❦Kate❦

"Remember that delicious chocolate truffle cake we had in Catalina Island?" I asked Jason the next morning. He was sitting beside me on the bed as he typed out a work email on his phone.

"What about it?"

"I wish I could have it right now." I said wistfully thinking of the rich dessert. It was the best truffle cake I had ever had and I was craving it so bad.

Jason grinned and started dialing a number. I watched in disbelief as he called Andrea and told her to have his pilots fly to Catalina Island to buy the cake in question.

"I can't believe you just did that." I said incredulously when he ended the call. "I know you would do anything for me, but this is just plain ridiculous."

"Nothing ridiculous about wanting to make your every wish come true, baby."

His words warmed me but I was still too stunned by his actions. "I'm sure chocolate truffle cake is available in every bakery here. There's no need to send a jet to a freaking island to get it."

A slight smirk tugged at his lips. "But you don't want just any truffle cake. You want the one we ate in Catalina."

I sighed in exasperation. "I give up."

"Good." Grinning, he leaned forward to brush his lips over mine. Just then there was a knock on the door and Dr. Parker walked in followed by Nurse Amari. Dr. Parker asked me some questions about how I was feeling and told me he would need to run some more tests on me that day.

While he talked to Jason, Nurse Amari went about checking my vitals and changing my IV. All through that, I found myself unable tear my gaze away from Jason. Today, he was dressed in just a plain grey t-shirt and faded jeans. Even dressed so casually, he had an air of authority around him, an allure that never failed to captivate me.

As I watched him, I was struck again by how deeply I was in love with him. It wasn't just his devastatingly sexy looks. I loved everything about him. His personality, his kindness, his humor and intelligence. The way he took care of me, pampered me, gave me priority over everything else in his life. I even loved how he treated my mom, Paige and Hal, like they were family. He was the kind of man most women could only dream about and I was lucky enough to call him mine.

After Dr. Parker and Nurse Amari left, I had lunch and then Jason took me out into the garden. Ignoring my protests that I could walk, he made me sit in a wheel chair and wheeled me out along with the IV pole. Dr. Parker recommended it was good for me to get fresh air.

It was such a beautiful afternoon and there were only a few other patients in the garden.

Jason sat on one of the benches and lifted my feet on to his lap. "Dr. Parker said you can go home in a week." He said as he worked my feet with his thumb. It felt so good and I sighed in pleasure. No matter how innocent his touch was, it had the power to send all of my senses into overdrive.

"That's great." I murmured distracted by the sensations coursing through me. Suddenly I was reminded of something I had been meaning to ask him. "So what's going to happen to Michael and Andy?" Even saying their names brought a sick feeling to my gut.

Jason's fingers stilled for a moment before he resumed the massage. "You don't need to worry about that, baby."

The previous evening Nik had come to visit and both him and Jason had explained to me that they were not involving the cops. They wanted to keep a lid on everything and not risk any media attention, so they were handling it privately. Jason, Nathan and Nik were three of the most influential people in the world with powerful friends so I knew they could make things go however they wanted. So, I hadn't asked any questions.

But now I was curious. "Where are they?"

"Their whereabouts are irrelevant." He said slowly, giving me the impression that he was carefully choosing his words. "What matters is that they are never going to harm you, or anyone else, ever again."

A glint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes as he said it and I felt a sudden, involuntary chill go down my spine. I swallowed hard. "What did you do to them?"

His expression warned me not to ask questions. "Drop it, baby."

I couldn't. "Did you kill them?" I blurted out, not really believing he could do that. But I had to ask. His evasiveness was making me anxious.

"No."

I knew he was telling the truth. I trusted him enough to know that he would never lie to me. But there was something in his eyes that made me ask the next question. "Did you have them killed?"

He was silent, just studying me from those beautiful eyes. His gorgeous face was impassive and I wished I knew what he was thinking. "They dared to fuck with what's mine." He said finally. "And nobody gets away with it. So, yes."

I was stunned. Not because he admitted to it but the way it made me feel. I expected to feel horror or even fear but it was a sense of relief that flashed through me. It felt as if a heaviness had been lifted.

