“Jessa!”
The sound of her name in his gravelly voice rolled through Jessa trailing exuberant joy in its wake.
Will snagged a belt loop on her pleated skirt. “Don’t you dare.”
“Let go. And don’t ever touch me again.”
“I’m your husband.”
“Not for long.”
“I will not be made a fool of!”
“Sure you will. You need to know what it feels like.”
Fury danced in Will’s green eyes. His palm lifted to deliver a slap to Jessa’s face. She steeled her body, prepared to take whatever he could dish out but the blow never came.
His expression changed to horror when a huge calloused hand caught his wrist and wrenched his arm around. Will yelped like a whipped puppy as he sank to his knees to avoid the punishing pain twisting his arm from its socket.
“I think she told you to let go,” Connor growled.
“Get. Off. My. Property,” Will gasped.
“Gladly, but Jessa comes with me.”
His mouth slid like silk over her name. Jessa lifted her eyes and searched his angry gaze. The hell black eyes softened and Jessa saw acceptance in their warm glow.
“You came for me,” she whispered.
“Alex says when I get angry I’m all gut reaction and no brain.”
“Alex is correct.”
“Forgive me?”
“You don’t even have to ask.”
“What do I do with this piece of shit?”
Jessa had almost forgotten Will. He was still hanging from Connor’s fist by his hand. His bloodless face was pale and he was panting with exertion.
“I’m so sorry,” Jessa said with the graciousness of any proper Southern Belle. “I think I forgot to properly introduce the two of you. Will, this is Connor. Connor, this is the piece-of-shit-husband I’m leaving. You can let him go if he promises to be good.”
Connor stared into Will’s pasty face and lifted an eyebrow in silent question.
“I wouldn’t touch that bitch if she was the last woman on earth,” Will sneered.
“Now that ain’t nice,” Connor rumbled. “But I appreciate your understanding of how things are going to be. Jessa is mine. And that’s all you need to know.”
Connor dropped Will on the edge of the neatly manicured lawn and pulled Jessa into his arms. Her heart swelled as she loved over every detail of his beloved face. A few shadowed bruises lingered from the previous night, and the gash over his left eye was probably going to scar. But he was hers, scars and all.
Will scrambled, crabbing backwards away from Connor. “You’re not going to get shit in the divorce! You won’t get a cent of alimony when I’m done with you!”
Jessa leaned around Connor’s bulk and laughed at her husband. “You never got it, did you? I don’t want anything from you. Not anymore.”
Connor swept her into his arms and walked away from Will. Jessa didn’t have a backward glance for the husband and home that had dominated her life for nineteen years. She was too busy wondering at the incredible man she’d managed to find quite by accident.
“I love you, Connor,” Jessa told him firmly. “I don’t remember if I ever told you that.”
Jessa almost didn’t get the words out. Connor’s full lips descended on hers like a warm tidal wave. Everything around them ceased to exist, and the world creaked to a halt. Nothing mattered but the warmth and pressure of Connor’s lips. They were softer than she’d ever imagined them to be, and they pressed lovingly against hers until Jessa yielded everything. His tongue slid inside her mouth and rubbed alongside hers in a maddening rhythm that perfectly mimicked the ebb and flow of their lovemaking. Jessa moaned against his mouth. Connor tasted better than she ever could’ve imagined, sweet and spicy and male and magnificent. No matter how long he’d waited to give her this first kiss, it had been worth it.
She whimpered in protest when he pulled away. Jessa could feel a tremble in the arms cradling her body. Connor pressed his forehead to hers and Jessa was shocked by the naked emotions stirring behind his black eyes.
“I love you, Jessa. I don’t care what happened before. The past can stay there. The only thing that matters is you and me.”
“I sure hope you meant that, Connor, because I’m going to hold you to it.”
He grinned wickedly. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”