by Lisa Simmons
“I tried to talk him down, talk some sense into him but he wouldn’t listen. He was about to shoot me and probably her when I tackled him and got the gun away from him... we kept fighting until he had his hands around my neck. He was about to strangle me when I got ahold of the gun and... I shot him,” he admitted. “It was either that or let him kill me.”The judge studied Reece, his eyes narrowed as if trying to decide if he was telling the truth. He then averted his eyes behind Reece to Emily.
“You,” he said, addressing her as he glanced at his papers to learn her full name. She jumped to her feet. “You’re Emily Waters?”
“Yes,” she squeaked.
“You’re the one who gave this statement?” he asked, waving a paper in front of him.
“Yes,” she repeated. “Reece acted completely in self-defense.”
“And you,” he said, turning his gaze to me. I jumped to my feet just as Emily had.
“Yes?”
“You’re Abigail Campbell? The one who saw the entire thing?”
“Yes, the whole thing,” I confirmed, determined to keep my voice even.
“And you’re the girlfriend? The one everyone is fighting over?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“Yes, sir,” I said, blushing.
“Can you confirm everything that’s been said today? By all parties?” he asked sharply.
“Yes, sir,” I said, my heart skipping a beat. “Reece had no choice but to act as he did. Jack would have killed him if he hadn’t.”
“Well,” the judge said, looking from me to Emily to Reece before back down at his papers. “To be honest with everyone, we’ve been watching Jack for a while now. He’d been suspected of drug usage, distribution, and theft so your statements make sense. After hearing everything that’s been said and reading over the statement’s of those on the scene, I’ve come to a decision.”I sucked in a breath, holding it until it was painful. My heart pounded so heavily in my chest that I thought it would break through my ribs. This was it: the moment of truth.
“Mr. Evans, you’re cleared of all charges on the grounds of self-defense. You’re free to go.”
"I need your love at every turn; I feel it when my heart beats... every time my heart beats."
Chapter 75
“Mr. Evans, you’re cleared of all charges on the grounds of self-defense. You’re free to go.”
A sob of relief choked from my throat as the words crashed down on me, my hand flying to my lips to stifle the sound. The looming threat of an undeserved sentence and the terrifying possibility of jail time were no more, the weight of the uncertainty lifted with the words that fell from the judge’s lips. Reece was free. “Next case,” the judge said casually, shuffling the papers of Reece’s case behind a fresh stack. He nodded once at Reece, indicating he could leave. I sprang to my feet and practically sprinted the short distance to Reece, launching myself into his arms. Unadulterated tears of joy leaked from my eyes, the relief coursing through me taking over. I buried my face in his neck, locking my arms around his neck as he gripped me tightly. He hugged me tightly before pulling back to start steering me out of the courtroom. I sniffed once and tried to reign in the slightly unstable grin on my face, but I couldn’t. I allowed Reece to push me gently out of the room, completely ignoring anyone else that might have been near us. Once we’d made it through the multiple sets of doors, he hauled me back into him as if he hadn’t really felt like he was free until he’d left the building. My chest crashed into his and our limbs wound around each other again, and I could feel the shaky, relieved breath he blew out. An ache was starting to settle into my cheeks from grinning so much but I didn’t care.
“I told you they’d let you go,” I said, my words muffled by his shoulder as I hugged him. He pulled back just enough for his lips to find mine. The kiss was firm and filled with an immense relief. When he pulled back, I was thrilled to see a grin on his face. It seemed, for the moment, he really was happy. I sniffed again and let out a soft giggle of giddy relief. “This is the only time I’ll ever be happy to hear you say ‘I told you so,’” he said with a wide grin. My hands slid down his shoulders to grip the opening of his blazer, tugging on it playfully.
“I told you so.”
“Got it out of your system?” he asked happily.
“For now. But I promise you’ll hear it again about something else sooner or later,” I said lightly. I’d never felt so happy in my entire life.
“Pfff. Doubt it,” he said, cocking his head back with a self-assured grin. I pulled him forward with a grin to reconnect our lips.
“Ugh, get a room,” a voice said teasingly from behind me. I turned around to see Emily standing just outside the doors we’d come through with a wry smile on her face. Reece surprised me by releasing me and moving toward Emily, his long arms extending to wrap around her and hug her. She looked momentarily shocked before recovering enough to hug him back. He pulled back and smiled at her; he was positively glowing and I didn’t think I’d ever seen him look so good. “Thank you for being here. And for the statement you gave,” Reece said to her sincerely. Emily returned his smile. I watched their exchange and felt like my heart was glowing.
“Of course. It was all the truth so it was only right,” she said with a casual shrug.
“Still. Your statement probably made a huge difference,” Reece said.
