Page 81 of Forbidden Forget-Me-Not

I cupped his jaw.

“I’ve dreamed of hearing you say those words to me.”

“I bet you have,” he said, teasingly, and rolled us, tugging me against him as he pulled the blankets over our bodies.

“What do you mean?”

I rested my head on his chest and looked up at him, waiting for an answer.

“I may have whispered it in your ear while you were asleep,” he admitted.

Where others might have found that creepy, I loved it. I shifted closer and hooked my leg over his, holding him tighter.

Time blurred as we lay there. I listened to the steady beat of his heart and was enveloped in the warmth of his body. His arms were wrapped around my back, his hand tracing slow, absent patterns across my shoulder like he always did.

There was a new calmness to us. We had always enjoyed each other’s company. Always had passion, but this felt different.

“I like this,” I said softly.

He hummed. “You mean the trailer with neighbors who are going to stare at us tomorrow?”

I smiled against his skin. “No. This. You don’t need to rush off. We aren’t pretending to be friends. I never want to leave this trailer.”

Goran chuckled, kissing my forehead again. “Dreams that I long for.”

His fingers stilled. “Watching you ride today. That was harder than any job I’ve ever had.”

“Harder than being shot at?”

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation. “Because I couldn’t do anything except trust an eighteen-hundred-pound animal to take care of you.”

I lifted my head, meeting his eyes.

“Sometimes it’s hard to remember that protecting you doesn’t mean stepping in front of you. Sometimes it means stepping back.”

“He did,” I finally said. “Atlas. He’s a lot like you. He’s a natural protector.”

Goran laughed. “I know. It’s why we’ve agreed to share you. But I’ll only ever share you with him.”

I giggled at the image of them sitting down and negotiating that arrangement. Then I let the sounds around us settle my mind. Crickets, distant laughter, and the soft shuffle of horses in the stalls.

“For a little while,” I whispered, “this feels like a life we could actually have.”

His arm tightened around me. “Then let’s keep it. For as long as we can.”

I closed my eyes, clinging to that promise even though I knew how fragile it was.

“I love you, Goran. Now and forever,” I mumbled as sleep pulled me under.

Chapter

Twenty-Four

GORAN

Last night had been the most relaxed I’d felt in a long time. But like every horse show I’d attended, the morning was complete chaos.

Atlas was fed, washed, and walked. His stall had to be cleaned. Kaylani ran around getting herself ready. I had learned very quickly that my job was to stay the hell out of her way until she needed me. So there I stood, watching.