Slow Release (Ebony and Ivory Book 1) (23 page)

Skye

My eyes fluttered open to view the stark white room and the man sitting next to my bed. The same man who walked out on my mother years ago was the man who rescued me. The irony of the situation only served to make my escape less of a victory and more of a dilemma. It was very confusing to me why he was even here and how he had come to find me.

“How did you find me?”

“I’ve been following you ever since your sister informed me you were stateside.”

“She’s not my sister.”

“Yes, Skye, she is, at least genetically anyway.”

“No, she’s the reason you thought it was okay to abandon your family and start over like we never existed.”

“I’ve let my wife dictate my actions for far too long.”

“No, you’ve let your new wife’s money change you into a man who is worse than the drunk I grew up with. Your irresponsible behavior ensured I was forced to shoulder the financial responsibility for the family. Don’t misunderstand. I don’t mind taking on that job—the job you rejected. I simply don’t understand how you could just leave. I find joy in taking care of those I love, and I’m so very grateful to the man who made it all possible.” He interrupted me as if he was speaking more to himself than me.

“Damon D’Angelo, are you in love with him? Are you in love with your boss?”

“I don’t see a boss when I look at him. I see a man with a good heart who’s been taken advantage of by women like your daughter, Kiara. To answer your question, yes, I’m in love with him, and I don’t give a shit if he is my boss. I still love him, heart and soul.”

“You should stick to just doing your job and not mix business with pleasure.”

“I don’t care what you think. You lost the right to have an opinion about anything in my life when you walked out on me and the rest of the family. You don’t get to tell me what I should and should not do, not anymore.”

“What the fuck is he doing here?” I looked up to see Damon as he walked into the room and headed in my direction. He planted a kiss on my forehead.

“I want him out of here now! Get out!” Damon snarled at my father.

I watched my father rise to leave, but he had to get in one last jab before he went. “It’ll never last, the whole working and being together thing. He’s all about the money, and when you age out and can’t bankroll him anymore, he’ll kick you to the curb. Kiara has already filled me in on him and his questionable business ethics.”

“No, Damon, don’t.” I grabbed his hand for emphasis when I saw him looking as though he might lunge at my father.

“Get out!” This time I was the one commanding him to go.

A wave of relief washed over me as I watched him leave. I grabbed Damon and hugged him tight. “I don’t want anyone around us who doesn’t embrace our love. I’m sick of hearing about your player days.”

“It’s their issue, Skye, not ours. It doesn’t matter what happened before we met. What matters is now, the present.” His hand gently stroked my face. “Are you okay? He didn’t…”

“No, he didn’t touch me. Would it have made a difference? Would you have no longer wanted me?”

“Nothing could make me not want you. I took care of that bastard for what he did to you.”

“Damon, I don’t think I can model anymore. I’m certain I’m going to have a hideous scar on the back of my leg.”

“I’ve already talked to the doctors. They knew who you were and called in a plastic surgeon. Skye, you could have been mauled to death by those damn dogs. He bit through muscle and almost down to the bone.”

“I’ve never felt that kind of intense pain. He bit my leg, but I felt the pain throughout my whole body like I was being electrocuted or something. It was awful.”

“How did your father find you?”

“He said he’s been following me since Kiara told him I was stateside. I wandered out in front of his car, and he almost ran over me.”

“Son of a bitch better be glad he didn’t.”

“Why did Aedan do this to me? I don’t even know him. He said you killed his sister, Damon, but I just know you wouldn’t do something like that.”

“His sister committed suicide, but he blamed me for her death. He knew hurting you was a way to get to me.”

“You didn’t kill him, did you?”

“I wanted to. I wanted to kill him with my bare hands. I basically hired a man to torture him to find out where you were, but you managed to escape on your own first.”

“I’m scared he’ll come back, Damon.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. He lost a shipment of guns that were supposed to be going to the IRA. He lost over a million dollars of their money too. They’ll kill him for that.”

“He’ll be in prison, won’t he?”

“That’s the easiest place to kill him. If he goes, he’ll never make it out alive.”

I felt no remorse for the man who’d made my life a living hell for the past few months. I’d lived in a constant state of fear, not trusting those closest to me and running from a ghost I couldn’t identify. The not knowing was what made the experience even more traumatizing than just the act of stalking me. I wouldn’t wish that kind of hell on anyone. Aedan O’Hara was getting just what he deserved.

