“You won’t. You can’t throw a gift back in my face over pride.”

  She rolls her eyes and snorts. “Well, I’m not going to argue with you here, I want to leave.”

  “Okay, well my car is outside. Let’s go.”

  I half hold Nova as we leave, hoping that this is the right move for both of us, and I take her to freedom. I can almost hear her breath getting caught in her throat as the sun shines on her. It must feel incredible, I can almost experience it with her.

  I smile as I take her to the car, and gently slide her into the passenger’s seat. I’m struck by her beauty, for a moment she takes my breath away. Her soft blonder hair whipping around her high cheekbones, the sweet smile on her plump lips, the paleness to her green wet eyes which shine happily in my direction. She really is a vision of angelic gorgeousness.

  I love her… I love her so much…

  That thought sticks in my brain as I drive us back to my place. I have thought that I’ve been in love before, but it’s never been like this. This is so powerful, so all-consuming, it’s all of me. My whole life now revolves around her, she’s anchored me. I’ve always been so focused, so driven, so pulled in by my work. I never had anything else to focus on. But now I do.

  I dart my eyes sideways every so often, smiling at Nova. She doesn’t seem to notice, she’s lost in the outside world as if she had been locked away for years. It’s adorable. She fascinates me, I guess she always has, but now it’s even more intense. I guess now she really does feel like she’s mine. Before, there’s always been a bit of a sense that it’s coming to an end at some point, but now, she really does belong to me.

  There are areas of us that are still quite taboo, but it’s much more real.

  “Here we are.” I pull the car to a stop. “Your new house.”

  “This feels weird.” I can see Nova stiffen. “To think of it as my own.”

  I don’t want to pile up the pressure, I don’t want to push her away. “If it’s too much, you can always leave, I don’t want it to be a problem. I don’t want you to ever feel stuck. Whatever happens, we can work through it, okay?”

  She smiles gratefully and hooks her hand around the back of my neck before dragging me towards her for a kiss. We connect on an even deeper level, the love shining through.

  “Come on.” I hold her hand softly. “Let’s go inside.”

  A thick heady lust surrounds us as we go back inside my home, our home. I don’t even notice my surroundings as we go in. It’s only me and her. We’re trapped in our own little bubble, wandering towards the holy grail. My bed.

  Once inside the bedroom, the kissing starts again. I’m soft and gentle with her, peeling the clothing off her skin in a careful way so I don’t hurt her at all. She’s being much rougher with me but that makes sense since I didn’t actually get shot.

  “I’m okay, you know,” she pants to me. “I’m not in pain any longer.”

  “I know, but I don’t want to hurt you.”

  She yanks my trousers down hard. “I don’t want you to worry about that.”

  She pushes me and I lean back onto the sheets. Nova drags her tongue along her bottom lip with a new fire in her eyes. She looks like she wants to eat me, and damn it, I want to be eaten. I want her to do whatever the hell she wants to do to me.

  “You’re so gorgeous,” I growl. “I hope you know that.”

  She crawls across me, her belly grazing across my cock as she crawls over me. I strain against the material, wanting to burst free, but right now all I need to do is sink my fingers into her hair and pull her lips back to me.

  Longing explodes between us, there’s a deep fierceness to the kiss. She sucks and licks, her tongue all over mine. I guess she’s been bottling up her intense desire more than me. I would think that she’d want to be careful with herself, but I guess not.

  Nova grinds her hips against mine, her panties brushing against my boxers. Our cores connect, but there’s still something in the way, torturing the pair of us.

  “Oh, Zane.” She moans. Her moan primal, filled with desperation. “Fucking hell.”

  I drag my lips away from hers and feed on her skin, kissing and nipping on her jaw, her earlobe, her shoulders, while she presses harder against my rod, sending me to heaven.

  I need more, so I shimmy down on the bed, my fingers unhooking her bra as I go, so by the time I get down to her nipple, it’s free and I can suck it into my mouth.

  As she groans, my eager fingers search for her wet heat. I need to feel her, to explore just how hot she is for me, and when I find her center, plunging into her fills me with great fucking delight. She’s soaking, needy, desperate for me. I forget being slow and become a madman on a mission. Her pleasure is all I need, after all the badness, I want to create something wonderful for us both.

  I part her legs further, thrusting deeper into her. She nearly flips off the bed as her pussy clamps around my fingers, pulsing with a deep desire.

  “Oh fuck, I want you,” she screams. “I want you so bad it hurts.”

  I can’t get inside of her quick enough. I yank my hand away and replace it with my cock.

  “Oh, Nova.” She’s so wet, so tight, so ready for me. As she slides down onto me, her pert breasts bouncing as she rides me furiously. Her face is contorted in sheer bliss making her even more stunning than before. This is honestly a place where I could stay forever.

  “Fuck, Zane.” She tosses her head back, her hair spilling down her back. “I fucking love you. I love you so much.”

  Her body clamps around me, she coaxes the pleasure from me while greedily grabbing her own orgasm. I grip onto her hips, needing the feel the velvety softness of her skin.

  “I love you too,” I pant back, barely able to get any words out. “So much.”

