I was suddenly finding it hard to breathe, struggling to process all he'd just said. "You'd do that . . . for me?"
His thumb slid across my cheek. "Nothing is more important to me than you and our son." He grinned. "Plus, there's an added bonus."
"What's that?"
"I'll be wearing suits a lot more often."
I chuckled, and it sounded a little watery. I sniffed. "That is definitely a bonus."
He dropped down, and I wrapped myself around him, arms and legs, and clung to him for all I was worth. I turned my head, lips going to his ear. "I love you," I breathed. "It's only ever been you."
His arms tightened around me and he rolled to his back, taking me with him. His hand went to my hair, holding it back from my face, pulling me down close, so we were nearly nose to nose. "I love you, too. So fucking much."
Then his mouth was on mine and he was kissing me, hot and hard. His hands moved down and dragged the tee I was wearing up and off. Then they were back on me, slipping under the oversized sweats he'd loaned me, hands going to my bare ass. I didn't have any underwear here, since all my clothes were still at Sara's, so I'd gone commando. Hunter groaned into my mouth, then shoved my pants down. I kicked them off and my hands went to his abs, down farther to the waistband of his boxer briefs. I shoved my hand down the front and wrapped my fingers around his hot length.
He hissed a breath through his teeth, then wrapped his fingers around my wrist and pulled my hand away. I started to complain, but before I got a word out, he flipped us again. Shoving his boxers off, he came down on top of me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, arching up as his mouth caught a nipple and sucked.
I fisted his hair and dragged his mouth to mine. "Now," I said against his lips.
One of his hands went to my ass, holding me where he wanted me, the other snaking down between our bodies, guiding his cock. He pushed inside. Pushed in so deep, I threw my head back and gasped. So good. So fucking good. There was no easing in. He didn't mess around. He started moving, hard and fast, mouth never leaving mine.
"Harder," I whimpered against his lips, a second before I convulsed beneath him and came, crying out his name.
Hunter's hand went to my jaw and he held me still, watched me the entire time, hot gaze never leaving mine, pounded into me while I moaned and shook my way through it. Then he slammed forward once and came with a rough shout.
I stayed wrapped around him while he shuddered through it, then he collapsed on top of me and pressed his face into the side of my neck.
"I love you," I whispered when he stilled, big body covering mine in way that made me feel safe, wanted. In a way only Hunter could give me.
He kissed my neck. "Love you, too."
Hunter
The door opened and Lulu walked into reception. My eyes went to her and stayed locked on, like they always did when my woman was in the same room. She spotted me, and a smile lit up her whole face. I felt it, like a light had been switched on-no, the fucking sun, its warmth was just for me. That's what Lulu did to me, had always done, since the first time I laid eyes on her. It had been a month since Pierce had kidnapped her and earned a bullet between the eyes. She was tough, doing okay, but sometimes the pain of the past hit her. During those times, I held her and did my best to make her feel safe again. She'd also started seeing a counselor, someone who specialized in working with rape victims. It was helping, the change, watching her come out of her shell, open up, have fun-it was the best thing I'd ever seen. And I thanked Christ I was there to watch every second of it, share every second of it with her. Josh was beside her, clutching her hand. When he spotted me, he let go and ran toward me. I crouched low and scooped him up. My boy wrapped his arms around my neck and hung on, then yelled at the top of his lungs. "Daddy!"
Hearing that, shit, it got to me, every fucking time. Lulu had started telling our boy that's who I was. Josh was young enough it wasn't an issue, and so that's what he called me now. I fucking loved it.
"Hey, bud, you been a good boy for your mama?"
"Yep."
Lulu moved in, that smile still in place, and rested her hand on my chest. I bent down, meeting her halfway, and kissed her. Not as deep as I wanted, but that could wait for later.
"Hey," she said, a breathy sound to her voice that made my dick stir.
I grinned down at her. "What's up?"
"We came to see if you want to have lunch with us?"
I slid my hand around the back of her neck and gave her a squeeze. "Sounds good."
"But first, I need to tell you something."
"Yeah?" Going by her expression, what she had to tell me was not good news.
"Aunt Sara came by this morning. She, ah . . . she brought over a letter from my mom. She wrote it not long before she died, asked Sara to give it to me . . . and there was a . . . a key, to a safety deposit box." She blinked up at me, eyes bright.
Shit. I took her hand and led her to my office, sat on the couch, and pulled her and Josh onto my lap. "Talk to me, Lulu."
Josh wriggled away and started running around the room pretending he was a horse. I brushed Lulu's hair back from her face. Her expression was lost, so damn sad. It killed me to see her like this. "Lulu?"
"She took it," Lulu whispered. "The painting. Mom took it after I left. She didn't know why I ran, but she wanted me to have it. Pierce had been selling everything, her parents' artwork, her jewelry, and she didn't want him to sell that as well, so she took it. Sara had no idea." She gripped my shoulders, fisting my tee. "She wanted me to have it." A tear streaked down her face. "It was there the whole time."
Well, shit. I didn't have the words to make her feel better, so I pulled her in tight and held her.
She lay against my chest. "Do you think she knew? About Pierce, what he did?"
I kissed the top of her head. "No. She may have suspected he was the reason you left, but not what he did, what he was capable of. What I do know? She loved you, more than anything."
Lulu nodded. Sniffed. "Yeah. She did."
We sat like that for a while. I'd stay like this with her for as long as she needed me. Someone tapped on the door. "Yeah?" I called.
Neco opened up. "You two got a minute?"
I looked down at Lulu and she nodded. She was good. So damn strong. "What's up?"
He held the door open and motioned for us to follow. I carried Josh, Lulu at my side.
Neco shut the door behind us when we entered his office. He walked around behind this desk and pulled a file out of the drawer. "Been doing some digging. Thought you might like to see this." He slid it to me.
I flicked it open with my free hand. Pierce's name was at the top of the paperwork. I looked up. "Not now, man. Lulu's been through enough already today."
"I think she'll wanna see this."
Lulu rested her hand on my arm. "I'm okay, really."
I frowned. "What is this?"
"Medical records," Neco said, leaning forward and pointing to a section near the bottom. His gaze lifted to Lulu, eyes going soft but still intense. "I know you both said you didn't care either way, that you didn't want to know. But I think you'd want to know this. Pierce . . . he had a vasectomy, before he married your mother. He couldn't have kids."
"What?" she whispered, swaying a little on her feet.
I reached out to steady her and pulled her into my side, feeling a little weak at the knees myself. We'd decided not to get DNA testing done. I didn't care who made him, Josh was mine. But, fuck-yeah, this news. Knowing Josh would never have to go through the pain I had, of learning that he was created in violence. I couldn't describe the joy I felt right then. Relief was too small a word.
"He's yours," Neco said to me, a grin damn near spitting has face.
I turned to my boy, wrapped my hand around the back of his head, soft curls against my palm, and kissed the top of his head. "Always was."
Neco gave me a chin lift, knew what this would mean to me, knew all too well what it had done to me when I'd found out the truth about my own twisted beginnings. That Josh would never have to suffer that heartbreak meant everything.
Lulu curled into my side, arms wrapping around my waist, and buried her face against my shirt. Neco left the room without a word, giving us privacy. When she leaned back, tears were running down her cheeks. I sucked in a breath at the fucking sheer joy on her lovely face.
Fuck, I loved her.
"You wanna get married?" The words came out of my mouth before the question fully formed in my head, but they felt right, more than right. Way fucking overdue.
Her mouth dropped open, then she snapped it shut and blinked up at me, which sent more tears down her cheeks. "What?" she whispered.