Beyond Revenge (The Ransom Series) (26 page)

Her Freedom

∞

I look at her and
wonder.

How does one keep
smiling

when one’s life
has been ripped away?

The pull of raging
current

impossible to
deny.

Fate may choose a
path for us.

But it’s what we
make of it that matters.

The way we grow as
a result.

Turning tragedy
into triumph.

Releasing the
light to overtake the darkness.

Conquering that
which would destroy us.

Until we are
finally free.

∞

Warm lips on mine.  Smooth skin against
my leg.  Firm breasts against my chest. 
Curious fingers
combing through my hair.

The best way to wake up in the morning.

“Morgan,” I say, barely able to squeeze
the word through her wild kisses.

She drags her bare chest against mine
as she pulls herself up to a sitting position on top of me, straddling my waist
and bringing my sole focus to her beautiful naked body perched above me. 
Through the cascading waves of hair enshrouding her face, I can see the sly
smile on her lips and the hungry look in her eyes.  She bites her lower lip and
runs her fingers down my chest until she reaches the band of my boxers.

“Six weeks,” she breathes out.

Her hips rise up for only a moment to
pull down the front of
my
boxers before she drops
herself back down on me, taking me inside her until we’re perfectly connected. 
I can’t help the groan of pleasure that escapes me when I fill every last bit
of the warm space inside her for the first time in
over
six weeks.

Morgan begins to move on top of me,
painfully slow
at first
, making sure I feel every
movement within her.  My hips find a rhythm with hers and begin to take control
in this beautiful pleasure we’re creating together.

There
’
s so
much to take in when I look at her naked body
moving
on
top of me.  My eyes are inevitably drawn to her rapidly bouncing breasts, but
she’s
too amazing to watch.  I have to
look away and focus instead
on grasping her hips and directing my cock to just the right place
s
within her.

It doesn’t take long before I have her
gasping for breath and pressing desperately against my skin anywhere she can
grab it.  Her body tightens around me as she orgasms, and it takes all the
willpower
I have not to join her in that
uncontrollable state of
pleasure and bliss.  I keep moving inside her until she’s
slapping
my chest and telling me to stop even though I know she doesn’t
mean a word of what she’s saying.

She collapses her chest down on top of
mine, giving me an ideal opportunity to flip us so that she is underneath me on
the bed, exactly where I want her.

“I love you,” I whisper before
assailing her neck with kisses.  “You’re my perfection.  You and Dante are my
entire life.”

A warm smile grazes her lips before she
finishe
s
my thought for me.  “We’re complete.”

I sit up enough to find her wrist and
pull it to mine
, bringing our
tattoos
together
at the missing pieces in
each circle
, and
I repeat the word that truly represents what we are to each other.  “Complete.”

There
’s
no
holding back now.  My desire and longing for Morgan is too strong.  I’m all
over her body, kissing every available place on her skin from her cheeks and
lips to her neck and chest until I’m licking the very core of her pleasure
between her legs.  I relentlessly tease her with flicks of my tongue and soft
kisses
from my lips
until she’s begging me to make her
come.

The moment my fingers graze her nipple,
she loses it.  Her orgasm comes hard and strong, and I keep it going for her
until she can barely seem to breathe through it anymore.

While Morgan tries to catch her breath,
I
dig
out the condom that has been patiently waiting
for this day.  I quickly put it on and climb back on top of her, observing the
exquisite naked woman sprawled out on the bed
beneath me
and wondering for a moment how I
can be
so
lucky to have her in my life.

She’s still breathing at a rapid pace, her
lungs struggling to catch up with her need for oxygen, but I can’t wait a
moment longer.  I need to be inside her.  Now.

“Breathe, Morgan,” I say just before
sliding into her.  “I’ve got you.”

Her face turns into a pleasured grimace
as a whimper of a moan escapes her pursed lips.  I move gently inside her but
with precision, making her moan again each time I press back into her.

“More,” she whispers breathlessly.

My cock instantly hardens even more at
hearing her plea, and it’s happy to oblige.  The calm thrusts quickly become
more intense until we’re both so lost in the pleasure of it that I’m
groaning
uncontrollably with each movement inside her and she’s
screaming my name and clawing at my back.

When her body arches with a strong gasp
and I feel her reach her peak, I completely let go.  In the moment of our
shared release, it feels like there is nothing else in the world but the two of
us connected as one.  All the bad that happened up until this point doesn’t matter. 
We made it here and we’re happy and together and sharing in the beautiful promise
of life and love with our son.  It’s our moment of triumph, of freedom, and no
one can take it away from us.

I don’t even know when I fully came
down from the high of making love to Morgan, but I realize that I’m lying down
next to her now, holding her hand in mine and nuzzling my head against her
s
as we both try to catch our breath and fully return to reality.

Morgan turns to me with a
satisfied
grin.  “If I knew how amazing that was going to be, I would
have done this weeks ago.  I’m never following the rules again.”

I can’t help laughing at her, though
the
sound still seems
strange coming out of my mouth
as
often as it has been these last few weeks
.  Since we arrived
at our new home hidden away in the woods in Maine, there has been almost
nothing but laughter and smiles in our lives, and I’m inclined to keep it that
way for a long time.

“We may have to do this again later,” I
not so subtly suggest.

“I’m here all week,” she replies with a
tiny kiss on my nose and
a brilliant
smile
across
her face.