  She really is my world, and that explodes through me as the orgasm shatters through her. I can’t keep myself under control any longer as she loses herself. I erupt like a volcano, losing my head as I do. This woman really is the absolute best thing to ever happen to me.

  “Oh wow.” Nova giggles and collapses on the bed next to me. “That was amazing.”

  She turns onto her side and curls into me, the heat of her flushed skin warming me up even further. Me and Nova have already been through more in a few short weeks than most people do in a lifetime yet we’re still here together. That says something about us and the strength we can have together. We really could make this last forever. This love could be the thing to take us through the next years of her life. Committing to this woman would be a joy, not something to terrify me. Marriage and family life with this woman just seems amazing.

  Once upon a time, she was a damsel in distress. Now, we might be headed towards a happy ever after. I sure as hell hope so.

  “You’re amazing,” I reply while kissing the top of her head. “So incredible.”

  I really hope that she finally feels it. All I want is for her to finally have the confidence to find her own happiness. I love her so much I won’t stifle her, she’s already had enough of that. Hopefully, she will fly free and always want to stay with me.

  Then she climbs back on top of me, with the same glint in her eyes and I realize that tonight isn’t over yet. Far from it, it seems to be just beginning…

  23

  Nova

  “It’s over.” I clutch onto my knees and let the relief flood through me. “It’s actually done.”

  It’s been a long time coming and it hasn’t been the easiest journey to get to this point, but it’s totally worth it. I’m officially my own woman at last. I have lost the last name, Bishop, and I’m back to being Nova Curtis once more. I never thought that was going to happen.

  “That was the easiest, but the hardest case of my whole career.”

  I spin and wrap my arms around this man’s neck, so grateful for him.

  “Thank you so much, Dan. You have no idea what this means to me.”

  Of course, Zane couldn’t continue working on the case after it became public about me and him, which terrified me at first, but he worked with Dan to make sure we got the right result in the end. He has still been instrumental in saving me.

  Clara, Kem, and Zane all fly around the corner and they embrace me and Dan. We’ve become this big team, it’s like my own little family all wrapped up here. It isn’t my biological family, they can’t ever replace my parents, but I’ve got to make my own family in this world, and this crazy bundle of people are perfect for me. Dan, the playboy lawyer who really makes me laugh. Clara, the most incredible person in the whole world who’s been there through my whole life, and her husband who I’m now closer to than ever before. And of course, Zane, the most amazing man that I’ve ever set eyes on. The man who’s made my heart grow wider, my life grow bigger, my experiences widen that much more.

  As they all mutter congratulations in my ears, everything swells. Jeremy is in jail now where he will stay for the next few decades, and even when he gets out he can’t go anywhere near me. He will also never be my husband again. I feel brilliant.

  Especially when Zane brings his lips down to mine and he kisses me softly. The chemistry sizzles between us, I can feel every single move that he makes. The longer me and Zane are together, the more it becomes like breathing. There’s just an ease to us, a connection that pulls us together. Even when he isn’t around me I can feel him. I know what he’s going to do, how he’s going to behave, he isn’t scarily unpredictable, but he still manages to surprise me in the most amazing way possible.

  “We should go out to celebrate,” Clara announces. “This is such good news.”

  “I can’t stay out too long though, I have work in the morning.”

  Clara ooh’s excitedly at me as I say this, extremely happy for me. Everyone is surprised at how well I’ve slotted into the workforce. I’ve found something that I’m passionate about, something that I love, and I want to do every single day.

  Cooking is my dream, and right now I might only have a small job in a kitchen, but it’s a start. I will continue to grow it every single day. This is something just for me, and I love it.

  “I know, I know, I’m being boring. But I have to have a clear head in the morning.”

  “Come on.” She slings her arm over my shoulder, completely ignoring my worries. “Let’s go and have dinner and a couple of drinks. We’ll all be really sensible about it.”

  I roll my eyes, knowing that isn’t true. “Okay, sure, let’s have fun.”

  Zane slips his hand through mine as we walk, and I cling to it with sheer joy. I’m strong on my own. I have learned that I can be really powerful, but it’s better to have him by my side. I much prefer having him to lean on if I need it.

  I never thought that I would find such an incredible man to fall in love with, such a sexy, sweet guy, but here he is, still with me after everything. Who would have thought when I walked in his office and he made my heart skip a beat, that we would end up here? Back then, I wasn’t even thinking about a happy ever after, I was just trying to escape my personal hell.

  Once we reach the restaurant, Zane pulls me to one side for a bit, so we can have a little moment, just me and him. He gazes at me with such love, it creates new butterflies in my stomach. I don’t think a time will come when he stops affecting me like this.

  “I’m so proud of you,” he gushes and kisses me on the nose. “You are so strong.”

  “I don’t know about that. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “You could. I mean, obviously, I’m glad that you did come to me or we might never have met…” He laces his fingers through mine, even managing to look at my hand with love. “God, it’s weird to think that there’s a world where we might not know one another.”

  “That’s horrible! I don’t want to think about that at all.”

  I shudder, the idea of my life without Zane is now impossible. He’s such a big part of me, rapidly becoming my other half. I really cherish having him around.

