Consent (The Loan Shark Duet Book 2)

by Charmaine Pauls

  I splay my hands over his hard chest. “Tell me.”

  He winces, as if in pain. “Just know I acted in your best interest, even if it caused you pain.” He takes a deep breath and catches my fingers as if he’s afraid I’ll pull away. “There’s no easy way to say this, and I don’t want to hurt you more than you’ve already suffered.”

  “Tell me,” I repeat.

  His brow twists. “Promise me you’ll hear me out. Please.”

  “I promise.”

  He gives a tight nod. “Valentina, I…” He swallows, his eyes measuring my reaction. “I’m the man who robbed you of your life. I’m Gabriel.”

  Gabriel

  The naked woman in my arms isn’t an open book to read. I just told her I’m her dead husband, but her body language tells me nothing. I can deal with a slap, an insult, blame, and anger, but not the level, sober look she gives me. It leaves me defenseless, because I don’t know what words she needs next. Do I soothe her? Apologize? Beg? Explain?

  My gut knots when she doesn’t reply for several long seconds. She can’t forgive me. The deceit runs too deep. Her emotionless state can only mean she’s finally weaned off from Gabriel. He doesn’t matter. Maybe he never did. Only an arrogant asshole would hope differently. I still owe her the truth, so this is what I give her, starting from the day I discovered the evidence of her rape and ending with my plastic surgery.

  Not once does she interrupt. She listens quietly as I confess, her attention acute and focused. When I come to the end of my guilty monologue, she finally stirs. My nerves raw and my heart bleeding, I watch her get to her feet and walk to where her bag lies on the floor. She’ll gather her clothes, get dressed, and leave. I’ll never see her and Connor again, and I can’t blame her. I did worse to her than the enemies whose bones I’ve broken. All I can do is drink in the soft lines of her perfect body. A painful flashback of her hanging from a rope with her underwear around her ankles pierces my mind. She still has those same, gorgeous S-lines, like the ethereal subject in a painter’s portrait.

  Taking something from her bag, she turns and watches me in the way she listened––with silent concentration. As she walks to me, the strength that makes her the most remarkable women I know shows. Every step is laced with confidence. Does she hold judgment? Will she condemn me? I will take whatever I get, whether it be hate or acceptance, but I don’t expect forgiveness. My only hope is that we won’t part on ugliness. Nothing to soil this perfect, last moment. A part of me wishes for her to walk away like this, saying nothing, while another part of me screams to know what she feels, what she thinks.

  She stops close to me, way too close. “I’ve been waiting for a long time for you to tell me this, Gabriel.”

  She says my name softly, purposefully.

  My heart starts beating furiously, blood gushing through my veins, burning my skin. “You knew?”

  “From the first moment.”

  If she knew, why did she allow things to go this far? Why didn’t she kill me, hurt me, or got one of my ex-bodyguards to take care of me? Where is her revenge? My eyes drop to the object she clutches in her fist. Whatever it is, she waited for my confession before handing it to me. It could be damnation or absolution, but I suspect the first.

  I shouldn’t touch her, not after what I admitted, but I can’t help myself. My hands are drawn to the curve of her hips. I cup them and pull her between my legs, staring up at her huge, brown eyes, afraid of what I’ll find there, but there’s no anger, blame, or hurt. Only something beautiful I don’t deserve. I should plead, beg, explain more, try to put the shambles of feelings twisting and tumbling in my heart into sentences, but the only word I can force from the hollowness in my chest is, “How?”

  “I don’t need a face to know you.”

  Hope blooms inside me, but I squash it. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “There’s only one thing I want to say, and I couldn’t do it until you were honest with me.”

  What can she possibly say after everything I told her, after everything my family did to her? Her gaze is soft and filled with something that makes my heart jerk. I never want to forget how she looks, right now, because for the first time in my life someone stares at me with love and loyalty. She will fight for me like no one ever has.

  Her lips part with a featherlike breath. “I love you, Gabriel.”

  My world and pitiful existence collapse, every defense I cemented into the wall of my life crumbling around me. Regret, joy, hope, disbelief at my incredible, miraculous luck that this amazing feminine creature can love me pour out of me, condensing in big, shameless tears that run over my face.

  She leans against me, pressing our skins together. “I tried to tell you, a long time before you left, but you didn’t want to listen. Now, with only the truth between us, you have to believe me.”

  I press my face into her stomach, holding onto her like she’s my salvation. “I love you, Valentina. With everything I am. God knows, I tried to stop, to set you free, but I can’t.”

  Where do we go from here? How do we pick up the pieces and build a new life as a family?

  She answers the question when she opens her hand and holds her palm out to me. “Gregor Malan, will you marry me?”

  The platinum of my wedding band makes a perfect shining circle on her skin. I stare at it in disbelief, battling to digest her words.

  “Where…?” I look from the ring to her face.

  “The police found it in the debris.”

  She hung onto it. She never stopped fighting for me. Overwhelming, bigger-than-life love crashes over me. “You suspected?”

  “I knew you weren’t dead. I never stopped looking.”

  I fold my arms around her. I’m a drowning man, and she’s my sea. “Don’t let me go. I promise I’ll never leave you, again.”