Everything Michael and Andy did to me kept relaying in my head. Andy's betrayal, Michael's beatings, how he violated my body. Maybe they didn't deserve to be killed for that. But they were the reason my unborn baby was dead. Even thinking of that made tears of pain sting my eyes.

Jason swore softly under his breath and moved, cupping my face and kissing my tears away. "Please don't cry, baby. I can't bear to see you like this." He caressed my cheeks with his thumbs. "I feared you wouldn't take it well. I shouldn't have told you."

I sniffled looking at the man who would do anything for me, go out of his way to protect me. He was tense, his face anxious, as if he thought I was crying because of what he did. He couldn't be more wrong.

"They killed our baby." My voice was raw from the pain. "They got what they deserved."

Some of the tension left him and he pressed his lips to my forehead. I wrapped my good arm around his neck and leaned into him, glad for his strength. I knew we were both thinking about the baby we lost. We hadn't talked about it because it was too painful to discuss but if we were going to get past it, I knew we had to talk.

"Do you think the baby would have been a boy?" I murmured into his neck.

His body went tense for a brief moment before relaxing. "I imagine an angelic little girl who would have had me wrapped around her finger. Just like her mother."

"Yeah? Well, I imagine a little boy who would have had women falling for his charm even as a baby. Just like his father."

I felt him grin against my hair and an answering smile touched my face. We stayed like that for a moment, both of us lost in thoughts.

When he finally drew away, we saw Ben standing a few feet away, waiting. Jason nodded at him and he came towards us, carrying two white bakery boxes stacked on top of each other.

Jason took the boxes from him and flashed me a quick sexy smile. "Your chocolate truffle cake is here, baby."

❦ ❦ ❦

Ten days later, Dr. Parker ran some tests and announced that I was fit enough to be discharged.

"You'll have to come back in a week to remove the plaster cast." He said referring to the cast on my left wrist. "The X-rays show your ribs are healing quite well. You can be as active as you want as long as you don't put pressure on your chest. I'll prescribe you some painkillers, in case you need them."

I was ecstatic. Even though my stay at the hospital had been lovely, I couldn't wait to get home and sleep in my own bed. "Thank you, doctor." I smiled shaking his hand. "For everything."

"You're very welcome." He nodded with a smile of his own. He checked his chart and continued. "I'll send Nurse Amari in to take your vitals and get you ready."

An hour later, I was dressed in an oversized shirt and jeans and ready to leave. Mom and Paige were packing my things in a bag while Hal sat with me on the couch in the room.

"No man on earth should look that sexy." Hal, who was sitting beside me, said in a low voice. He grinned and nodded towards the open door of my room. Jason was standing just outside talking on the phone.

Laughing, I swatted his arm. "Stop ogling him."

"Can you blame me? Look at him." He grinned. "That gorgeous man worships the ground you walk on. You're so lucky to have someone who loves you as much as he does."

"I know. He is the best thing that ever happened to me." I murmured watching him adoringly. He had gone to the office in the morning so he was dressed in a black suit with an open collar white shirt. As usual, he looked downright edible.

"I ran into Peter yesterday." Hal's voice broke my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"He was with that assistant of his. It looked like they were on a date. She had the same engagement ring he gave you on her finger."

"Good for him. He deserves to be happy." I was genuinely happy to know he had moved on.

Hal made a face and I laughed in exasperation. "Just because you don't like him doesn't mean he does not deserve happiness."

"It's hard to feel happy for him. He was horrible to you."

"Well..."

"Don't even try to deny it. He was emotionally abusive, telling you what to wear, who to hang out with. And let's not forget, he was selfish in bed."

"Hal." I smacked his arm, but couldn't stop myself from laughing. "I shouldn't have told you that." I quickly checked to see if mom and Paige were listening to our conversation but they were out of earshot.

He grinned. "All I'm saying is, I'm glad you didn't marry him. Imagine having to spend your life with someone who is shitty in bed."

