Keep Me Safe (31 page)

Tears filled Tori's eyes. “I owe my life to you and what I gave you in return, the way I acted toward you is unforgiveable. I can only hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me—us—for the way we treated you.”

“I'm sorry too,” Quinn said in a somber voice. “Caleb loves you and that you love him is all that matters to us. He's been alone for so long, shouldering the responsibility of this family on his own.”

“Then you can make it up to me by booking me a flight to Colorado and arranging a rental car because I'm going with or without your blessing and I'm bringing Caleb home.”

Not a single member of Caleb's family argued further after her passionate, determined declaration.

Ramie drove the winding, bumpy road to the cabin she'd stayed in all those months ago, the irony not lost on her that Caleb had made a similar trip to track her down. Only this time she was doing the hunting and she was going to be every bit as forceful as he'd been when it came to demanding he see her.

She parked beside his SUV and sat a moment gathering her courage for the impending confrontation. What if Caleb refused to see her? What if she'd waited too long, her irrational desperation to feel safe overriding all else? When she thought back to her reaction when she'd awakened from the grasp of a nightmare to see the very man who'd starred in the terrible memory there, in front of her, she cringed all over again. It had been a rejection. A cold one at that.

She was more afraid than she'd ever been before. Even when she'd awakened that horrible night with Caleb above her, slicing through her skin. She closed her eyes, banishing the disturbing image from her mind.

Those memories had no place in the here and now. The man who'd done so much damage to so many people was finally dead and she and Caleb could be at peace. Finally at peace.

Wiping her damp palms down the legs of her jeans she carefully got out of the Jeep Beau had rented for her. She was still in a lot of pain and had to move slowly, but determination got her to the door where she knocked with every bit of the force Caleb had once knocked on this same door.

It opened within seconds and Caleb stood there, brows furrowed, fury glinting in his eyes.

“What the fuck are you doing out of the hospital? Are you out of your goddamn mind? Do you even
know
how close you came to dying? That I tried my damnedest to kill you?” he asked hoarsely.

“I was released two days ago,” she said lightly.

“Then you need to be in bed, not traipsing across the country to some godforsaken cabin in the middle of fucking nowhere!”

Then he seemed to realize that she was here and
not
where he'd ranted that she should be. Confusion clouded his eyes and his features went rigid, as though preparing himself for more hurt. Hurt she'd unwittingly caused him.

They'd hurt each other over the course of their short but volatile time together. It was time to move past that. To look ahead and forget all that was behind them. Looking back did neither of them any good. If either one of them refused to shake the grip their past held on them, they had no chance at all. Their relationship was well and truly doomed. It was up to her to make him put it all behind them both.

“What are you doing here, Ramie? Haven't I hurt you enough?”

“Are you going to invite me in or let me freeze to death out here?” she asked pointedly.

Her words galvanized him to action and he quickly ushered her in and sat her down in front of the fireplace, his touches so gentle that her chest ached. It was obvious he was working hard not to touch her at all and yet still ensuring her absolute comfort.

But as his hands slid away, his fingertip brushed over one of the stitches on her arm barely peeking out from the long-sleeve shirt she wore.

Sorrow swamped his face as he brushed his thumb upward, pushing the sleeve to bare even more of the twelve-inch slice he'd inflicted down the length of her arm. And then as if realizing what he was doing—inspecting the injury he'd caused—he yanked his hand back as if burned.

“Eliza said you killed him,” she said casually to take his focus off his obvious self-loathing.

Sorrow shone in Caleb's eyes and he looked away as though he were unable to bear it if she condemned him for what he'd done.

“He's dead,” Caleb said flatly. “I don't regret killing him.”

She wondered if he even heard the defensiveness in his voice. Did he think she would condemn him?

“
Good,
” she said savagely. “Do you realize we're truly free now?”

His brow arched and furrowed in obvious confusion. He nodded as if not trusting himself to speak. Or perhaps he simply didn't know what to say. He looked as though he were afraid to say anything at all because he was still trying to sort out why she'd come all this way to tell him something he already knew.

She was waiting no longer. They'd suffered long enough. Suffered too long a separation even if it only had been two weeks.

She reached her hand out to him, praying he wouldn't reject her. He stared at it for a long moment until something shriveled and died inside her. She started to lower it, already bracing herself for his rejection and then to her profound relief, he caught her hand before it rested on her lap and slid his fingers over hers, lacing them together.

She pulled desperately at him, wanting him near her, close, touching her. He stumbled forward, a deep frown on his face. She reached up to him with her other hand, practically climbing him in her effort to pull him all the way down to where she sat on the couch.

“Hold me,” she whispered. “Please, Caleb. I need you to hold me. Banish the painful memories and replace them with new ones.”

The absolute lack of hope in his eyes gutted her. Had she done this to him? She'd been afraid before, not wanting to place Caleb in the untenable position of having to ever hurt her again. But now, they were free. There was no threat. No one to control either of them ever again.

“Come here,” she choked out, holding up her arms to him.

With a tortured sound of agony, he enfolded her in his embrace, wrapping his arms so tightly around her that she couldn't breathe. She didn't want to breathe. Not another breath unless she shared it with him.

“I'm so sorry, Ramie,” Caleb said brokenly. “I'm so damn sorry.”