Damon

I finally talked the doctor into releasing her after I assured him I would hire someone to care for her at my home. The nurse I hired walked in, rolling a small metal table in beside her, with everything she needed to sponge bathe Skye. I eyed her as she sidled up next to Skye’s bed. “You should leave while I bathe her, Mr. D’Angelo.”

“No, you should leave while I bathe her.”

“Oh… my,” was her nervous response before she hurried from the room.

“I’ve missed you, girl. I’ve missed being inside you. I’ve missed the taste of that sweet, tangy, little pussy of yours. I’ve missed the way I know you’re blushing when I talk dirty to you. I’ve missed you, Skye.”

I took the washcloth and wrung out the warm perfumed water that smelled like almonds and vanilla. I opened her gown and rubbed it over one of her dark nipples, blowing my breath over it to make it peak. I subjected the other breast to the same treatment before I slowly ran the heated washcloth down her abdomen and between her legs. She willingly spread her legs open, inviting me to bathe her more intimately. I positioned myself between her legs and purposely took my time washing and fingering her slickened folds simultaneously. I set the washcloth aside and gently spread her open so I could dip my tongue deep inside her.

I was in paradise listening to her moans of pleasure as I dined on her, showing her how much I missed her. My life had been so empty without her here.

“I want you in me, baby.” Her voice penetrated my lust filled haze.

“Not until you come for me, love.”

Her body spasmed as I held her legs still, forcing her to take the full intensity of the pleasure I had so missed giving her. I stood to remove my jeans, which were already unbuttoned at the top. I’d stayed dressed comfortably for the day with no shoes or shirt, so I could focus solely on the most important thing in my life—my Skye.

“I don’t want to hurt you, love. You remember that when you get well and I’m fucking you like a crazy man.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” she taunted as I slid my length inside her. I took a moment to gently run my hands over her face as I stared into her deep blue eyes. I was exactly where I wanted to be, where I needed to be—sheathed inside the woman I knew I would spend the rest of my days loving.

Skye

I stood beside the man I had spent the last year with and looked up at him endearingly. We built so much together in just the short span of time we’d known each other. He was adamant about us going into business together. I was always impressed by the fact that he was never jealous of how my career had skyrocketed. In fact, he liked to tell me, “As you go, I go, and as I go, you go.”

The things that we went through with the abduction only seemed to bring us closer together. It also helped that I no longer had to live in fear of the man who kidnapped me. It turned out that Aedan had several outstanding warrants and, with all of Antonio’s government connections, it was an easy thing for the Columbian gangster to orchestrate his arrest. Shortly after Aedan went to prison, he was killed for losing the IRA’s money and shipment of guns. I didn’t feel any remorse about his death, only relief in knowing he could never hurt me again. I was safe because Damon was smart enough to call in backup that day. Sometimes drastic situations mean that drastic, over the top measures have to be taken—drastic measures like Antonio Wayne.

Aedan was a killer. He was the type of man who would have never given up until he had me in his clutches again. A man’s voice pulled me from my grateful musings. We listened as he tapped a knife against his crystal champagne flute in a toast to our big day.

“We’re here to celebrate Damon and Skye’s union. They have accomplished so much together. In the midst of adversity, they chose to stay together and stand strong, presenting a united front. They deserve the success they have built together, and now, we’re going to reveal the cover mural. This time, let’s hope for better results.” He chuckled as he shook his head.

I watched as he jerked the material down and uncovered the wall mural. I willed my heart to slow its frantic pace and hoped nothing bad would happen this time. Would it?

I breathed a sigh of relief when I viewed the stunning mural of Damon and me that was on the cover of a prominent business magazine this month.

I came into this city with nothing but a dream to model, and I ended up with so much more. Damon and I were a team in the world of New York’s top modeling agents. I still modeled occasionally, but a majority of our work was done together as agents.

People started to disperse after the big reveal, and I noticed my father walking over with Kiara on his arm. Though we weren’t a close-knit family, I had chosen to forgive and forget for my sake. I didn’t want all the ugliness tainting my soul and changing me by living my life full of spite and anger. I knew my boundaries with them and kept them, without the extra baggage of hate and bitterness weighing me down.

My family was better off with the way things happened. Damon and I were well able to keep my family in the good life they were now accustomed to living.

“I think it’s time to get you and the little one home. I don’t want her out too late.”

He leaned down and kissed my baby bump, making no attempt to be discreet. I noticed the camera flash right as he did it, and I wondered if he timed it that way on purpose.

“You talk like she’s already here, Damon.”

“She is, my love. She is, just as you are. You’re both with me, right where you belong.”

The End