Her hand lingers to my chest, tracing
the designs of each tattoo as well as feeling the raised lines of the scars on
my skin, all marks of my former life.  After a few moments of being lost in her
contemplative state, she comes back to me, her eyes meeting mine and her curious
hand abandoning its exploration to fully grasp me around the waist.
 
“I love every bit of you.  You know that, right?”

I nod to her with a genuine smile of
understanding.  There’s no doubt in my mind that what she says is true.

“No matter what happens, we’ll always
be a family.  Nothing is going to change that,” she says, and suddenly I
realize where this conversation is going, but I’m not worried or afraid.

The past six weeks have taught me that
there’s not enough time in life to let things hold us back or be bogged down in
fear and concern.  We can only make the best of
what we’re given and
find the good in what we
have,
then
embrace it for all it’s worth.

We have to live.

“Dante is my son, regardless of the
outcome of the test.”  They are perhaps the truest words I’ve ever spoken, and
the smile on Morgan’s face lets me know that she believes them.

Morgan’s hand around my waist pulls me,
coercing me to my side so that I’m facing her directly.  Her hand moves to my
hair, her fingers feeling through it and threatening to start a whole new wave
of desire within me.

“Let’s go confirm what we already know,
then,” she
whispers
before pulling me out of bed with
her.

By the time we’re somewhat dressed and
out in the kitchen making coffee, Dante is awake and ravenously hungry.  Morgan
sits with him at the small dining table as he drinks from her breast, and I
can’t help being both a little turned on and jealous at the sight of it.

When I bring two cups of coffee to the
table, I try to keep my focus on the beverages or my family or anything other
than the phone call I’m about to make.  It’s impossible to deny the dread that
intermixes with my excitement about making this call.

“You ready?” Morgan asks.

I take a deep breath
and nod
.  “I’m ready.”

I pick up the cell phone and the card
with the lab’s phone number from the kitchen counter and take a seat at the
table next to Morgan.  My heart races within my chest as I dial the number and
the phone rings on the other end of the line.  Morgan takes my hand in hers
just as the receptionist answers my call.

I’m put through to one of the lab
technicians, and then the wait begins.  It takes a few agonizing minutes
,
but a man’s voice finally comes alive on the other end of the
line.

“Okay, sir,” he starts out, and I can
hear the paperwork he’s fingering through over the call.  “Let’s take a look at
the results.”

They are the longest ten seconds of my
entire life.  There is nothing but silence on the line.  No breathing.  No page
turns.  No background chatter.  Just silence.

When the man gives a loud sigh, my
heart starts to disintegrate a little in my chest.

“We can say with ninety-nine percent
certainty that you are the father.”

“I am?”  Why am I questioning this? 
What’s wrong with me?

“You are indeed.  I e
xpect
this is good news, so congratulations.”

I’m speechless.  If I was standing next
to the man, I’d hug him.  Hell, I’d even kiss him.  I’m over the moon and
completely amazed and blown away by this
reality
that
I’ve
wanted to believe
all along but can now truly
accept
. 

Dante is my own flesh and blood.  He’s
my
son
. 
I have a son!

“Thank you.  Thank you so much.”
 
I can’t manage to say a word more than that as I end the call
and drop my head into my hands, because I can’t control the emotions overtaking
me, and I know if I look at Morgan and Dante I’m going to lose it.

“He’s mine,” I whisper, but it’s
already too much.  My throat clenches and tears sneak out of my eyes, and at
this point I’m ready to say fuck it
and lift my head anyway
because I want to look at my beautiful girl and our perfect son.

My gaze meets Morgan’s, and I see the
relief and joy in her tear-filled eyes.  She nods her head
,
but she can’t seem to find any words to say.  It’s my turn to
squeeze her hand and give her comfort and support
,
because I know that despite the tough exterior she put up the entire time about
this paternity test, she worried about the result just as much as I did.

“I’m so happy he’s yours,” she finally
says, holding back a sob.

I’m immediately to standing, fueled by
the need to hold her and be as close to her as possible.  I reach around her
from the back, leaning my head on her shoulder and embracing her and Dante in
my arms.
 
“I’m so lucky you’re both mine.”

Within moments Morgan’s emotions
crumble into heavy sobs.  I hold her tighter and kiss her cheek and nuzzle her
hair.  If I could take all her pain and bear it myself
,
I would
do it in an instant
. 
I
would do anything to
erase all the horrible things that
happened to her in the last year and still have us end up
where we are
now
.

The truth is we both went on long and
painful journeys to get here, and all that matters in the end is that we’re
here.  We made it and survived and ended up with a beautiful son and the
promise of a long and happy future together.

I watch Dante
resting
happily in Morgan’s arms, and it
’s
almost
like
I’m looking at him for the first time.  I knew he
would always be my son regardless of the result of the test, but knowing that he’s
actually mine just makes it all that much better.  Dante is the new beginning
for the Marini family, a fresh start untainted by the evils of the life I left
behind and the man who put me there.

My life has been all about the twists
and curves, the cliffs that I almost plunged off and the bumps along the way,
but I see a clearer path ahead.  My entire being now revolves around these two
people in my arms: Morgan, incredibly strong and loving, and Dante, the
representation of our future.  They are both living proof that the
extraordinary and beautiful can come out of absolute darkness.