Chapter 20

JUSTIN

Justin watched as she walked toward him. He saw the tears on her face and wanted so much to wipe them away, but had no idea what she would do right then if he touched her.

She stopped right in front of him, breathing deeply.

“Justin, did you mean what you said last night? Were you telling me the truth?” she asked.

“Which part?” he asked, feeling stupid, but watching every move she made.

“Were you telling the truth when you said that you didn’t sleep with anyone else while you were gone?” she asked, trying to control her breathing and not start crying again.

Justin softened. “Yes, baby. I thought about you all day, every day. I dreamed about you at night and I’m a little embarrassed to admit I used our time together to get off in the shower.”

Avery blushed and looked down. He lifted his hand to her cheek as he gently moved her head up so he could look in her eyes.

“And I had already planned on being faithful to you while we are together.”

He continued to gently rub her face and look deep into her eyes. She jumped a little when he asked, “How did you end up here, baby?”

“I was just driving around and the next thing I knew I was here. So I got out and sat and started thinking about everything,” Avery admitted.

Justin felt his heart speed up a little. “And did you come to any conclusions about whatever you were thinking about?”

Avery nodded and kept staring at him, not giving anything away as she let him continue to rub her skin.

Justin took a deep breath in. “Are you going to tell me what they are?”

“I want to try with you, Justin. I want to see what this can grow into…,” Avery replied quietly.

Justin’s heart almost exploded, and he leaned in and gently kissed her, deepening it when he felt her hands on his chest, gently grabbing on his leather cut.

He didn’t want to scare her by going too fast and let his tongue tease hers for a few moments before pulling back, pulling her into a tight hug and rubbing her back.

He closed his eyes in contentment when she laid her head against his broad chest.

AVERY

Avery held on to him and felt the feeling of being completely safe come rushing back to her. She softly sighed and just let him hold her.

“How did you know I was here?” Avery asked.

“I’ll be honest with you. I was still having Cole keep an eye on you. I wanted to make sure you were okay even if you wanted nothing to do with me,” Justin admitted.

Avery looked up at him. “Thank you for that…”

His lips lifted in a half smile. “It was purely selfish on my part.”

Avery gave a smile back. “Well, I don’t mind.”

Justin placed a kiss on the top of her head.

“I know that the things Kiki talked to you about really freaked you out, baby, so any time you have a question, please ask it. I will answer you as honestly as I can.”

Avery nodded. “They did, Justin. There are just some things that I have to wrap my brain around, and you saying that I can ask you things really helps.

“I know you can’t tell me everything and that is okay, just be honest with me. You have to promise me one thing, though.”

“What’s that, baby?” Justin asked eagerly.

“Don’t hurt me, Justin... I know trying to get over you would just about kill me,” Avery begged.

“I promise you, Avery Harper, that I will never do anything to hurt you,” he vowed, then sealed his promise with a kiss.

Avery felt the emotion behind his kiss and prayed that this would work because she knew that trying to get over Justin Mariner would be just as bad as grieving for her father.

They stood together for a few more minutes before he pulled back. “I have to get back home to Lexi, baby. Are you going to be okay getting home?”

Avery smiled. “Yes, I will be okay. Are you gonna have Cole follow me some more?”

Justin chuckled. “Yes. He will be shadowing you from now on. Is that okay?”

Avery nodded. “Yeah, that’s okay. Cole’s a nice guy.”

Justin smiled, then kissed her forehead while rubbing her arms. He called out, “Cole!”

“Yes, sir,” Cole replied, running over to them.

“Please make sure Avery gets home okay, then you can head out,” Justin instructed, still staring into her eyes.

Cole replied something back, but she didn’t catch it. She was lost looking into his eyes. The spell was broken when he took her hand and started walking her back to her car.

He opened the driver’s side door then pulled her in for another kiss, making her a little dizzy.

“I’ll text you later, okay?” he said, releasing her, and she nodded. He helped her into the seat, watched her buckle the seatbelt, then closed the door. She drove away with a wave.