Until he holds my chin steady, claiming my worried greens.

“Are you okay with that? Us waiting? I mean…” I shrug timidly, my insecurity hitting me full force.

“Honesty, Grace, remember? Tell me how you feel, and I’ll tell you my feelings about it.”

Another reluctant sigh leaves me. “You’ve been with women. A lot of them based on your own admission. So—”

“Wait.” He presses his pointer finger against my lips. “Let me stop you there. A lot,” he says slowly and then smirks, “carries a lot of weight, babe. I’ve slept around, yes, but not like you think. But go on.”

“Hmm…” My eyes narrow, and he returns it with an eye roll. “I think that’s up for debate. But that’s between you and God.” I playfully smack him on the chest.

His laughter fills the room again. “Grace, you mean, God was watching me while I was pounding into someone?” He raises his brow at me. “That’s just wrong.”

“Totally wrong!” Nate’s voice booms from out of nowhere.

“Nate!” Nix and I yell in unison. While my tone is laced with embarrassment, Nix is brimming with annoyance.

“All right, I’m out. Just doing a sweep, like I should.”

Nix glares at the ceiling and then pokes my side with his pointer finger urging me to continue.

“What I’m trying to say is, I want to wait, and that might be a deal-breaker for you.” I bite my upper lip, gauging his reaction. “But I,” I begin shyly, “crave you, too. So much.” As I cup his cheeks, another confession leaves my lips. “I’ve never felt this…feeling of strong need to be intimate with someone, but with you, it isn’t just an urge. I…I desire you, Nix. Every day in my every waking moment, I desire to kiss you, to touch you, to hold you. I desire you,” I whisper.

He gifts me with a smile so pure…so sweet, my heart begins to flutter wildly against my chest.

“Waiting isn’t an issue for me. I’ve waited long enough to find the missing piece to complete me. So, no”—he shakes his head—“waiting isn’t hard for me.” Then, his devilish grin makes an appearance. “But you have to stop saying you desire me, Grace…because it makes me hard. You know that hard steel you’re sitting on? He’s raring to go, babe. So, ease up on the sweet talk just a bit. He might explode.”

My cheeks heat up, and I squirm reflexively. My butt though definitely feels the hardness he is talking about.

“So”—he starts pulling me in closer to him—“you’re gonna drive today.”

I pull back in excitement. The hardness poking my butt momentarily forgotten. If Nix’s arms weren’t around me, I would have fallen again. “Today?” The giddiness in my voice pairs magnificently with the smile etched on my face. Then, in a split second, a frown ruins it. “But you have a monstrosity of a truck, a death trap of a motorcycle, and an impossibly super-fast sports car.” I stick out my fingers, enumerating his mode of transportation. “I can’t learn on those.”

“I know, beautiful. But I have another car. She’s perfect for you.”

“You do?” I ask. Both brows reaching the heavens.

“Yes. So, get ready. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.” He drops a kiss on my forehead and gently settles me on my feet. Then, he awkwardly adjusts himself and walks out of my room.

When I have my room all to myself, I look down and marvel at my ring. It is sparkling brilliantly on my ring finger, making my heart skip in humble contentment.