Chapter Sixty-Two

A/N: FYI, I lied. this isn't the last chapter. I really tried but couldn't wrap the ending up in less than 2k words. enjoy.

---

*Eighteen months later*

I woke to the feeling of the early morning summer sun on my skin and Aiden's mouth pressing kisses to my neck and shoulders in a not so subtle attempt at waking me up.

It had been eighteen long months since the police shot Noah and ended the nightmare that had become my life. An autopsy would later confirm that a single bullet had passed through his chest, nicking the pulmonary artery. With how fast Noah's heart had initially been beating, the blood had been pumped out like it was a geyser. He was dead almost instantly and there was nothing anyone would have been able to do about it.

Unsurprisingly, the Winters tried to sue the police department but the evidence against their son had been overwhelming. However, throughout the whole ordeal, from the hours of interviews with police and lawyers to the inquiry into the police's conduct in my cases, I was never given an apology. In all honesty, I hadn't expected one from the Winters or the police so it really came as no surprise that even when it was determined that whilst Noah's death was justified and the police were found negligent, that not a single member of the Winters family or the police acknowledged me; the person who had been tortured and tormented by a psychopath and then nearly murdered.

But I was relieved if I'm honest. While no one would offer me a single ounce of remorse, it meant I could begin to shake the mantle of victim. I had spent too long in hospitals being repaired again and again. I had suffered too many sleepless nights and panic attacks. I had been scared for far too long. I was done with it all and while the scars (both physical and mental) would probably never really fade, I could at least start to take my life back.

Through it all Aiden had been by my side, letting me steer our relationship. It had been difficult to let him in again at first but not because of anything he had done. After that night where Noah had tried to kill me, I was in a dark place. That isn't surprising given what had happened but I had nothing left to give anyone. It seemed that every part of me had been broken down and hollowed out just the way Noah intended. It took a long time to find the energy to start putting the pieces back together as well. Even now there are still moments when the darkness creeps in and the cracks show a little more clearly. Aiden waited patiently though. He let me wallow in the darknesses and then helped me put the pieces back together bit by bit, never pressuring me, never trying to get me to move on at a pace faster than I was ready for.

It was Aiden who was there in those hours when the night was at its darkest, when the silence was its heaviest. It was him that stayed with me when sleep wouldn’t come or (when sleep did come) the nightmares. He never judged, he never once tried to play down my trauma nor did he ever lose his temper with me. He was simply there, slowly leading me back into the light.

"I know you're awake." Aiden murmured against my neck between kisses. "We said we wouldn't spend all day in bed."

"I know we said that but doesn't mean we wouldn't do it." I joked before rolling over onto my other side so I was now facing him, taking in those blue green eyes and warm smile. “Morning.”

“Morning.” Aiden murmured, leaning in to kiss me properly.

I met him halfway, sighing in content as I felt his lips meld into mine, the heat of his hand scorching my skin as it travelled over my naked back and side. I was certain I could live a thousand lives and I would never tire of the way Aiden touched me. He set my skin on fire and sent sparks of electricity through me all at the same time and lord, that mouth…

“Stop trying to distract me, Ellie.” He groaned as I kissed along his neck teasingly, smiling to myself when his breathing hitched. “Fuck it.”

I gasped as I found myself on my back, Aiden’s body caging me in. His mouth was on mine almost immediately in a crushing, heart stopping kiss. I parted my lips immediately to let his tongue in to wrestle with mine while my hands ran over Aiden’s naked shoulders and back before ending up in his hair. I could feel his hardness pressed against my core and I felt the thrill of arousal in me at the thought that I did this to him, that I turned him into this horny sexy adonis. He never feared showing me how much he wanted me, always made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world…

“Aren’t we going to be late?” I asked breathlessly as Aiden pressed hot open-mouthed kisses to my neck and chest.

“Uh-huh.” He mumbled but showed no signs of stopping.