  Her lips tilt into a faint smile. “Is that a yes?”

  The burdens of my past lift from my shoulders. For the first time in my life, I feel truly happy. Light. I set my kitten free, and she came back to me.

  “Yes.” I smother her stomach in kisses. “Yes, fucking yes.”

  “Give me your hand,” she orders.

  When I hold out my left hand, she pushes the band that symbolizes our lifelong union over my ring finger, where it belongs. The fit is perfect. We’re perfect, like I always knew we’d be. She’s my life, my love, my redemption. Not my property, but my wife. Not for nine years, but forever.

  Epilogue

  Gabriel

  The day is one of those cooler summer ones with a hint of a brewing thunderstorm on the horizon. The Johannesburg skyline with the Brixton, Ponte, and Auckland Park tower landmarks is visible from the Emmarentia hill, but it’s not the view I’m focused on. It’s the woman standing in front of the stately old building, her ruby brown hair blowing in the breeze. She’s wearing a yellow dress that accentuates the glow of her golden skin. For a moment, her eyes find mine, connecting with me and me alone, and then she’s scooped up by the mob of journalists and politicians who all want a piece of her.

  I tighten my hand around Connor’s, making sure I don’t lose him in the crowd, and balance Sophia on my hip. Sophia will be nineteen months tomorrow, and we have a third on the way, although it doesn’t yet show in the gentle swell of Valentina’s belly. We decided to announce it to the world after today. Today, Valentina didn’t want anything to compete with the opening of the center for the disabled.

  As much as our children, this is her baby, something she worked hard on during the past year, and even though many families and mentally challenged individuals will profit from her project, she did it for Charlie. The old hospital was turned into a nurse hostel years ago, and when government funds to maintain it ran out, the beautiful three-story building stood empty for almost two decades, the structure dilapidated and its once manicured garden overgrown with weeds. As the city’s new mayor, this was one of Valentina’s first initiatives. Yup, she came a long way.

  The work sh
e did with her company is commendable. After growing it into one of the country’s most successful businesses, she started plowing money back into the community to help people who suffer like she used to, people who come from where she does. It came as no surprise that those people came to love and revere her, selecting her onto the local municipal council and now as the Johannesburg mayor. Her connections to Barnard and other clean state officials helped, as did the anti-criminal operation she undertook in Berea. My little pet is a strong, fair, and compassionate leader. It doesn’t take a scientist to see she was born for this.

  I shift the weight of the diaper bag on my shoulder, staying on the outskirts to give Valentina room to speak to the press as well as to admire her from a distance. Watching her operate, I can never get enough. I’m not the only one. She’s a people magnet. Quincy and Rhett, now married with their own families, are crowding close. They’re no longer her self-appointed bodyguards, but we remain friends, honoring our standing Saturday poker nights at Kris’ place. These days Rhett runs a successful security business while Quincy provides protection for the touring stars of rock concerts. They know me as Gregor. Nobody except for Valentina knows my secret. Kris is here, too, always supporting Valentina in her official and non-official ventures. Her practice in Orange Grove became a benchmark in the industry with such a phenomenal growth that she opened five franchises throughout the city, as well as the biggest animal rescue center in the country. She’s also the sponsor of a full bursary for underprivileged veterinary students.

  A series of flashes go off as my wife poses for the cameras with the newly appointed president of the Association for the Mentally Disabled. Charlie beams at his sister’s side. He comes to the center every day to work as a mail sorting clerk, and the work does him good. He loves dividing the letters into neat destination bundles. The center provides employment opportunities, ranging from filling envelopes to preparing promotional flyers, as well as support and guidance for the members and their families. People like Charlie can find a sense of belonging and purpose here, as well as government sponsored treatment.

  Charlie lives with us in the new house we built on an acre of property on the border of Kyalami. It’s a family house with toys scattered over the floors, a swing in the garden, and a bicycle on the lawn. We have five dogs, all strays, and an array of cats that come and go, some staying longer than others. Oscar is still with us, but Bruno sadly died of old age last year.

  All of our lives revolve around the small woman in the center of the spectators. Another flash goes off as the Minister of Home Affairs shakes her hand. Last month Valentina was on the cover of every magazine and newspaper, and this week she’s been invited to a congregation of leaders who hope to vote her into government on a national level, but she already decided to decline. Like any couple with their own business, two young kids, and another on the way, we lead a hectic life, but one I wouldn’t exchange for anything. I wish Carly could have known her half-brother and sister and share this incredible moment, but I believe she’s here with us.

  Since Valentina became busy with city council business, I run her company. My main focus is still protecting her and our children, but I’m happy to have something in which I find purpose, something I enjoy. Something clean. No more breaking. No more violence.

  Sophia starts to fuss. I know this particular cry. Soon, she’ll be bawling. I lie her down in the stroller to check her diaper and drop the bag to the ground.

  “Be a big man and get me your sister’s bottle, please,” I tell Connor.

  He unzips the bag, locates the item, and holds it out proudly. “Here, Daddy.”

  I ruffle his hair before taking the bottle from the insulation holder and testing a drop of milk on my wrist to ensure it’s not too hot.

