“Why?” I ask him confused as to why he’s worried about us fitting in there, now.
“Sadie,” He stands up, gripping onto my shoulders and looks me in the eyes, just as serious. “Just do me this, please. Once I finish it, I’ll explain…”
“Okay.” I move towards the wall and step inside of it. I’m actually quite surprised. He’s cut away one of the horizontal beams so I’m able to stand up. I hear him from below me and I look down seeing his head poking inside of it.
“Good.” He smiles up, “enough room.” He holds up his hand to help me back out.
“Okay, now what is that for?”
“When someone breaks in.”
“When?” I ask him. His shoulders tense.
“Look.” He says, not answering my question, but he moves the wall back into place and shows me how to make it look like it belongs. “Slip this into the other half of the hinge. And then just let it down. Just make sure to do it gently so it doesn’t bounce out any.” I nod my head. He stands up and walks past me back into the bedroom.
Tossing my arms out in awhat the fuckgesture before I follow him back into the bedroom. “And again, what did you mean by when?”
He sighs before he turns around and sits down on the bed. “Come here.” He motions with his index and middle fingers for me to come across the room to him. He slides back onto the bed until the backs of his knees are at the end and he reaches up for my hand again. He gently pulls my hand, motioning for me to get as close to him as possible. I smirk, biting my lip, and I move up, straddling his lap. Looking up at me, he cups my face with his hands. “I love you, too.” It’s a whisper. I know that it’s probably all that he can muster up to admit the words. “I know what you did for me tonight.” He pauses again and I can feel just how much he means the words. “You’ve given me something that I’ve been longing for my entire life. You’ve given me a sense of belonging, you’ve given me love, you’ve given me a family because he may not be mine, but he’s fucking mine, Sadie.” The sentiments cause my heart to swell. “And Nightmare, I fucking swear to God, if one exists, that I will do whatever it takes to protect the two of you. So yes, when someone breaks in, you get Linc, and you hide. Regardless of what else is happening. Okay?” I nod my head, but he just smiles. “Say it for me, please.”
“Yes, I’ll hide with Linc regardless of what’s happening.” His shoulders finally relax completely, and he leans into me. A smile spreads on my face again. “Say it again.” I whisper to him as his face inches closer to mine.
“I love you.” He whispers, his lips still turned up as he looks up at me. Leaning into him I kiss him as his hand tightens on my hip and the back of my neck. Holding me to him closer.
Breaking our kiss for a moment, but he still doesn’t let the grip on me go so my lips are still pressed against his hard, and I attempt to speak. “I love you, too.” But the words are barely understandable.
“What?” He laughs, pulling away, but I can tell simply by his eyes that he knows exactly what I said, but wants me to repeat it again.
“I said, I love you, too.” I can’t help but giggle as he grabs a hold of me and lays back then rolls us over so he’s hovering over top of me.
?
Collapsing onto the bed, we’re both staring at the ceiling, trying desperately to catch my breath before he taps me a few times, making me laugh out loud as he pants out. He glances at me before he pulls me, and I roll over placing my head on his chest.
“Goddamn, what are you doing to me, Nightmare?”
“I think that now since you love me maybeNightmaredoesn’t fit anymore…” I trail making him laugh again.
“Oh, Sadie. A nightmare is still someone’s dream.” His words stop me as I just look at him in shock, pieces of the Ro puzzle possibly finally coming completely into place.
“Please tell me that you just came up with that…” It falls out of my mouth before I could even attempt to stop it.
“Yes, I just came up with it,” he smirks his words dripping in sarcasm, “I did not start calling you that because I knew that you terrified me, but I craved to be around you.”
I have no idea what to say to that as I just stare at him, smiling.
The crying from the opposite room breaks our moment and he laughs. “I’ve got him.” He whispers leaning over and kissing my forehead before he stands up. I watch him as he pulls the sweats up and I smile. I grab one of his shirts off of the dresser and then pull on a pair of shorts and crawl back into bed.
Ro steps into the room with Linc and smiles at me.
“Momma.” Linc calls out to me. Ro places Linc down on the bed who immediately crawls back over to me, and Ro lies down on the opposite side of the bed, placing Linc between him and I.
I can’t stop the smile from forming on my face as I look over to them on the bed. Realizing that I have a family. A family that I actually feel the love from. I know that I haven’t always done right by Linc, but from now on I fucking swear I will.
Leaning over, I press a kiss to his forehead and Ro snakes his hand underneath us, pulling us in to him. “We’re a family.” I look up at Ro who smiles, nodding his head again.
“I would love that.”
Chapter Thirty-One
