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“Sly dog,” Mimi muttered as I came to a stop by her side. “And holy hell, he is a looker. You are done for, girl.” “Mimi.”
MIMI I LOVE YOU!!
This want unlike anything I’d ever felt. This connection greater—bigger—than anything I’d experienced. It felt like I got knocked in the face when I realized it was true. Did she feel it?
Then she straightened and walked the rest of the way into the kitchen. She sidled up to her grandmother and set to work. “Anything I can do to help?” I asked. Salem’s grandmother waved me off. “You just sit there and look pretty. Coffee will be ready in a minute.” My eyebrow quirked. Pretty?
“That was incredible,” I said as I took my last bite. I looked across the table at Mimi, like she’d insisted I call her. “I really appreciate you inviting me.” She smirked, all kinds of knowing. “I don’t think it was me who did the inviting. Some people just head in the direction they belong.” “Mimi.” Horror flew from Salem’s mouth. A rough chuckle scraped from mine. Under the table, I set my hand on Salem’s thigh and gently squeezed. Fuckin’ loved the way she breathed out a tiny sound that lit a fire in my veins. I glanced at Salem and then at her grandmother. “Well, I’m just glad the door
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Mimi is so iconic 😭
I angled an eye at the one next to me. Every cell in my body fisted. Yeah, it was impossible not to like her, too. “What?” Salem asked, redness hinting at her cheek when she caught me staring. “You’re so pretty.”
Like she felt me staring, which I most definitely was doing, she turned to look at me. This woman who was making me forget every single thing I knew about myself. I slipped my palm along the contour of her jaw, tipped it up, murmured, “Beautiful. Meaning of it. Every part. This face and this body and this heart.” “Jud.” My name was affection. A question. Confusion. “I’m right here, darlin’,” I promised her. “I see that.”
“Next time you get scared? Next time you want to run? Promise me you’ll run to me.”
“I’m scared every single day, Jud.” Her confession was out on a pained breath. I took her by both sides of the face. “I have you, Salem. I have you.”
“Oh, no, it’s your mom and dad, Gage.” Juni cried it like it was the end of the world. I couldn’t help but grin. “She is something, Salem. The cutest little thing.” Tenderness ridged her lips, though her expression rippled with heartache. “I’m sorry if it hurts you, being around her,” she clarified. My head shook, and I took her hand, kissed her knuckles. “No, baby, she’s a part of you.” Fuck. There I went. Sinking in. Deeper and deeper.
“You kissed my mommy. Nows she’s your girlfriend.” I looked down at the little thing whose grin was so wide it curled up her entire face. “That so?” “Yes. It’s the rules. Gage tolds me so.” The hint of a smile tugged at the corners of Salem’s lush mouth, and I splayed my hand wide at the small of her back. “Well, then I guess if it’s the rules.” I winked at my girl.
“You good, darlin’?” “Yep.” A smirk slanted at the edge of his mouth. So sexy. My stomach twisted.
“Um, you don’t have five dollars, Juni Bee.” She took Jud’s hand. “Who needs money when you gots a motorcycle man.” My heart panged, and my attention whipped up to Jud’s face. Jud who looked like he was stricken. He pressed his free hand to his chest, then he grinned at me, so soft, so tender, riddled with affection. “Seems I got stung by a little bee.” Lightheadedness swept through my head. A wave of joy and hope.
“I’m flying, Juni! You better hurry up! I’m gonna ride up the highest mountain and then shoot all the way to the stars.” “Don’t leaves me!” she shouted, pushing her feet hard at the pedals. Jud started to jog behind her, keeping her straight. Emotion gathered in my chest. A fist. A crush. A caress. Tears blurred my eyes as I stepped out onto the street behind them to watch two brothers who I knew had suffered so much pain, take up the simple, ordinary task of teaching these two children how to ride their bikes. So much patience. So much care.
NO IM CRYING 😭😭😭😭
I knew she felt me.
A shiver rocked down her spine. “I don’t know if I can do this, Jud.” Her voice slipped into grief. “What’s that?” “Stay.”
🤸♂️🕳️
“Run to me,” I murmured again. “Jud.”
“You’re real, Salem. You aren’t vapor. You exist. You’re real and whole and mine. Exist with me.”
🧍♀️🚂
need you. I need it all.” “You have me, darlin’.” It was the goddamn truth. I was done for. Done for. This girl possession. A fantasy. A dream. I was straight-up spellbound.
I edged back an inch, my arms a fortress around her body. “I have you, Salem, I have you.”
