Severed Ties: A Dark Stalker Romance (Tainted Love Book 1)
Severed Ties: Chapter 69

I shot someone. Two someones, to be exact. But I couldn’t shoot to kill.

I thought I could, but when push came to shove and I was faced with the decision, I couldn’t bring myself to aim at their chest or head, the two places that would have almost definitely killed them.

No one has said a word since we piled into the back of a black van on the service road behind the Lombardi estate, and for that, I’m relieved. I need a few minutes. I need some time to process all I’ve been through over the last few days.

I can still feel the vibrations from the gun in my palms, a constant reminder of what I just did. But I had to do it. What choice did I have when Ronan had a gun aimed at Tommy’s head? I couldn’t allow the man I love to be killed.

I suck in a sharp breath at the word. Love. How can I love a man as dark as Tommy? Who has such little respect for human life? But I do. I’ve never loved anything or anyone, but somehow I know that’s what the overwhelming ache in my chest is, the way my belly flutters when he’s near, how my body seems to gravitate toward him even when I’m trying to pull away.

We come to a stop at a small airfield, the Saint James jet waiting for us. I’ve only been on the jet one time, when Wynter took me to LA for my birthday last year, a surprise trip that made my heart hurt because no one had ever done anything like that for me.

The realization hits me, and I’m suspended in space for long seconds. This family used their resources to save me. They sent almost every male member of the family to come get me, and they did it without hesitation. Because they care. I’m not just their employee. Every time they’ve told me I’m part of the family, they’ve meant it.

“Fawn?” Tommy says softly, his palm resting on the small of my back, and I lean into the small amount of contact. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I whisper, watching as Ace helps Mia from the back of the van, his eyes haunted and hers looking anywhere but at him.

“Let’s get home.” He steps down from the van first and lifts me carefully, never allowing our bodies to stop touching, and then he guides me up the steps into the plane.

The decor is simple but elegant, with more than enough seats for all of us. Hell, you could fly an entire NFL team on this thing and still have a few seats free.

“We’re going to the bedroom,” Tommy announces.

“You need to be in a seat for takeoff,” a small blonde woman with hazel eyes demands. Her blue uniform fits her body like a glove, but she looks anything but pleased to be here. I know from personal experience that working for this family pays well, so I can’t imagine what she’s pissed about.

“I don’t care,” Tommy retorts and pushes me down the aisle.

Storm chuckles from his seat against the window, a knowing look in his gray eyes. “Good luck, Clara.”

“Good thing that room’s soundproof,” Rayne adds.

My cheeks heat to the point I’m sure they’re about to burst into flames. These people are my employers, they don’t need to know when I’m about to have my ass handed to me for disobeying Tommy when he told me to get over the wall and leave him behind, but surely he understands I couldn’t do that any more than he could let me rot as the wife of Ronan Lombardi.

Before I can think up a response, the door is slammed behind me, and I’m trapped. Being with Tommy at the best of times is a bit like being with a wild animal, but that’s never been more true than right now.

He circles me slowly, his eyes moving over every inch of my body over and over again, assessing me without a word.

“Tommy,” I whisper.

“Shut up,” he snaps. “You were reckless today, Clara. You could have got yourself killed with that little stunt. What if there were no bullets in the gun? What if they’d taken you before you could pull it off? What if I lost you?” he roars, and I take a step back instinctively.

Tommy will not hurt me, I’m sure of it, but I’ve never seen him so angry and I would be remiss not to be afraid.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t let you die. Not because of me.” Tears well in my eyes, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t blink them away. All the emotions I’ve held at bay come crashing over me, and I let out a sob so rough it burns my chest.

My legs wobble below me, and for a moment, I think I’m going to fall to my knees, but then strong arms wrap around me, and I’m tugged against a hard chest.

Tommy lifts me carefully and sits on the edge of the bed with me bundled in his lap, his hands moving over my body in comforting passes that remind me I’m not alone, that he’s here to hold me together. “I’ve got you, fawn. I’ll always have you.”

We stay like that for long minutes, and when the plane leaves the ground, I can’t help but bury my face into his chest a little deeper. But he doesn’t shy away from my touch anymore. In fact, he seems to lean into it.

He brushes his lips over my hair and brings the dark strands over my shoulder. “You know you’re being punished, right?” he rumbles.

I half laugh but nod against his hard chest. “I know.”

“You want it now or when we get home?”

“Now,” I whisper. “I just want to be with you when we get home.”

He’s silent for a few beats, and I wonder if I’ve said the wrong thing. I’m probably still in danger, considering I just shot two members of the most influential crime family in the country, but maybe he doesn’t want me to stay with him anymore. Maybe what he means is he’s going to take me back to my apartment and we’ll go our separate ways. “I’m having all your shit moved to my apartment right now. Snow spoke to your landlord and they’ve agreed to let you out of your lease early.”

I whip my head up, my heart stuttering in my chest. “Why would you do that?”

“Because you’re never spending another night away from me, and my apartment is far safer than yours.”

“Are you forgetting I was kidnapped from your apartment?” I raise a brow.

He growls. “Everett is upgrading my security system as we speak. And are you forgetting I stalked you for almost a year and broke into your apartment every night?”

I huff out a laugh. It’s hard to forget that’s how we started, but sometimes being with him feels so natural that I think maybe my heart knew he was there all along. A shadow in the darkness watching over me until it was time for him to claim me.

“You’re mine, little fawn, and I refuse to spend a night away from you now that I finally have you.”

“Okay.”

“And we’re getting married.”

I blink at him, looking for any sign he’s joking, but he hasn’t even got a hint of a smirk on his face. He’s serious. “I think we should talk about that…”

“No.”

“Tommy.” I sigh.

“No, Clara. You’re moving in with me and we’re getting married. It’s not up for discussion.”

“We can’t get married. We’ve been together for like…a week.” God, it feels like a fucking lifetime, but the reality is that our first time was so recent I can almost feel his cock still inside me. I’m aching to be full of him again.

“I don’t care. You’re mine and therefore you will have my last name.”

I try to pull away, but he holds me tight against his chest. “You’re being unreasonable.”

“At what point in our interactions did you get the impression I was a reasonable man?” He quirks up a brow.

He has a point, I suppose. Our relationship up to this point has hardly been conventional, and everything that’s happened has partially been because the man holding me is relentless and stubborn.

“That’s what I thought.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready for marriage, Tommy.”

“That’s okay. I’m ready enough for both of us.”

“That’s not how it works.”

He shrugs and stands, placing my feet on the ground and holding me steady as I get my bearings. Once he’s sure I’m not going to fall, he presses my back until I’m bent over the edge of the bed with my palms digging into the soft mattress. “When are you due to have your IUD changed?”

I whip my head around and glare at him over my shoulder. “Why?”

“I’m just trying to work out if it’s best to have it removed sooner rather than later.”

“Why would we do that?”

He stares at me with a smirk tugging at each corner of his lips. “Because I want you filled with my babies, so you have no need for birth control any longer.”