“I had to if I ever wanted to see my best friend happy again. I’ve never seen her as happy as she is with you,” she said, glancing at me with a wide grin. My feet carried me forward to hug her, my emotional mood making me feel even more appreciative of her. I’d neglected to tell her anything about the entire dramatic saga I’d been through, which had pissed her off and caused her to give up trying to speak to me in my desolate state, yet she’d forgiven me and come through when we had needed her the most. “Thank you,” I said, unable to really articulate how much it meant to me. She could see how much I felt it in my watery eyes, however, because she simply shook her head with an understanding grin.
“Glad you two are clearly back together,” she said, pointing between us. “I didn’t think you’d ever make it out of whatever was going on before.”
“It’s a long story,” I said sheepishly. “I swear, I’ll tell you everything next time I’m home.”
“So about a week then?” Emily teased, winking at me. I nudged her shoulder playfully.
“We’ll just see,” I laughed.
“Right, well. I’m gonna go and let you two get home.”
“Alright, thanks again Emily,” Reece said. He threw his arm around my shoulder, hauling me into his side while my arm snaked automatically around his waist. He turned his head to the side to press his lips against my temple, causing my grin to widen even more.
“God,” Emily said, shaking her head once more. “Just go get married already.”
My stomach fluttered at the thought. My other arm rose automatically to complete the circle around his waist so I could hug him.
“Bye, Emily,” I said, ignoring her statement with a good-natured smile. She waved goodbye to each us as she turned with a bemused grin, making her way to her car. I turned to Reece, tilting my head back to look up at him. His all-too-familiar green eyes burned into mine, the intensity in them blazing stronger than it had in a long time. “Let’s go home, Abby.”
His lips landed on my forehead before I nodded. We turned together and Reece steered us back to the car, both of us practically skipping with relief. Reece seemed physically unable to detach himself from me when he reached the car but managed to after ducking his head down and tilting my chin toward him with his index finger to kiss my lips lightly. I bit back my grin when he pulled away, the giddiness I was feeling spilling out of my every pore. We climbed into the car and Reece started the short drive back to his house, his hand automatically sliding across the console to land on my thigh. His thumb moved slowly across my leg while he drove.
“I can’t believe they
let me go,” he said incredulously. “Like I’m completely free. Nothing is going to happen to me.”
He appeared to be thinking out loud, and I loved the slightly shocked, blissful tone he was using. Surely he still felt the weight of what he’d done, but maybe the judge’s confirmation of self-defense would help ease some of the crushing guilt. At this moment, he appeared lighter than I’d seen him in what seemed like forever. “I knew nothing would happen,” I said, gloating a bit. It felt so incredibly amazing to have been right. “Now we can get things back to normal.”
His face slowly broke into a grin as he thought about what I’d said. “I didn’t dare think about it until now.”
“Think away, babe, because you’re free,” I said giddily. He squeezed my thigh and shot me a grin as he turned onto his street.
“I’m free,” he repeated quietly. My gaze fixed on his profile, taking in the slight disbelieving smile that pulled at his lips and the way his brows were raised on his forehead. He looked as if he still didn’t fully believe it. I picked up his hand off my thigh and brought it to my lips, placing a delicate kiss to his palm. He parked the car in his driveway and turned it off before turning to me. Without a word, his hands found my face to cup my jaw as he pulled me forward. His lips found mine, fitting around my own to kiss me slowly. I leaned out of my seat and turned to face him as his lips closed around my lower one, tugging back on it gently before returning the pressure. My hands reached for him, gripping whatever they landed on as he deepened the kiss by letting his tongue slide along my own. Suddenly, he pulled back, leaving me desperately leaning forward searching for the contact. His thumb stroked gently across my cheek as I opened my eyes lazily to meet his gaze.