“Jud.” It was a defense. I shook my head. “Run to me, Salem. Let me be there for you. You know it’s where you belong. Where you’re going to be safest. You know I’ll fight for you. Fight for your daughter.”
I glanced at Salem who stood horrified in the doorway. That feeling squeezed my chest. Yeah. She was fucking worth it. Whatever the cost.
He splayed his hand over her belly, made the silent promise, “Just this once.”
“Do you trust me?” She chewed at her bottom lip before she admitted, “I’m scared of how much I do.” “You think I’m not scared, too, Salem? That all of this isn’t fuckin’ with my mind? But that’s the thing about trust—it’s always a little scary to give. To rely on someone when we’ve only been relying on ourselves. And fuck yeah, baby, you are a fighter, a survivor. Fierce and determined. So goddamn beautiful you make my knees shake. But it doesn’t matter how strong we are, every one of us needs someone who is willing to fight for us, too.”
“What I’m really scared of is losing you.” “Then stay.” I said it like it was simple. Like nothing else mattered.
Jud was there, sweeping me into his arms a second before I crumbled. My arms curled desperately around his neck. “I didn’t mean to, Jud. I didn’t mean to fall in love with you.”
SOBBING LEAVE ME ALONE
“I know you’re scared of it. Hell, I know this is terrifying for us both. Neither of us expected it. But I love you, Salem. I love you with all of me. With the good parts and the bad parts. With the ones that are whole and the ones that are broken. All of them—they belong to you.” Emotion filled every cell in my body. Spirit and soul. “Say it’s forever.” The plea left me on a whimper. “It’s forever, baby. Today, tomorrow, and always.”
“I love you, Jud. I love you in a way that should be impossible. With a love so big and massive it hurts.” He cocked me a tender smile. “I understand that feeling well, darlin’. Think I’ve been feeling it since the second you walked into my life.”
“You’ve been fighting for so long, Salem. Let me fight for you.” I touched the lines of his rugged, handsome face. “With me,” I corrected. “Because I’ll never stop, not until she’s safe.”
“We’re a mess.” A smile twitched beneath his beard as he slipped his palm up to rest on my cheek. Adoring. Emphatic. Whole. “A beautiful fuckin’ mess.”
stuffed the demon down deep. Chained him. I kept him hidden from everyone except for my brothers who’ve always known. But he’s right here, and I’ve let him loose. For you, Salem. For you and your daughter. He’s going to fight for you. I just need a name and this ends.” I should be terrified of his admission. Grim. But I was only terrified of what it might mean for him. Of what he was asking. Of the direction I could feel him aching to go.
“Salem.” It was a grunt. A plea. A confession. “Jud,” I murmured back. “Love me. Love me the way I love you. In a way that can’t be broken.” “Forever,” he said. He kissed my eyes. My cheeks. My soggy lips. “I love you, darlin’. Love you with every piece of me. Every hole and every scar and every hope. Everything belongs to you. To you and Juni. Do you understand what that means?”
“Do you understand what that means?” he reiterated, his voice low and deep. His thumb traced my scar. Energy crashed as he rumbled the words, “It means I have you, darlin’. I have you.”
Our breaths synced. Our spirits joined. And for the first time in my life, I felt a part of someone. Physically. Spiritually. Like I was not just tied with his soul, but I was a part of his existence.
“It’s you and Juni now. You’re mine. I’ll fight for you, live for you, die for you, whatever it takes.” The words grunted from his mouth. “Do you understand?” And I lost myself to it. To this surrender. To his belief. His love. His life. “I love you, Jud. I love you.” And I gave him the one thing that was the hardest part. “I trust you with it all.”
“You were there.” My eyes dropped closed. “Salem.”
I’m looking for a job. I’m looking for my home. I’m looking for my purpose. Most of all, I’m looking for my man, the one who promised me forever.” Then she fisted both hands in my shirt, a gleam in those eyes. “And if he doesn’t kiss me soon, I’ll stab him.” Rough laughter bolted out, and I had her off her feet and in my arms. And I kissed her as my heart found its rightful place. Kissed her hard. Kissed her fierce. Kissed her until she was the only thing I could see. Black. Fuckin’. Magic.
“We’re home, darlin’.” A soft smile pulled at her mouth, and those eyes fluttered open. Thunderbolts that were never going to lose their power when it came to me. I was a goner. Done for. Hers until the end of my days.
“When do I feel most beautiful, Jud? Every single time you look at me.”
