Page 64 of Rescued Love
“Fuck,” I growl.
I take her mouth in a kiss that consumes us. Before I know it, she’s twisted and is straddling my lap, grinding down against me. My cock begs for me to rip our clothes off, without a single fucking care for where we are, and fill her.
It’s difficult, but I slow the kiss down even though it’s the last thing I want to do.
“Kimball,” I groan, “I’ve fallen in love with you.”
My woman freezes before pulling away from me slowly. Her dark brown eyes roam over my face as if she’s trying to figure out if I’m telling her the truth and if her heart is safe with me. I get her hesitation, but at the same time everything in me screaming, begging, fucking yearning, for her to trust me and take a leap.
She breathes out slowly, tears welling up in her eyes, “I’ve fallen in love with you too, Nathan.”
“Thank fuck,” I rasp, my heart still in my throat.
When I kiss her this time, it’s slow and gentle. I want to show her exactly how much she means to me. I want her to feel how much I cherish her.
When we’re no longer able to breathe, we pull apart slowly and the light from the remnants of the sunset, from that moment right before everything is cast in shadow, make her glow. I’m a lucky fucking man.
Now it’s time for me to take the next step and do what I need to do in order to show her just how much she means to me. I’ll always show her that she’s my choice and how much she means to me.
Without breaking eye contact, I pull my phone out of my pocket and only look down at it to find Nigel’s number. I’m not atall surprised when he answers after only a few rings. Even with a family at home, work is something he makes a priority.
I don’t think I could ever regret him being my mentor because I did learn a lot from him, but now I can see the cracks in his way of life. It’s no longer a life I want to emulate, and his path isn’t one I want to follow.
“Nathan,” his voice is bright, but I can hear the strain in it, “I’m glad to hear from you.”
“Nigel,” I greet in return. “Is everything okay? You sound a little,” I pause to try and find the right word as I take in the furrowed eyebrows of my woman, “off.”
Nigel lets out a weary sigh. “Things could be better. Culbert’s case is not going well,” he admits.
My back straightens and my woman curls her fingers tighter into my shirt as if she wants to keep hold of me and ensure I don’t disappear. She has nothing to worry about.
“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure it’s not easy when the client is unwilling to hide his true nature. If he’ll show it to his lawyer, he’ll show it to anyone,” I point out. Before he can comment further, because I’m not interested, I forge ahead, “You should know that I had a visitor here.”
“Oh?” I can almost hear the slump of the man’s shoulders. “Why do I get the feeling that I’m not going to like this?”
I snort out a laugh and wink at my woman as she smiles. “Probably because you won’t like it. Marcus showed up in town. He said he wanted to track me down because he wanted me to consult on Culbert’s case.”
Nigel’s voice goes calm and fucking deadly, “He did what?”
Kimball’s eyes widen and I can only shrug because he needs to know and it’s not my problem. What Marcus did was incredibly inappropriate.
Before I can repeat myself, which I really don’t need to do because I know Nigel heard me the first time, he practically hisses, “He knows you’re no longer on the case and taking some time off. How the fuck did he even know where you are?”
“I have no idea,” I tell him honestly.
Part of me regrets not asking more questions, but I was desperate to get him as far away from my woman as possible. That’s the only thing I could think about, but Nigel does pose a very good question.
“I came into a local bar to meet my woman for a drink, and he was there.” I grit out through my teeth, “Hitting on her.”
“I’m sorry,” Nigel sounds dumbfounded, which is fair, “did you just say your woman?”
I squeeze Kimball tight and kiss her temple gently. “I did.” I look at my woman and can see the love in her eyes; I hope she can see the same in mine. “I’ve met someone. She’s amazing and has devoted her life to rescuing animals in need and helping them find forever homes. I’ve fallen in love with her.”
“Holy shit,” he murmurs under his breath before clearing his throat. “You’re not coming back, are you?”
I smile, a feeling of wistfulness passing through me. Not for what I’m giving up, that’s surprisingly easy, but because of the time I’ve wasted chasing a dream that was never really mine. And I did it for all the wrong reasons.
The only reason I kept going with it was because I thought it’s what I was supposed to do. I allowed myself to get caught up inthe competition of it all and reveled in the challenge. Sure, it was a challenge, but not one that fulfilled me in any meaningful way.