Page 197 of Forbidden Forget-Me-Not

Kaylani wasn’t just choosing me. She was trusting me with everything. My throat tightened as I looked at her in the dim porch light. Her hair was messy from sleep and chaos, her eyes tired, yet she had never looked more beautiful.

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“I found the box in the trash.” I lifted my eyes to hers. “I was always coming for you, but if anyone had hurt you or our unborn child, they would’ve been skinned alive.”

She cupped my face.

“I knew you would. I knew you’d find a way.”

“Lani,” I murmured, my voice rougher than I intended.

I slid my hand from her stomach up to her jaw, my thumb brushing over her cheek. She leaned into the touch as if she needed it as much as I did.

God, I loved her.

Not the quiet kind of love people wrote poems about. The violent kind. The kind that made a man ready to tear the world apart if it dared touch what was his.

Every instinct in me, every lesson about survival, loyalty, and blood boiled down to one single truth.

She was mine to protect. Mine to fight for. Mine to build a life with.

I dropped my lips to hers and lost myself in the moment. Her hands tangled in my hair, drawing me closer, deepening the kiss until the world outside the front porch ceased to exist. The trees and road faded until there was only her.

Only us.

When we finally broke apart, she rested her forehead against mine, breathing fast. I unlocked the door without letting go of her.

Home. We were home.

Before she could speak, I scooped her up again. She laughed, and hugged my neck.

The bathroom light flicked on as I set her gently on the counter. I turned the shower to the hottest setting and steam curled into the air.

The night had left its marks on both of us. And none of it was coming into our bed.

I stepped closer, resting my hands on her hips.

Kaylani looked at me like I was her whole world, like she needed to memorize every detail. I would do anything to keep that expression on her face. Anything to ensure she never had a reason to doubt that truth.

“You’re staring,” she whispered.

“Because I plan on spending the rest of my life making sure the world never forgets exactly who you belong to.” I opened the clip holding her hair, letting it spill around her shoulders in golden waves. “And who I belong to.”

Her cheeks pinked, a blush that left me aching to get her naked. As the steam filled the room, only one thought echoed through my mind.

Anyone who came for her again wouldn’t just start a war. They would unleash a reckoning. I was done standing in the shadows.

If they dared, death would meet them first.

Chapter

Fifty-One

KAYLANI

The events in the restaurant were still fresh in my mind. I had hoped sleep might erase the images, but it would take a long time to unsee the wreckage.

Goran cupped my cheek, thumb brushing over my bottom lip.