Given (28 page)

“
Addy
?” His eyebrow rose.

“Alicia Denyse,” she explained as she gauged his reaction.

“Thank you for using the name. Your father found me a few
months ago at a book signing. He slipped me a note and walked away. He took a
hell of a risk.”

“What did the note say?”

“It was cryptic. He wrote, ‘She still loves you. If you want
her, move to Winnipeg. She and the child are well’. I dealt with a few things
and looked into the process for becoming a Canadian. I’m here on a provincial
nomination now. I asked around about where a woman who’d fled from America
might be. I received defensive responses, but one man I spoke to
contacted
the gentleman who heads the security program in
your gated community. He spoke to your father and here I am. I’m not going
anywhere,
Kristannie
, unless you don’t want me to
stay.”

She ran forward. She gazed into his face and his lips
descended. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him as if her life
depended on it. The hungry demand of his lips left her stomach twisted in
knots. Desire and shock battled for control of her brain.

Addy
gave an angry scream and
Krista pulled away. The swing had stopped and the girl sat reaching for her
mother. Krista went and unbuckled her, picking her up.
Brax
put out his hands, but
Addy
shook her head, burying
her face shyly into Krista’s shoulder. Guilt twisted inside of her. “
Addy
, this is your daddy,” she whispered into the girl’s
ear.
Addy
looked over at
Brax
curiously.

“It’ll take time for her, for all of us. I want to be a
family with you, Krista. I didn’t tell the others where you were, I’m selfish.
I was worried one of them would come and try to convince you to love them and
only them. That’s what I want for me, your love.”

She thought of the others, alone, and felt terrible. If any
of them had come, it wouldn’t have been the same. “That’s what I want too,” she
whispered. “I love you,
Brax
.”

A look of pure joy lit his face. “You mean that?”

“With all my heart, it was always only you.”

“I want to marry you, Krista, as soon as I’m a citizen and
can. I love you, more than I thought I could ever love. I want to get to know
my daughter, and take care of both of you.”

Krista swallowed around the lump in her throat, the cold,
empty hole inside of her heart warming and filling. She’d been content, but
suddenly she realized she could be happy again. “Yes,” she replied.

Brax
chuckled. “Well, I guess I’d
better learn to like hockey.” He put his arm around her, and for the first time
in her life, she knew what it was to have real freedom. The invisible chains of
pain and sadness fell away. The two ton stone she’d carried metaphorically on
her heart disappeared. Tears filled her eyes.
Addy
looked at her curiously.

“Everything will be wonderful now, baby. Daddy’s home,” she
whispered into her daughter’s hair, hugging the child tightly. In that moment,
she realized Winnipeg suddenly felt like home because
Brax
was here. “Thank you for coming for me,
Brax
.”

“Thank you for agreeing to become Mrs. Bray. Without you,
nothing has been right. I love you so damn much.”

“Language…we have an impressionable toddler,” Krista scolded
teasingly.

A look of love filled his face. “I can’t believe I’m really
looking at you,
Kristannie
, or our child. I thought
I’d lost you both forever.” His voice cracked.

Krista handed him his daughter, and he held her awkwardly at
first. Then he pulled her close to him and kissed the top of her head.

“Mine.
Ours.
I’m actually holding
her. Thank you for giving me a child.”

Krista didn’t know why his words pleased her as much as they
did. A sob shuddered out of her. She covered her face with her hands as she
sucked in a deep breath and fought for control.

Mara opened the back door and came out. She handed Krista a
box of tissues, which meant she’d been watching the reunion from the house. “We
have plenty of supper, and if Todd doesn’t still want to kill you, I’d be
delighted if you’d be our guest until you figure out what the two of you want
to do about living arrangements. I assume you’ll want him to stay in your
room?” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and grinned at Krista.

“Meet your meddling mother-in-law,” Krista teased,
chuckling.

“I’ll stay as long as
Kristannie
will have me,” he told Mara, but his eyes never left Krista’s.