“Let’s go in,” he said, his voice deep and husky thanks to the intensity of the kiss. I found myself breathless as I struggled to respond. I nodded mutely and was met with a lopsided half-grin from Reece. He bit his lip once, his eyes flitting down to my own lips before tearing his gaze from me and getting out of the car. I felt like fanning myself but settled for taking a deep breath before copying him and exiting the vehicle. My heart pounded when I got out and saw him waiting, the burning intensity of his gaze searing through me like it always did. A shot of adrenaline flooded through me as I recognized the look, confirming that the kiss had only been the start of what was to come. He reached his hand out to me and I accepted in silence. I was unable to tear my gaze from his as he pulled me backward, leading me into the house. Neither of us had to speak to know what was going on; we could feel it with every look and touch we shared. I hardly even noticed as Reece pulled me inside and down the hall, the world around me disappearing as I got lost in his gaze. He chewed his lip as he let his gaze finally rip from my own to travel down my body, as if taking in every detail for the first time. Every inch of me his eyes passed over felt like it was glowing as he pulled me into his room. He moved to the edge of his bed before finally stopping and pulling me within inches of him. “Abigail,” he whispered, his gaze once more focused on mine. I waited silently for him to continue. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it as if deciding against whatever he’d been about to say. Instead, he raised a hand to run his thumb gently across my lower lip, tugging it to the side as he watched closely. His gaze flitted back to mine as I let out a shaky breath. I’d waited for this for so long that I felt like I might melt on the spot. Without another word, Reece ducked his head down to replace his thumb with his lips, kissing me slowly. His hands found my waist, pulling my body against his as he deepened the kiss. My hands landed on his arms, gripping the soft skin there as he separated his lips from mine to trail to my neck. Hot kisses were placed on my neck with his lips, and he dragged them slowly down my skin until he reached the barrier of my shirt. He tugged the fabric away with his finger, removing a hand from my waist to do so while his lips covered the newly exposed skin. I felt his other hand slide beneath the fabric of my shirt, his knuckles grazing my skin as he lifted it higher and higher until he had to remove his lips from my shoulder to pull it over my head. I sighed as he let it fall to the floor and ran his hands smoothly down my sides, every inch of my skin coming alive at his touch. His lips returned to my body as they landed on my collarbone. Hot air blew out from his mouth as he trailed kisses down my chest, covering the swell of my breasts while his hands smoothly undid the fastenings of my pants. My head rolled back at the feel of his lips hot on my skin. All I could see was black as my eyes drifted closed, too overwhelmed by the heat of his touch to worry about anything else. I felt him slip his fingers beneath the band of my pants before tugging them down my thighs to let them pool at my feet. I shifted my weight to kick my shoes off as well. He straightened up after a final kiss to my chest, his hands dragging up my body the entire way. I opened my eyes to look at him through hooded lids, his gentle caresses already seducing me into a puddle.
He held my eye contact as I stood in merely my underwear. My hands rose to his shoulders, sliding beneath the blazer to push it off. The fabric fell to the floor, soon followed by the shirt he’d pulled on earlier as it interrupted our eye contact when he tugged it over his head.
“Lie down,” he instructed, his voice low. I sucked in a breath as I obeyed, lying down on the middle of his bed. He moved to the foot of the bed, kicking off his shoes. He never dropped my eye contact as his hands moved to his waist to undo his belt. I could feel my chest expanding more than usual thanks to my heavy breathing as I watched him undo his jeans and tug them down, leaving him in his boxers. He bent forward, leaning on his hands as he started to crawl up the bed toward me. I sat up, propping myself up on my elbows as I watched him. He held my gaze the entire time until he dropped his head to my thigh, his lips pressing into the skin there just like he’d done to my chest. A trail of kisses moved up my leg, heating my skin the entire way as he moved closer and closer to where I ached for him. I resisted the urge to let my eyes close again as his lips trailed over my hip, brushing over the thin fabric that remained between he and I. He kissed me again, getting tantalizingly low before shifting to trail a line of kisses up my stomach. I let out a quiet sigh as I watched the way the muscles in his back shifted beneath his skin when he moved, the strain of holding him up causing them to appear firmer than ever. His lips moved higher until they crossed my breast again, causing my back to arch enough to allow him to slip a hand behind me and release the clasp of my bra. Slowly, he pulled the strap off my shoulder, his lips following the fabric until it was pulled completely from me. My bare back collapsed onto the bed, my arms turning to jelly beneath me. I gasped as his lips closed around my nipple, his tongue wetting the surface as it circled slowly around the bud. He sucked lightly, nipping gently with his teeth before running his tongue over it again. I squirmed beneath him as he released it and shifted to press a kiss at the base of my neck. My breathing was ragged already as he brought his face in front of mine. His perfect lips opened to speak once more.
“Let me show you how much I love you.”