“Shhh, Caleb,” she soothed, clutching his head to her breasts where his cheek rested. “Never be sorry for killing that son of a bitch.”

“I'm not sorry I killed him,” Caleb said coldly. “I'm sorry for what I did to
you
.”

“I'm sorry for what he did to
us
,” Ramie gently corrected.

She pulled him closer to her, resting her cheek atop his hair as she stroked his face with her hand.

“I love you,” she said tenderly.

He went rigid against her and would have bolted back up, but she caught him and held him tightly to her.

He found her wrists with his hands and carefully pulled himself away from her, holding her wrists on either side of her. His eyes glittered and his jaw was pulled tight as he stared down at her.

“Don't say something you don't mean,” he said hoarsely.

She smiled, allowing the full light of her love to shine. So he could see it.
Feel
it.

“I'm not in the habit of telling guys I love them,” she said wryly. “And I have to say I don't like it much. So if you could just say I love you back then I'd feel much better.”

He stared at her in absolute befuddlement.

“Do you forget what I did to you? That I took a
knife
to you and cut you to ribbons? That I could have
killed
you?”

Tears glittered brightly in his eyes and he didn't even make an attempt to call them back. They trickled down the hard line of his jaw. There was so much grief and regret in his eyes that she wondered if he'd truly ever heal after such a grievous injury to his soul.

No, she wouldn't think like that. Love could heal all things. She had to believe that.

“
You
didn't hurt me,” she corrected firmly. “It took me longer than I'd have liked to figure that out. But given that I know well what it's like to be controlled by another, I could hardly blame you for the same thing that has happened to me.”

He looked stunned. “You knew it wasn't me controlling my actions before . . . 
before
we got to you?”

She nodded, her smile a little quivery. Her chin wobbled as she herself was precariously close to tears.

“When I came to and that monster was gloating about you handing me over to him, I knew you would have never willingly done that. You love me,” she said simply.

He hauled her into his arms, his chest heaving and body trembling from head to toe.

“God yes, I love you,” he said. “Desperately, hopelessly, absolutely in love with you until the day I die.”

She reached up to cup his face when he finally pulled back, his gaze raking over her as though he was having to convince himself that this was all not some cruel joke being played on him.

“I like that notion,” she said in a loving voice. “But what do you say we save ‘until the day I die' for a hundred or so years from now?”

He hugged her again, his hand buried in her unruly hair, his arms like steel bands around her body. She smiled, marveling at the fact that she and Caleb had weathered a storm no other couple would ever have to endure.

“Don't think for a minute any of this counts as an actual proposal,” she huffed. “I expect bended knee, the ring . . . everything.”

Caleb threw back his head and laughed, the sound joyous and carefree.

Then he sobered and dropped to his knees in front of where she sat on the couch. He took both her hands in his and looked at her with such love that she melted on the spot.

“Will you marry me, Ramie? Spend the rest of your life with me? Have my children and grow old together? I swear to you that no one will ever love you more than I will and that no one will ever be as loved and cherished as you will be.”

She lifted her hands from his and framed his beautiful face, staring him directly in the eyes so there was no mistaking her sincerity.

“Oh yes,” she breathed. “Yes, I'll marry you, Caleb Devereaux. I don't care how much money you have. I'd love you if you had nothing. I love
you.”

His eyes were suspiciously wet again and he swallowed as if he couldn't get the words out he wanted to say. Finally he gave up and pulled her into his arms, rocking her back and forth as he shuddered and shook against her.

“I thought I lost you,” he choked out. “I thought I'd driven you away. Betrayed you in the worst way possible. I don't even know how you can be in the same room with me without being terrified after what I did. But God, I want a second chance. I want it more than anything else in the world. You won't regret this, Ramie. I swear I'll make you happy.”

“You already make me happy,” she whispered.

“I'll build you your dream house. One you'll be happy in. One with warmth, love and laughter and if, God willing, a passel of children born of our love.”

“Home is wherever you are, Caleb. I don't care where we live or what kind of house. As long as you're there, I'll always be home.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MAYA BANKS
is a #1
USA Today
and
New York Times
bestselling author whose chart toppers have included erotic romance, romantic suspense, contemporary romance, and Scottish historical romances. She is the author of the Breathless Trilogy, the Sweet series, and the Colters Legacy novels. She lives in Texas with her husband, three children, and other assorted babies, including two Bengal kitties and a calico that's been with her as long as her youngest child.

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facebook.com/AuthorMayaBanks

@maya_banks

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BY MAYA BANKS

Slow Burn Series

KEEP ME SAFE

Surrender Trilogy

LETTING GO

GIVING IN

TAKING IT ALL

Breathless Trilogy

RUSH

FEVER

BURN

The KGI Series

THE DARKEST HOUR

NO PLACE TO RUN

HIDDEN AWAY

WHISPERS IN THE DARK

ECHOES AT DAWN

SOFTLY AT SUNRISE

SHADES OF GRAY

FORGED IN STEELE

AFTER THE STORM

WHEN DAY BREAKS

COMING SOON

Don't miss IN HIS KEEPING

The next Slow Burn novel by

#1
New York Times
and
USA Today

bestselling author Maya Banks.

Available January 2015 wherever books are sold.