“I hope you packed everything you need, because I’m never
letting you go again,” Krista replied, grinning.

“Everything I need is standing in front of me. You’re all I
ever wanted and all I’ll ever need. I love you,
Kristannie
.
Even if there were a million women and I was the last man alive—I’d want you.
You were all I could think about, and not just sex—you. When you left, you
ripped a hole in my heart. At first, I was terrified you’d been hurt. I had
nightmares…terrible images of you in
pain,
it felt
like I was suffocating all the time, but I couldn’t die.”

As cheesy as his words were, she could see the honesty in
his eyes, and her heart physically ached as the bitter shell of self-doubt and
pain cracked inside her soul. She’d felt so ridiculous for not being able to
just live—everyone told her she was better off without him, but she wasn’t. He
hadn’t abused her or forced himself on her. She’d loved every minute in his
arms, especially when he’d dominated in a way none of the others had. He hadn’t
been cruel or rough, just in charge, and it had filled a need in her that the
others left empty. As she looked into his eyes, she saw something that made her
breath catch in her throat.
Love.

He moved to Mara and passed her the little girl.
Addy
clung to her step-grandmother. Mara cradled the child
tightly. He turned back to Krista and cupped her cheek in his hand.
Love.
That look on his face made her want to start bawling
all over again.

“
Brax
, I love you. I’m glad you
didn’t die. I’ve
been just existing
, and now I know
why. I was waiting for you.”

He wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to the top
of her head. “I never knew what it was to live. When you came into our—my life,
it was the first time I really felt like I had a reason to take my next breath.
You’ve saved me. I want to save you back every day. I’m going to deserve
you—someday.”

She clung to him, desperately trying not to cry again. She
knew he meant the words, and she knew without a doubt that he would do what he
said.

Brax
had picked her up without
giving her any warning. Krista cried out. He turned to Mara. “You’ll watch the
baby, right?”

Mara flushed. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears.
“Right, I have her. Todd won’t be home for a few more hours. I was thinking
about taking a long walk. Come on,
Addy
. It’s a
beautiful day, let’s find the stroller.”

Krista watched her go until
Brax
began walking toward the house. His domineering way didn’t bother her a bit.
Her emotions were on such a crazy rollercoaster ride. She couldn’t stop herself
from trembling in his arms. He looked down at her and she bit her lip.

“Do you want me to put you down,
Kristannie
?”

She loved the way he said her full name. She’d missed
hearing it. He was the only one who ever said it in that special way. The way
he uttered the word was like a powerful spell, binding her to him. Reminding
her she belonged to him. Even if no piece of paper made her his, she was.
Something more powerful than law wove them together now.

“No, never again,” she whispered.

He smiled and lust darkened his beautiful eyes. “Where is
your room?”

“Up the stairs, first door on the left.
Addy
sleeps in the room on the right. Todd and Mara
sleep downstairs.”

“Todd?”

“Dad, um, it’s still a little weird calling him that.”

Brax
nodded his understanding.
“I’m sorry you’ve been through so much.”

“I’m not,” she replied.

He flinched, surprise evident on his face.

“No matter what, all this hell has brought me here and has
given
you to
me
.”

His lips touched hers and she sensed his frantic need, even
as he kissed her slowly. Her arms wrapped tighter around his neck. She could
feel the muscles in his back under her hands. She wanted his shirt off—now.

He rushed into the room and set her on the bed. She watched
him close and lock the door as he quickly stripped off his clothing. She began
pulling her shirt over her head, but he stopped her.

“Let me,” he whispered.

She paused and he gently finished removing her shirt. He
reached around her and unhooked her bra. Her now ampler breasts fell free.
Brax
sucked in a breath.

“Fuck. You’re beautiful, woman. I’ve fantasized about you so
much, but even my imagination couldn’t see how perfect you are.”