  “Well, at least we don’t have to worry now. Thank goodness we do have each other. And we’ll never have to find out what life is like without one another again.”

  “Zane! Nova!” Clara breaks the magical moment, not that she knows what’s going on, I’m sure. She’s just so keen to have a good night. “Come on, let’s celebrate.”

  We head on to join the others, but the bubble still remains around us. I guess after everything that we’ve been through, there will always be a little part of the world that feels like it only belongs to us. Me and Zane against the world…

  * * *

  I spread across the bed sheets, content in this amazing feeling of post-coital bliss. Me and Zane are always hungry for one another, always keen to get a hold of each other’s bodies, but tonight was a little different. It was slower, more considered, the start of the rest of our lives together. Now, there really isn’t anything in our way and that’s everything to me.

  “Oh, is that my laptop?” Zane asks. “I think my mom is calling.”

  “Your mom?” Immediately I gather the sheets up to cover up my body. “On a video call?”

  “Yes. I should answer it. Introduce the two of you properly.”

  “I hardly think she wants to see me this way. It’s pretty obvious what’s going on…”

  “Mom won’t mind, she understands how life works…”

  But I don’t listen. I bound up from the bed before Zane can answer the call and I bound into the bathroom, needing to get clothes. It doesn’t matter what Zane says to me, I won’t let her see me half-naked in her son’s bed. Adults or not, I don’t think it’s appropriate.

  Once in the bathroom, I clutch onto the sink and gasp, trying to get my breath steady. Zane already told me that she isn’t sure about me and him, that because of her own experience she thinks I might be clinging to him for emotional support. Just another man to fill the hole of the last one. Of course, he didn’t say it that way exactly, but I can read between the lines. I know what she assumes. I really don’t want to be seen as a user.

  I also know that she must hate me because of what Jeremy did. He nearly destroyed Zane, and sure, he has things back on the right track now, but if it wasn’t for me, that wouldn’t have happened. I’m not stupid, I know how I must look to the outside world.

  “Just remember that you love him,” I remind my wild-eyed reflection in the mirror. “And that, however it might seem to others, you are genuine, and you do love him. That’s all that matters.”

  I try to let those words soak in, but they don’t really, and anxiety continues to spike me as I hear the muffled sounds of Zane speaking to his mother.

  “Hiding won’t help things. Face her, make her see the truth.”

  I grab a tee shirt and some pajama bottoms, then I scrape my hair back into a ponytail. I don’t know if I could ever be classed as some sort of sexual prowess, but I still want to look as demure as possible, to put across the right impression.

  “It’s going to be fine,” I convince myself. “It has to be fine.”

  Then, with nothing but trepidation in my heart, I click the bathroom door open quietly and I step outside. Zane doesn’t look up for a couple of moments, he’s completely engrossed in what his mother is saying, but when he does his face breaks out into a giant grin.

  “Ah, Nova. Did you want to come and say hi to my mom?”

  He gives me a reassuring look which works as little as my own little pep talk, but I nod anyway. With my whole body shaking, I step closer to the laptop and I see his mom come to life on the screen. She’s friendly looking, that’s the first thing that strikes me, and beautiful too. Paris must be good for her, it seems to bring a light out in her.

  “So, you are the woman who is making my son so happy?”

  I shift uncomfortably. “Y… yes, I hope so.”

  “And it looks like he’s making you happy too? Which is a wonderful thing after what you’ve been through.” When I don’t immediately answer, she knots her eyebrows together. “Ah, I see. Zane told you of my worries? He always has been a refreshingly honest person.”

  “He told me a little,” I admit.

  “Well, I was worried at first. For you as much as him. I know what it’s like to be in that place and to search for comfort. I just didn’t want you all to suffer.”

  “You must have been mad when you heard about what happened with the business.”

  “I was worried. Not mad. And Zane has managed to sort it out, so it has all ended well.”

  “Yes.” I do take great comfort from her words. “I suppose you’re right.”

  “Exactly. Now, since it looks like you and Zane are going to go the long haul, I would love to meet you. I would like you both to come to Paris at some point.”

  “Oh, Paris.” I clutch my hand to my chest as if in a day dream. “That sounds amazing.”

  “Well, you are always welcome.”

  Zane’s hands comforting rest on my shoulder and I automatically bring one of my hands up to meet his. His skin feels amazing under my hand, my heart races with sheer glee. This is going so much better than I expected, better than I ever could have hoped for. I must be the luckiest woman alive.

  “Okay, well I will let you talk to Zane, I’m sure you two have a lot to say to one another…”

  “Oh no, we’ve done our talking. I will say goodbye to both of you now.”

  She waves, and I do back, laughing at how wonderful this all feels, then eventually, Zane closes the laptop down, leaving me warm and filled with love.

  “We should, you know, go to Paris. That would be great, wouldn’t it?”

  “I would have to get time off work…” I tap my chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know when I’ll be able to make that happen.”

  “Oh, I know,” he reassures me. “I wouldn’t do it unless you could, but if you’d like…”

  “Well, I’ve always wanted to see more of the world and that seems as good a place as any…”

  “Great, then one day we shall do it. Paris, it is!”