Jason walked up to us right at that moment and from the amused look on his face, I knew he had heard what Hal said. I flushed and even Hal looked flustered.

To my relief, Jason didn't make a comment on it. "Ready to go?" He traced the back of his knuckles on my cheek and asked with a smile that made my heart flutter every single time.

"Yeah."

He kept his arm around me as we exited the hospital from the back entrance. Ben was waiting with a black Rolls Royce and mom and Paige climbed into it while Hal got into his own car.

"You're riding with me." Jason said steering me towards a sleek metallic blue Bugatti Chiron that was parked near. He helped me inside and put my seat belt on before jogging to the other side and getting in the driver's seat. He drove the powerful car with ease, one hand resting lightly on the steering wheel. He kept his other hand on my knee, in a gesture that was sweet and possessive at the same time.

It was half way through the ride that I realized that we were heading to downtown LA instead of to Sherman Oaks where I lived. "I thought you were taking me home." I shot him a confused look.

"I am."

"But you're driving in the wrong direction."

He sent me a sideways grin. "I don't think so."

It took me a few seconds to realize what was going on. "You're taking me to your place, aren't you?"

"Our place."

I couldn't keep the smile off my face. "Is this your way of asking me to move in with you?"

He stopped at a red light, then angled his body to face me. "I'm not asking you, baby. I'm telling you." He lifted his hand and touched me, sliding his fingers along my jaw and cupping my nape. "You're moving in with me and it's not up for discussion."

The slow way he was caressing my nape combined with the intense way he was looking at me made my heart race. "There it is. Your inner control freak." I teased him with a smile. "I was wondering when it would make an appearance."

"You like my inner control freak." The corners of his lips tugged upwards in a smirk. "Admit it."

"I like everything about you."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I know you'll never force me to do something I don't want to do. And I can't think of anything more I want right now than moving in with you."

His expression revealed how immensely pleased he was hearing me say that.

"But we'll have to stop by my place and pick up some of my stuff."

"We can do that tomorrow after you've rested. I'll take you in the afternoon. Is that okay?"

I nodded. We spent the rest of the drive talking and the entire time he kept his hand on my knee. It was as if he couldn't go one second without touching me.

After pulling into the private garage of his building, he got out and jogged to the passenger side. "I have a surprise for you." He said as he helped me out.

"A surprise?"

"Yeah. Sort of a welcome home gift."

"There's no need..."

He cut me off by pressing a quick kiss to my lips. "Don't say no, please." He murmured against my lips, then pulled out a small rectangular box from his pocket. "Go ahead, open it."

He had the box on his open palm and using one hand I took the lid off. Nestled in black velvet was a key. I looked up at his face in surprise, then down at the key before looking up at his face again. "You bought me a car?" My voice betrayed the shock I felt.

"Not just any car, baby. Your dream car." He took me by the shoulders and turned me to face the other side of the garage. My mouth dropped open when I saw the red LaFerrari with a shiny gold bow on it.

It took several seconds for me to find my voice. "I...uh...I don't know what to say."

He wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my shoulder. "You can just tell me if you like it."

"I do. I love it. But this is too much. I mean it's one of the most expensive cars in the world." I gulped in some air. "I just don't feel comfortable with you wasting your money on me like this."

"It's not a waste. What good is the money I make if I can't pamper you?"

"But..."

"No buts." He said firmly and then turned me around to face him. "I know you don't feel comfortable accepting gifts but that's going to have to change." He told me gently. "I want to give you the world, baby. Just don't fight me on this, please."

I was touched by his words and the love I saw reflected in his eyes. I knew this meant a lot to him and I didn't want to disappoint him. And being with him meant I would have to get used to his extravagant gifts. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to seem ungrateful. It's just that I'm really overwhelmed right now. But I love it, really."

He exhaled as if he had been holding his breath in anticipation of my response. "Want to sit in the car and check it out?"

I nodded. "But let me thank you first." I murmured rising on tiptoe to kiss him. I poured everything I felt into it and heard him groan as he deepened the kiss. And just like always, I lost myself in his taste.