He dropped to his knees in front of her and took one of her
nipples into his mouth. He sucked her softly, then hard, and then softly again.
Her back arched. A moan slipped from her lips. His hands caressed her bare back
tenderly. Her eyes fluttered closed. If this was another dream, she didn’t want
to wake up. She’d missed sex, but most of all, she’d missed Braxton. Her fingers
slipped into his soft hair and she held him to her breast.

“I love you so much. I wish you’d been my first, my only,”
she murmured. There was a sad hitch in her voice.

He pulled away and looked up into her face. “As you know,
you were my first and my only. If you’ll trust me, I’ll give you pleasure in a
way no one ever has before.”

His words excited her. She’d thought she’d been pleasured
every way possible. She nodded. “I’m yours. I trust you.”

He grinned. She loved seeing him happy. He had lines on his
face that hadn’t been there three years ago, but when he smiled they went away.

“I suffered without you. I never want to let you go again.”
His mouth found her other breast and she cried out.

Her body was hypersensitive. His every touch scorched her.
He pulled away and the cool air made her nipple pucker tighter. He gave it
another tweak with his fingers. She groaned. He pushed her back onto the
mattress and she looked down to see him undoing her fly. He pulled her jeans
and panties to her ankles in one motion. Then he pulled off her shoes and
socks. A moment later everything was off. The air touched her pussy and she
felt it pucker.

He inhaled sharply. “Damn, you smell good.”

He knelt between her legs and she opened them for him.
Brax
began sucking on her clit, nibbling it. Then he lapped
passionately at her. She jerked, bucking against his mouth. Her back arched
again. Krista came loud and hard. She was glad no one was home.
When her body had settled down to nothing but phantom spasms, her
pussy squeezed, desperate for some cock.

Brax
stood. “Turn onto your
stomach for me.”

She loved his tone. That deep, sensual voice made her
shiver. The dominate quality in his sexual intensity only made her hotter. She
rolled to her stomach without a word. He pulled her closer to the foot of the
bed, and pushed her hips up just a little to raise her ass in the air. His
fingers began swirling in her wetness. She sighed. Then he plunged his cock
into her hard, pumping her twice. She cried out, squeezing her eyes tightly
with the pleasure. She hadn’t had a man inside of her in over three years. The
joy that shot through her womb was mind-blowing. He withdrew quickly. Krista
whimpered. She wanted him inside of her again.

“Do you trust me?”

She nodded, not trusting her voice. Her body was nothing but
sensation and primal need. Words were beyond the de-evolution he caused in her
brain. The smell of his cologne wafted to her nose. She inhaled the scent of
Brax
and sex. Her pussy tightened. She wiggled her ass,
wanting more. He gave her a hard, albeit it playful, slap. She wiggled again,
wanting his hands on her as she craved his control.

His thumb and forefinger pinched and rolled her clit as the
fingers of his other hand entered her pussy. She whimpered. Her body was on the
precipice of another release. Then he rubbed her wetness against her virginal
anus.

“Relax. Trust me. Let go completely.”

She did. The tone of his voice made it easy. She wanted to
give him her body so completely he’d never doubt her love—or that she was his. She’d
waited for this man…pined for
Brax
until she’d made
herself sick. He was here and her hormones were on overdrive. She’d known lust
and pleasure in his home, but nothing like what she felt now. Here, she could
belong only to him and it sweetened her desire. This was love, not duty. There
was no guilt that he was her favorite. Everything that had been wrong with her
desire for only him was gone, and now the rightness of it hit her with the
force of a speeding train. She was helpless. She’d given him her soul, and it
was good to be reunited with all her missing pieces.

He slid his damp fingers inside her ass. She forced herself
to relax, reminded herself he wouldn’t hurt her. At first it was odd, and then
the sensation became good. His fingers never stopped rubbing her clit. She was
so wet, the proof of her desire running down her thigh.

“Do it! Do anything,” she cried out in her animalistic
fervor.

Another finger stretched her. There was no pain. She leaned
into him, wanting him deeper. Krista grunted, half-crazed with her excitement.