I cried out when he entered me in one thrust, my body quivering in pleasure as he filled me. Our eyes locked as Aiden built up a rhythm that had the room filling up with my cries of pleasure and the sound of skin on skin. I leaned up to kiss him hungrily, needing to feel every inch of his skin on mine but knowing it would never be enough. I simply couldn’t get enough of Aiden.

I nearly cried out in protest when he pulled out but Aiden had no intentions of stopping. He sat up, sliding his arms under me to pull me up with him so I was straddling him. I sighed in satisfaction when he slid back into me, his hands guiding my hips down until he filled me to the hilt, managing to fill me all the more. His mouth found mine again as his hands guided my hips into a rhythm, my backside bouncing on the tops of his thighs every time I came down.

I succumb to the pleasure building in me, pooling and twisting in my core as we chased after our releases. Aiden’s lips found my nipple, suckling and teasing it. My head fell back, my back arching to push myself into Aiden’s mouth as my climax hit its peak, exploding within me.

I cried out, my hips bucking, driving down onto Aiden’s length as I came. The heat of my climax had me shuddering. Aiden’s found his own climax a split second later, fingers digging into the flesh my hips as he empty his seed into me.

“I love you.” He whispered as we collapsed back onto the bed, still tangled in each other's arms.

“I love you too.” I murmured back.

I could have easily have stayed there in that little AirBnB and continued making love but we needed to get back to Oregon. A week away hadn’t been enough but Liam and Aiden’s construction business, plus the bar, were still relatively young projects and Liam couldn’t handle it all by himself even if he had Kyle and Tammy there for support. The fact we had been allowed to get away at all was a miracle but one we had needed.

“So home?” I asked when we had finished getting dressed and packed up.

“Yes but I want to take you somewhere first.” Aiden replied, grabbing the keys to his truck. “It’s on the way, don’t worry.”

“Oh I’m not worried.” I smiled. “It’s not my ass getting kicked by Liam because we’re home late.”

Aiden chuckled and shook his head. “Trust me, I can handle it.”

It was early enough that we didn’t hit traffic which was just as well because we had about a seven hour drive ahead of us. Part of our adventure had been the road trip itself but I would be glad when it was over. I wondered how Liam was getting on with decorating the new place. I was excited to see it.

After everything that had happened, we couldn’t stay in the house we had grown up in. It had never really been a house full of good memories anyway but this time it had been too much. So Liam had sold the house and cashed in on that inheritance. That had given us the money to start afresh in any way we pleased. The thought of leaving Oregon for good did cross our minds and there were plenty of late night discussions about it but we couldn’t do it. This was where we grew up, this was where our friends were. Neither of us could let that go.

So instead of buying new places apart from each other, Liam, Aiden and I bought some land and decided to build our homes. I was happy with one of those flatpack creations but Aiden and Liam had been less than impressed by my lack of faith in their construction skills and vetoed me immediately. I have to say, I wasn’t upset about being proven wrong either. Just three months ago, the houses were finished. They were far enough away that we had privacy from each other when we needed it but also close enough that I could see my brother every day and work on building our relationship back up. We had left Liam to decorate and a promise we’d be back.

“Okay,” Aiden announced after about an hour of driving, pulling over to a layby near the beach. “Come on, the surprise is just over this way.”

“Is this your sly way of getting a chance to go surfing again?” I teased as I got out of the truck, slipping my flip-flops off to walk across the hot white sand barefooted.

“Haha, no.” Aiden rolled his eyes playfully and took my hand. “I just thought this would be a perfect place to come.”

“Well, it is beautiful.” I breathed, turning away to watch the cerulean waves crash and lap against the creamy sand.

A breeze was cutting across the ocean, taking the edge of the heat from the sun. There wasn’t a cloud in sight and gulls hovered on the air currents created by the wind and rising heat. It was truly beautiful here. There was an odd sense of peace that you only really ever found in places like this as if the rest of the world no longer existed and it was just you, the sun, the sand and the ocean. However, that didn’t really explain why Aiden wanted to come here and why it had to be on our last day of our vacation and on the way home.

That was until I turned around, a gasp of shock leaving me.