Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“Open.”
He obeyed, and I brushed his teeth and made sure I didn’t get close to the cut in the corner of his mouth. He watched me; I watched him. My God, I loved him. And all that he was. Right now, he was actually both the soldier and the boy. He had his cute pajama bottoms I’d given him, the carefree smile, happiness in his eyes, and all the marks from today’s sparring. The beginnings of a black eye.
“Don’t renew the lease on your apartment,” I murmured.
He backed away to spit and rinse, and he turned the water colder. “Why?” he asked quietly in between sips.
“Because I don’t want you to go back there,” I answered. “I…” Fuck. This was harder than I thought it would be. I’d never put my heart on the line before. I swallowed my nerves and handed him the toothbrush. “I don’t even wanna see you take on solo assignments.”
He turned off the water and reached for a towel to wipe his mouth. It’d been a while since he’d eyed me with such wariness. “Can you spell it out for me, please?”
Whatever you want.
“I wanna spend the rest of my life with you,” I admitted. “I could—you know…I could talk to the higher-ups and say I’m not doing any more solos either. You and I can be a unit, just like the twins will be one day.”
He straightened up and tested a small smile. “You want us to work together when I graduate?”
“And live together.”
He swallowed. The wariness faded, and I received another glimpse of hope in his eyes.
It gave me the strength to continue, and I gestured vaguely at the apartment. “I know this isn’t a farm with a bunch of rescue animals, but it could be eventually.”
Oh, thank fuck. Danny lit up, and I felt a fuck-ton of tension roll off my shoulders.
He snuck his arms around my middle and peered up at me. “That’s all I want. Because I’m so fucking in love with you, Em.”
Goddamn.
I drew a steadying breath as a storm of emotions and relief raged within me, raising goose bumps in its wake, plastering a ridiculous smile on my lips, and I cupped his face in my hands and rested our foreheads together.
“You beat me to it, brat.” I brushed my thumbs over his cheeks and kissed him gently. “I love you so fucking much. Hell—you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Fuck yes,” he whispered and kissed me hard.
I chuckled and dialed things down, because I was the only one who gave a fuck about his injuries.
“Careful, baby.”
“I don’t wanna be careful, Daddy,” he whined. “My ass is unharmed, for the record. You could tear that up.”
Oh, I would.
But first, I had to give the emotions a chance to run their course. I smiled like an idiot and peppered his face with kisses.
“It’s you and me, you got that?” I murmured. “You’re my home, and I’m yours.”
He nodded and buried his face against my neck. “I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you.”
I let out a long breath and finally felt everything settle within me. The sense of liberation was just…so overwhelming and freeing. And solid like armor. This was what I’d needed.
“You’re my life,” I whispered into his hair.
He peered up at me and kissed my jaw. “And you’re mine. I’ll call my landlord tomorrow. I have better things to spend my savings on.”
I grinned softly and touched his cheek. “More video games and kitchen shit?”
He narrowed his eyes at me, failing to hide his amusement. “A blender and an ice-cream maker don’t qualify as shit. And no.” He slipped his hands up my chest and around my neck. “We have a farm to save up for.”
We sure fucking did.
We met in another kiss, but I wasn’t sure I did a good job of seducing him. I was too distracted by the sheer relief—and the moment changed things between us. It solidified what’d already transpired; the ink dried on the pages we’d written together. And now we could face forward. The future belonged to us. I’d make sure we’d get the same deal the twins had. I needed Danny by my side at work too. Our fields of expertise lined up, so I saw no reason for Terrance to deny me. Danny would make an excellent security detail, whether we extracted victims or information. He’d see enough combat to satisfy the soldier in him.
We’d be each other’s strengths out there.
“I want you to meet my family,” I admitted against his lips.
He swallowed and nodded once. “I’m ready to bribe your nieces and nephews.”
I chuckled and nuzzled his nose with mine. “They’re easy. All it takes is candy and a cool bedtime story.”
“Oh. I’m good to go, then.” He got smirky. “I’ll share the story of Emerson Payne.”