Severed Ties: A Dark Stalker Romance (Tainted Love Book 1)
Severed Ties: Chapter 71

We were through the front door of our apartment for precisely three point two seconds before Tommy had me naked and tied to the bed.

And that’s how I spent the next week. Tommy fucked me on every single surface, in every position I could ever imagine, and made me come so many times my pussy actually felt broken.

In the rare moments when Tommy’s cock wasn’t lodged in one of my holes, we got updates about how Mia was doing and how we were going to approach the Lombardi issue. Storm spoke to Salvatore a few days ago and apologized for the way in which they went about rescuing us. Although I wouldn’t call the issue settled, he seemed satisfied enough with the outcome and agreed they would not try to retrieve either of us again. Something about his sons not wanting to marry the woman who shot them.

The way Tommy’s eyes lit up with deviance and fire when Storm relayed that particular piece of information had giggles bubbling in my throat, and a few minutes later, Tommy was asking me to shoot him again. He might be a little fucked up, but I wouldn’t want him any other way.

Mia is adjusting to life as a free woman, although Ace is struggling with how to approach her without scaring her. When I suggested perhaps it would make more sense for her to stay with Tommy and me for a little while, just long enough to get her comfortable with her new life, Ace bit my head off, and Tommy hung up on him for disrespecting me.

But things feel settled for the first time since Tommy first showed himself, even if my father is well and truly in the wind. We have no idea where he is, and it doesn’t seem to matter how many rocks Everett and Ace look under. They can’t pinpoint exactly where he went when I was taken to Florida. I guess he knows what Tommy will do to him if he ever gets his hands on him, and now that his deal with the Lombardis is dead, he knows his days are numbered.

I never thought I’d be relieved when I woke up this morning with cramps and the telltale sign of my period, but Jesus, am I feeling grateful right now.

“You know I’m still going to fuck you while you’ve got your period, right?” Tommy smirks as he hands me a heating pad, and I sigh in relief the moment it’s across my lower belly. That’s the good shit.

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am.”

I sigh and pull the throw rug from the back of the couch over me. “No, you’re not. You’re going to let me and my poor vagina have a rest, and then we can resume fucking like rabbits in three to five days when I’m no longer bleeding everywhere.”

He chuckles and comes around the couch. He picks up one of the pillows from the other end and places it behind my back in a caring gesture I don’t expect before lifting my legs and sitting in their place with them over his lap.

“I’ve heard orgasms help with cramps.”

“No.”

He rolls his eyes. “Fine.”

The smile on his face still seems out of place, but it shouldn’t. Not when he’s looked this happy so often when we’re together. Plus, his smile matches the one in my heart. Tommy makes me happier than I’ve ever been in my life, and I don’t know why I constantly fight against how I feel about him.

“I love you,” I whisper, not trusting my voice not to crack under the words I’ve never uttered to another human.

His deep-blue eyes turn on me, and for long seconds, my breath is caught in my throat. I never thought I’d be the first to say those three little words to someone, but for some reason, I can’t stop them, and I don’t want to. I want Tommy to know how I feel. I want the man who has been so broken his whole life to feel whole now we’ve found one another.

I want a life with him. A future. A wedding. Babies. I want it all. And I know he wants all that with me too.

“Fawn,” he starts, and I brace myself for rejection. “Did you think saying those words immediately after banning me from your cunt was a good idea?”

I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. How does he manage to render me speechless so often?

One second he’s sitting beside me, and the next, his body is crushing into mine, his intense eyes staring down at me with an adoration that still feels foreign. “I love you with every beat of my cold, dead heart, little fawn. Every breath I’ve taken since the first time I saw you has been for you, and every one I take for the rest of my life will belong to you.”

His lips crash down on mine, and without thought, I return his kiss, giving him all the hope and love and fear that beat down on me. I never thought I’d be here. I never thought I’d have a man who loves me so completely, whose entire life is for me. And I never want to think about a life where he’s not by my side.

I break the kiss and drag in a ragged breath. Jesus, this man knows how to kiss, and I’m not mad about it.

“Marry me,” he whispers, his breath brushing across my cheek as he presses gentle kisses down my neck.

“I already said I would.”

“No. Marry me right now. Let’s go to the courthouse. I want you to be Clara Hart before the end of the day.”

The sound of my new name on his lips makes my heart stop, and a smile tug at my lips, and before I know what I’m doing, I’m nodding.

“Okay.”

He’s dragging me off the couch a second later and shoving me into the closet. “We’re leaving in an hour.”

It’s not until we’re in the car that the doubt starts creeping in.

What the hell am I doing?

I can’t get married today, not when I don’t have anyone to give me away, and I haven’t invited anyone. God, if Wynter replaces out I got married without her, she’s going to fucking kill me. I haven’t even had a chance to tell her Tommy and I are engaged because he hasn’t let me out of his apartment and it’s not exactly the kind of thing you tell your best friend over the phone.

We don’t have rings, I’m not wearing a wedding dress, we haven’t organized a marriage license. We just simply cannot do this.

I open my mouth to tell Tommy as much, but he’s already shaking his head. “No backing out now, little fawn.”

“We can’t do this. We need more time. God, we don’t have anything we need. We don’t even have a marriage license!” I’m shouting now, the panic in my chest overwhelming me. I don’t think it’s that I’m afraid to marry him because I’m not, but when you’ve spent your whole life running, it’s hard to imagine settling down with someone, let alone the man who stalked you.

“We have a marriage license,” he says simply.

I’m too stunned to question him for a solid minute before I finally get my wits about me. “How the hell do we have a marriage license?”

“I applied for one as soon as we got back to Chicago.”

“Don’t we both need to sign off on that?” I quirk up a brow.

“Yep.”

“But I didn’t sign anything.”

“Nope.”

“Tommy,” I snap.

He sighs and glances over at me before gathering one of my hands in his scarred one. “It’s normal to be nervous, but this is happening. There’s no sense getting yourself worked up about it.”

I drag my bottom lip between my teeth and gnaw at the soft pillow of flesh. He’s right. Of course he’s right. Every bride has nerves, but at least they have time to deal with the fact they’re about to walk down the aisle and pledge to the world they’ll spend the rest of their life with the other person.

His hand tightens around mine in a comforting gesture, and I let out a calming breath as we pull up at the front of the courthouse.

“Stay there,” Tommy orders before he pushes his door open and jogs around to my side of the car.

He opens the door and helps me out of the car, slowly perusing my body once again. When I stepped out of the wardrobe in the only white dress I own, a midlength skintight dress I bought on a whim, I thought he was going to say to hell with the wedding and tear it off me so he could spend the rest of the day fucking me, and I’m getting that same vibe right now.

To be fair, I had the same reaction when he appeared in a perfectly tailored charcoal suit, complete with a black bow tie that made me want to climb him like a tree. Jesus, this man is going to be my husband.

He holds out his hand for me and smiles. “Are you ready, little fawn?”

I look up at him and then at the courthouse, where I notice the Saint James family, as well as Ace and Mia, standing by the front doors with wide smiles on their faces. If you had told me a year ago this is where my life would lead, I would have laughed in your face. But then again, life has a funny way of always delivering the path you least expect.

I take his hand and squeeze. “I’m ready.”