chapter nineteen

Chapter nineteen

Max had come out to call Regan in when he saw a very drenched Elena bounding down the walkway. She took the briefest moment to spare Regan a glance before she resumed her walking. She handed the grocery bags to Max who stood at the door. He gave her a knowing wink and headed inside. Maxwell was the henchman of the Leroy family he was in on almost every discussion and plan that they had.

Regan took out his phone and tried his best to look unaffected by the lady who was approaching him under the pounding rain. It was torture to keep his eyes away from her beautiful body that was clad in rain-drenched clothes, exposing almost every curve and dip a man would want to get his hands on.

Her hands came together below her waist and her fingers became entwined, an unconscious sign to let Regan know that she was nervous. "Regan."

He could not resist anymore when she stepped into the patio and called his name. he lifted his head to look at her but he said nothing to respond to her. She pressed her lips together to stop her teeth from chattering. She stepped closer to him and drew in a deep breath and released it in a sigh, "I'm sorry."

"For?" he asked with his left brow perked up. This came sooner than he expected.

"For everything, for being rude to you. I know-"

"Elena…"

She raised her hand to stop him from speaking. Her chest was heaving and if she didn't let it all out now, she might not get the courage to do it again. "Let me finish, Regan. I…" her voice trailed, her lips trembled and her eyes became clouded. The back of her throat stung.

Regan stood up and took a few cautious steps towards her. "I love you Reggie." Her voice came out in coarse whispers and Regan's brow shot up in surprise, he clearly hadn't expected this much. This sudden confession left his jaw dangling.

"I love you and it scares me. It scares me because I am not enough for you. Connor did really unbelievable things to me. He raped me, time and time again…" she choked on her words and squealed a sob, "I have had an abortion I didn't consent to because he wasn't ready to be a father yet. I wanted to keep him, I swear I did. He threatened to hurt me if I ever confide in anyone. I never even told my parents about it. I don't know…" she looked up at him with her tear painted face. "The past week has really been tough for me because I have feelings for you and I don't know how to deal with it" she sniffed and wiped her face with her wet sleeve, the rain pounding heavily around them in the patio.

She straightened her back and steeled her voice as much as she could. "You don't have to return my feelings. I know I don't even belong in your league."

Regan remained glued to the spot his ears were humming as different emotions passed through him. Connor had some tough courage to have put his woman in that kind of situation.

His woman.

He looked at the petit figure that stood meekly in-front of him, bracing herself for rejection. He was going to keep his anger for later, the little Greek needed comfort. He stepped closer to her and cupped her face in his hands, "Perle, you love me?"

She tried to take her face away from his hands but they held her in place. She lowered her eyelids and said, "Yes and-"

Regan straightened up to his full glory, his heart swelling at the confession she had made twice in a row. With a confident smile he demanded, "Shut up and kiss me."

Her lashes flared open with a feeling she couldn't quite tell. Her doe eyes searched his. She raised herself on the tip of her toes and without thinking she slammed her cold, pale lips on his.

He leaned in closer to her when he felt her knees shake with the slightest wobble. His hand reached out to her waist to pull her closer to him, making sure that there was little to no space left between them. His lips moved slowly against hers, rubbing off the cold in them, gently reassuring her that he would always be there for her. He deepened the kiss and poked his tongue at her. She opened up effortlessly and her hands flew behind his head and her fingers tangled themselves with his silky mass of red hair. His tongue sought hers and they tagged each other playfully. She smiled into the kiss with her eyes closed. Regan bit her lower lip to hear her gasp then he sucked on it to soothe the pain. He broke the kiss and tipped her chin up. "Look at me Elena. I don't know what Connor made you think about yourself. I don't care. I love you. I always have, from the day I met you at my Resort almost a month ago. And nothing – not even your past or Connor can – change that. Do you know how long I have waited to hear you say those words? I am not letting you go." His honey colored eyes bored into her mahogany pools with so much intensity.

A lone tear slipped her lashes and trailed down her cheeks. She sniffed and reached to push back a strand of crimson from his face which she had made to come undone earlier, "No matter what?" she asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"no matter what." He hugged her tightly not minding her wet clothes. She shivered and he said, "Let's get you in and changed up before you catch a cold, Perle."