  My little girl takes a greedy gulp when I put the nipple in her mouth, first swallowing air. A soft hand falls on my shoulder, and Valentina’s voice washes over me.

  “Are you managing?”

  I grin at her. “Always.”

  “You’re a good daddy.”

  I steal a chaste kiss, careful not to tip the bottle and break Sophia’s suction. “You’re a better mommy.”

  “Thank you.” Her words are soft-spoken.

  My gaze rakes over her body. “For what?”

  “For doing this,” she motions at our baby girl, “so I can do that.” She flips a hand at the people enjoying the cocktails and finger food set out on the lawn.

  “You’re welcome.” Truth is, I love daddying my kids, and there’s nothing I won’t do for my clever, industrious, pretty wife.

  “Just a few more minutes and then we can escape.”

  Connor runs off to Charlie. I keep one eye on him and the other on my daughter. “Go mingle and do whatever mayors are supposed to do. Sophia doesn’t need to nap for another hour. I can go home with her and Connor if you’d like to stay longer.”

  “I was thinking we could put the kids down for their nap and catch up.”

  My body is immediately interested. “Catch up, huh?” I shift behind the stroller to hide the untimely hardening in my pants.

  A pretty flush heats her cheeks. “Um, yeah.”

  I know exactly how I’m going to catch up with her, and from the way she lowers her lashes and works her lip between her teeth, she knows, too.

  “You better get your sexy butt in the car. Now.”

  I use enough of the assertive tone she loves in the bedroom to make her eyes snap back to mine. Her pupils dilate a fraction, and her nipples turn into two hard points under the soft fabric of her dress.

  She clears her throat. “Give me a minute to say my goodbyes and to get Charlie.”

  “I said now. You disobey me, wife.” I lower my lips to hers, not kissing her, but breathing the words over the plump curve of her bottom lip, loud enough for only her to hear. “There will be consequences.”

  “Promise?” she asks in a breathy whisper.

  “You can count on it.”

  She stares at me with the heated, adoring look that tells me she loves me for who I am, and that no matter what, she’ll always be there for me.

  “I love you, too,” I say as she makes to turn.

  “I didn’t say I love you,” she says with a mischievous smile.

  “Yes, you did.”

  In a few minutes she’ll be screaming it, too, in the only language that matters.

  A language that surpasses words and time.

  A language of love and forever.

  Our unique language.

  From the Author

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for sticking with Valentina and Gabriel to the end. If you enjoyed the story, please consider leaving a short review (just a line or two will do) on your favorite review or vendor site to help other readers discover the book. Every review makes a huge difference!

  I look forward to staying in touch.

  Warmest regards,

  Charmaine

  Also by Charmaine Pauls

  The Seven Forbidden Arts Series

  (Paranormal Romance)

  Loving the Enemy

  Pyromancist

  Aeromancist, The Beginning

  Aeromancist

  Hydromancist

  Geomancist

  Necromancist

  Scapulimancist

  Chiromancist

  Man

  Standalone Novels

  (Futuristic Romance)

  Between Fire & Ice

  The Astronomer

  (Paranormal Romance)

  The Winemaker

  (Literary Romance)

  Between Yesterday & Tomorrow

  Second Best

  A Krinar Kindle World Novel

  (Futuristic Romance)

  The Krinar Experiment

  Sneak Preview of Aeromancist, The Beginning (Seven Forbidden Arts)

  A quick series overview

  (Each novel reads as a standalone, except Aeromancist, The Beginning, which is Part I of Aeromancist.)
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  Loving the Enemy (Prequel novel, contains no paranormal elements)

  With a price on her head, Lily shouldn’t trust anyone, especially not the handsome stranger who comes to her rescue.

  Pyromancist (#1 Fire)

  Joss kidnaps and uses Clelia as bait to catch a firestarter, but his desire for his captive compromises his mission.

  Aeromancist, The Beginning (#2 Air, Part I)

  Katherine becomes the lover of a mysterious Russian library owner for 30 days at an unforeseen and devastating price.

  Aeromancist (#3 Air, Part II)

  Lann couldn’t foresee how his 30-day contract would destroy Katherine’s life. Can he save her from the fate he’d unknowingly dealt her?

  Hydromancist (#4 Water)

  Maya isn’t supposed to like the ambassador, let alone sleep with him. Her only focus should be on killing him. Can she choose between love and loyalty?

  Geomancist (#5 Earth)

  When a drug lord takes Sean’s woman, a paradise island in the Caribbean Sea is about to turn into hell.

  Necromancist (#6 Spirit)

  Nine years ago, a poor and shamed Ivan took Alice’s virginity and left her cold. Now a famous rock star, he’s back for more. This time, he doesn’t only want her body. He also wants revenge.

  Scapulimancist (#7 Animal)

  To protect the elephants, ranger Sara has to reclaim Wayne’s land. Can she destroy the man she’s falling for to save the near-extinct species? Can she trust or love a man convicted of murder?

  Chiromancist (#8 Time)

  Bono must steal Sky’s secrets, but there’s one she’ll protect with her life. Is she strong enough to resist his assault when his choice of weapon is seduction?