Just One Touch (Slow Burn #5)(67)

And yet with one touch, Jenna had healed not only the gaping wound in his chest that would have killed him in minutes, maybe seconds, but she had also done the impossible by filling his heart and soul with so much light, sunshine and sweetness that for a moment, he truly thought he had died and gone to heaven. Despite his past sins.

But most of all she'd given him a reprieve from years of constantly staggering beneath the unbearable weight of grief, blame and guilt that was never forgotten or forgiven. He hadn't allowed himself to be free, hadn't tried to forget or forgive because it was his penance, one he deserved. And in the place of all the pain and remorse he'd lived with for so long, Jenna had gifted him the most precious thing he'd ever been given, second only to her love, trust and her innocence. Absolution. Freedom from a lifetime of self-condemnation and self-hatred.

Somehow she'd removed every single one of the ugly, dark voids that he'd buried so deep in an effort to hide them from even himself so he could pretend they weren't there until they came roaring to the surface with a vengeance. She filled them with an angelic light so bright it could never be covered or disguised. It was simply so large a part of her that it spilled from her, encompassing and overtaking everything she focused her gift on. Natural and effervescent, just like her sparkling eyes and long blond hair that slid down her back in a mass of unruly curls. She'd done the impossible, sealing his gaping wounds on the inside so they would never be raw, painful or exposed again in a single moment of weakness and vulnerability.

She'd given him a miracle he was too ashamed to ask or pray for. Something he was desperate for, if only for a moment, even when he knew he didn't deserve it.



       
         
       
        

Peace.

The kind of peace that couldn't be wiped away in a moment of guilt when his past came back to haunt him. It was a permanent part of him now, every bit as much as she was a permanent part-the very best part-of everything he was. Even now he ached just remembering the beauty of that moment. As soon as she'd touched him there was no separation. Their hearts and souls had recognized one another and in that brief second when time seemed to stop, they'd been truly connected in a way Isaac had never been connected to another human being. Heart, soul and mind, closer than any two people could ever possibly be. He didn't believe for a moment that any other two people were capable of sharing something as inexplicable as the kind of bond that had instantly and irrevocably formed between him and Jenna.

And because she'd healed more than just the physical wounds he'd incurred and brought light back into a world that had been dark to him for so long, he hadn't had a single nightmare since finding her and bringing her home to him, knowing-and fully admitting to himself-that no other woman would ever own every single piece of his heart and soul like she did-and always would. If he ever lost her-fuck, it hurt to even entertain that thought-he'd never look at another woman again. She was his. Every inch of her body was his, and though she may have thought he was teasing, he'd been completely serious. He'd tie her to his bed in a heartbeat if he ever thought she'd try to leave him again.

Shadow cleared his throat in a not very subtle way and sent Isaac a pointed glare. "Daydream later when your attention isn't needed on the very serious matter we have on our hands."

Isaac glanced at Jenna, seeing trepidation in her eyes, but most pronounced was the set of her jaw, how her lips were pressed together and the determined way she stared back at him unflinchingly.

"Fuck," he muttered. "I don't like this, baby. I swore on my life to love and protect you always, to never let evil touch you and to bust my ass every single day to make you happy. Whatever the fuck is about to come on the news completely negates every one of those promises because if it wasn't bad, and if it wasn't going to upset you, then Shadow wouldn't have indicated that you shouldn't be present."

She scowled in response. "Oh, let's see. Not letting me decide for myself whether I want to watch a news program is not going to make me happy. Me being here surrounded by men who make professional wrestlers look like wimps more than covers my safety and protection. And unless you plan to tell me you don't love me anymore because I didn't act like a good little girl and meekly walk into the other room, I fail to see how any of your promises are at risk unless you decide to go through with the first and fourth items on my list." 

"Now you're just pissing me off," Isaac said in a near bellow. "Of course I love you, damn it. And of course you're safe here."