A shuddering breath drew through my lips as I barely managed to nod. The tiniest of smiles pulled at his lips before he kissed me once again. His hand trailed up my side, superheating the skin wherever he touched. Our kiss was broken again as he dragged his lips down my neck, pausing to press kisses across my chest and breasts before retracing his path down my stomach. My neck arched and eyes closed involuntarily when his fingers slid beneath the band of fabric covering my hip to tug it down. I felt his lips pull from my skin as he sat back enough to pull the fabric over my thighs, and I opened my eyes to see his lower lip tugged into his mouth when I was fully revealed to him. After tossing my panties to the floor, his eyes darted up to mine one last time before ducking to lower himself between my legs. His palms slid up the sides of my thighs before his hands landed on my hips, the wide expanse of his hands nearly completely covering the surface. I sucked in a breath when he tilted his head to the side and dragged his lips up the inside of my thigh. His breath was hot as it washed over me, though tha
t was nothing when compared to the warmth of his tongue as it dragged up my center. My back arched almost instantly, my body desperately missing the way he touched me. He laid the flat of his tongue against my clit, putting enough pressure on it to cause me to grip handfuls of his hair between my fingers. I blew out a breath as I tried to maintain the control I knew would quickly slip away. My attempts were fruitless, however, as his tongue circled around my clit, setting the nerves on fire. He repeated the motion until I could not physically sit still, my body revolting against my mind under his careful touch. When his lips closed around the bundle of nerves to suck on it lightly, a moan I was unable to stifle pushed through my lips. “Oh my god,” I breathed as he dragged his tongue up my center again, his slow actions quickly undoing me. His fingers pressed firmly into my hips as he let his lips and tongue envelop me and drag me under his spell. Heat built in my stomach, the pressure there quickly adding to the impending end Reece was working me toward. His hair was gripped tighter in my hands as he flicked his tongue across my clit over and over. With one more flick of his tongue, my body came completely undone to him, releasing the pressure and allowing it to flood through my body in a euphoric release. My chest rose and fell heavily as I panted on the bed, Reece’s mouth continuing the delicious torture through my orgasm. When it was over, he finished by pressing a kiss to my hip before pulling his body up mine. I was met immediately by a deep kiss, his tongue pushing into my mouth to allow me to taste myself easily on his tongue. His hips shifted to land between my thighs, the fabric of his boxers causing my sensitive nerves to jump. I felt like my body was made of feathers and air as I tried to control my hands enough to bring them to his sides. My muscles didn’t cooperate very well thanks to what Reece had just done to me, but I finally managed to bring my hands to his hips and grip the single remaining barrier between us. I pushed down on the band and managed to shimmy them over his hips before he obliged and pulled them the rest of the way. My sensitive nerves still hadn’t recovered when I felt him at my entrance. He hovered over me, holding himself up on his elbows while he kissed me. Without even deciding, my hips shifted toward him to allow him to push into me a bit. I let out a heavy sigh at the pressure, my body unaccustomed to the usually-familiar stretch he caused. Slowly, he shifted his hips forward as he pushed into me, giving me time to readjust to him while he filled me completely. My breathing, which was already ragged, became even more so as I felt the delicious stretch. Our kiss slowed, both of us focusing on the incredible feel of being together once again after so much time apart. He held himself up on one arm as his other came to push my hair back, his hand coming to cup my jaw through our lagging kiss. A quiet whimper left my lips as he pulled back, my body immediately missing him inside me. The loss was replaced, however, when he pushed forward again to fill me once more. I was unable to continue the kiss as he moved above me, my uneven breathing and overall distraction with how perfect it felt to finally be with him again making it too difficult. He pinned his forehead to mine as he rolled above me, sliding in and out of me a little easier now that my body had started to remember the way we fit together. His skin was hot beneath my palms, the muscles flexing smoothly as they rolled to allow his fluid actions. My hands roamed over his back and ribs before settling on his hips. I could feel the effortless motion of his hips as he rocked into me, the action mirrored by the overwhelming pleasure I felt inside. He moved slowly, as if savoring every single movement and feeling, making up for the time we had lost together. There would be time for lust-driven, gut-wrenching sex, but now he was careful to keep his actions slow and deep, proving to me how much he loved me just as he promised he would. I could feel every move he made in every nerve in my body, his gentle actions flushing my skin and setting my heart at a fluttering pace. His love for me was clear as he moved, focusing only on making me feel good. Another moan rolled off my lips as he pushed deeper inside me, the way his hips rocked into me making me squirm beneath him. My hips angled up, rising to meet his with every fluid thrust. We moved together, our bodies rising and falling and coming together in the most perfect way imaginable. My body felt like it was on fire as he filled me over and over again, and I relished in our reunion. There was only so much words could do to express emotions, but the way Reece made love to me now expressed more than he could ever say. My nails dug into his back, pressing into his skin as I clutched myself as close as possible. Our chests pressed together, both slick with sweat from the way we moved and the way we both felt. His lips managed to find mine again as he kissed me deeply, the rhythm of his lips and tongue matching that of his hips. My senses were completely overwhelmed by Reece as I felt his touch everywhere. His hand left my face to trail down my body once more, the pads of his fingers pushing into my flesh before settling on my hip. Long fingers were curled around my hip as he gripped it, guiding my motions as they met his. I could feel my muscles tightening and I knew he could too, because he let out a throaty groan at the sensation. Judging by the renewed weight building in the pit of my stomach and the heat already starting to creep through my body, I was very close to my second orgasm. “Reece- ohh my god...”
