ANNIKA
The sky is bruised with shades of violet and coral, the sun dipping behind the mountains in a spectacular, final flourish. I breathe in the cool air, heavy with the scent of pine and something else - a clean, masculine scent that is pure Kai. We’re sitting on the sprawling deck of his house, a fortress built of stone and glass high in the remote Colorado mountains, watching the world fade to dusk.
A few days have passed since the takedown at the warehouse. The police have the local operator, the evidence is secured, and Rya is safe with Miller. There are more names on the list, and we know the mission isn’t over yet, but right here, right now… I’m beyond content to take a break from the danger and enjoy this moment of peace.
Kai is sitting beside me, massive and warm, his hand resting on my thigh in a constant, comforting weight. He insists I take the most comfortable chair, the warmest blanket, and the better glass of wine. He’s been like this since we got back: doting, attentive, and so incredibly gentle that my heart aches with the sheer novelty of it.
Every small scrape he tends to, every home-cooked meal he prepares, every time he whispersmineinto my hair, it’s morelove and attention than I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. My parents never saw me as anything more than a side project who ultimately disappointed them, but Kai looks at me like I’m his whole damn universe.
I take a slow sip of my wine, the warmth spreading through my chest. I tilt my head to look at him. His strong jaw is relaxed, his dark eyes fixed on the horizon, but I know his mind isn’t on the sunset. He’s always watching, always protecting.
A soft, genuine smile touches my lips. I picture him in this very moment, but older, with silver threading his close-shaved hair, a tiny version of him - a boy with his dark eyes and my rounded cheeks - crawling onto his knee. I can see the brutal, possessive alpha transforming into the world’s most protective, most caring father, teaching our children how to be safe and how to love fiercely. The thought sends a wave of fierce warmth through me, settling deep in my core.
“What’s so funny, little flower?” Kai’s gravelly voice rumbles, pulling me from the fantasy. He turns his head, his eyes piercing through the twilight and locking onto mine. “You’ve got that mischievous look on your face. Tell me.”
I take a deep breath, the confession feeling massive and terrifying now that the words are about to leave my lips. I reach out and cover the hand he has resting on my back, tracing the hard, scarred knuckles with my thumb.
“I was just picturing you,” I admit, the words a nervous, quiet rush. “I was thinking about us, you know, five years from now. I saw you, right here, but with a little one on your knee. A son, maybe, who looks like you, all dark eyes and that big, serious jaw, but with my round cheeks.”
I bite my lip, waiting for him to respond in some way. When he doesn’t say anything, I keep rambling.
“I pictured you being a father, Kai. The fierce, over-the-top, protective alpha kind of dad. I pictured us building a family here.”
The moment stretches, thick and suffocating. Kai doesn’t move. His hand, warm against my thigh, goes completely rigid beneath my own. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t grunt. He just stares at the mountains, his face a perfect, unreadable mask of granite.
My heart starts to hammer against my ribs, a frantic, desperate rhythm.Oh, God. I’ve done it now.The silence is screaming, confirming every insecurity my parents ever planted in my head. He’s horrified. I pushed too fast, moved too far into the future, ruined the perfect bubble we found. He’s going to tell me I’m being too much again, just like my mother always did. The familiar sting of rejection pricks behind my eyes.
“I-I’m sorry,” I rush to say, trying to backpedal. “It was just a ridiculous fantasy. I shouldn’t have said anything. I know that’s not… that’s not what you…”
Before I can finish the retreat, the tension in his face cracks. His dark eyes soften, the hard line of his mouth lifts, and his features break out into the most glorious, genuine smile I have ever seen. It’s huge and utterly breathtaking, lighting up the twilight like a thousand suns.
He pulls his hand from my thigh and pats his massive knee once, a silent but absolute command. “Come here, little flower.”
I slide out of my chair and immediately settle onto his lap, facing away from the sunset and toward him. His arms, thick and solid, wrap around my waist, anchoring me in place.
Kai turns my face toward his, tilting my chin up with the pad of his thumb. His eyes are shining, not with horror, but with a profound, consuming tenderness.
“Annika,” he murmurs, his voice a low, gravelly promise. “You don’t have to apologize for dreaming about our forever.That vision? A boy with my eyes and your heart? That’s all I’ve been picturing for the last few days since you came into my space. The house is too damn quiet without the thought of your voice, and maybe a few tiny voices, filling it up.”
My breath hitches, a gasp of pure, dizzying relief and happiness. “You have no idea,” I whisper, running my fingers over his cheekbone, “how much I needed to hear that.”
“The only thing terrifying about that picture is how long it’s going to take to make it real,” he replies, his eyes darkening with a different kind of intensity. “I want it all with you, Annika. The kids, the flower shop, the whole damn messy, beautiful life.”
He dips his head, and our lips meet. The kiss is sweet, a confirmation of the future, a sealing of a shared dream. But the taste of forever ignites a need deeper than mere sweetness. My hands slide into his close-cut hair, pulling him closer, demanding more. I stop kissing him to whisper, “Show me,” the words a desperate prayer.
The air thickens. The innocent kiss is gone, replaced by a deep, consuming hunger. Kai groans, a possesively, and his arms tighten around me, pulling me impossibly flush against his hardening body. His mouth is suddenly ruthless, claiming mine with a desperate need that matches my own.
The formidable tower of a man stands with me in his arms, his lips still locked on mine. I hang onto his powerful shoulders, then whimper when he sets me down in front of the porch railing. Kai breaks the kiss, smirking at my desperate cry. He trails his lips down my jaw, licking and nipping at my neck, then grips my hips in a punishing hold and spins me around so my back is to his front.
Kai’s rough hand slides under my shirt and pulls the cup of my bra down so he can tease my breast. His other hand snakes lower, his fingers teasing me and rubbing my swollen bundle of nerves. Then he pinches my clit and sinks his teeth into myshoulder. I have to put my hand over my mouth to keep me from crying out.
Kai chuckles.
“No one can hear us. Scream for me, Annika. I want to hear you fall apart.” He nibbles my ear lobe while I reach back to spear my fingers through his hair.
He continues to rub my clit in long, lazy strokes. I jerk my hips every time he bumps my hard nub.
“I love how wet you are for me, love feeling your sweet honey dripping all over my fingers,” Kai murmurs right before thrusting two fingers inside of me.
