Page 162 of Scarred

Tears blur my vision as I begin to trace the beautiful feathers. It’s the healed side of him with the translucent wing, strong and perfect. Just looking at it gives you a sense of peace and a knowing that everything is going to be okay…that you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.

“Come here,” he says hoarsely, pulling me down to him as he cups the back of my head and brings my lips to his.

Without words, he shows me how he feels as his mouth moves slowly over mine.

Keeping our bodies joined, he flips us over as he’s above me, his lips and gentle touches mirroring the love I feel radiating deep inside me.

I feel him swell inside me, and my eyes widen in surprise.

He smiles against my lips and slowly starts to move, our bodies becoming one again.

“I can’t believe you're already ready,” I whisper, feeling him stretch me as my body wraps around his fully hard length. Wrapping my legs around him, I take him deeper. “Not that I’m complaining,” I sigh as his hand caresses my breast.

“I’m always ready with you,” he murmurs in my ear. “If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m kind of obsessed with you.”

“Good. Because I’m kind of obsessed with you, too,” I smile.

“Does that mean the odds are in my favor that you’ll come back with me today?”

“Scarlett’s birthday is tomorrow…”

“I know. I want you there for her birthday breakfast.”

His eyes lift to mine, and he intertwines our fingers.

This isn’t a date or a day at the beach…this is family traditions.

This is me being part of his family.

My heart pounds in my chest as I see everything I so desperately want to hear.

Every day, he shows me another piece of himself…trusts me just a little bit more.

He’s made room for me beside him, but there are still three little words my heart longs to hear.

The more I spend with him and Scarlett, the more I fall deeply in love.

My heart would splinter into pieces if he ever decided to walk away, and I know it would be a painful scar that I would never recover from.

But it’s a risk I’m willing to take to keep this man next to me.

“I’ll come back with you,” I nod, knowing I’d do anything he asks if it means making him happy.

“Good,” he smiles, “because I’m pretty sure kidnapping is frowned upon in the NHL.”

“I think it’s frowned upon anywhere,” I laugh.

“True,” he grins, his lips finding my neck as he does things with his mouth that have me arching my head back for more. “But it wouldn’t have stopped me,” he whispers.

His body moves above mine, making it impossible to disappear into my own thoughts.

Maybe the words aren’t there yet.

But every touch…every kiss…

Every moment we have like this together…

He’s finding another way to tell me.