Page 236 of I Never Stopped Loving You

“Okay, let me call him. Come to my place. That’s where he’ll most likely want to meet.”

“We’ll be there in two hours. Oh, can I give Snuggs a bath at your house?” I ask, only slightly joking.

“That giant fur-ball? You’ll clog my drain. Ughhh! Fine. Why though?”

“He’s not a cotton-ball anymore…more like a tomato.”

“Jesus, there’s that much blood?” he asks.

“Yeah…Let’s just say they’re both covered in blood, and Vallero doesn’t have a head anymore,” I answer as I hand Willow the phone then lift her off the counter and start toward the front door.

We’ll come back tomorrow and take care of the body if the coyotes haven’t eaten him by then. Right now, she’s my only priority.

“Yep. You’re terrifying, Willow. Okay. I’ll call him now. See you guys soon.”

“Thanks,” we both say before she ends the call.

“I’m fine, you know,” she growls as she rests her head against my chest.

“I know. I just want to make sure.”

“You don’t have to worry so much.”

“I know, but I’ll always worry about you. You’re my little rabbit,” I tease as I open the passenger door and set her gently into the truck.

“You’re crazy,” she huffs as I step up onto the side step to put her seatbelt on.

I cup her face. Kissing her gently before resting my forehead against hers. I take a moment to breathe, realizing how much worse this could have gone tonight.

“Only for you, Little Rabbit.”

BONUS EPILOGUE

ONE MONTH LATER

NOAH

“Babe, come on. We’re going to be late,” I shout up the steps.

We have the company party today officially celebrating Jeremy and me taking over the firm. We rented out an event center near Jeremy’s new house, just down the road.

I didn’t feel like cooking, obviously, so we had the whole thing catered by a company that specializes in southern barbecue. I did it for Willow because she loves barbecue, and the owner was born and raised in Texas so I figured it would be something special for her since she’s been feeling down a lot the last couple of days. I’m so excited for her to try his food. I sampled some when we signed the contract, and it was the best damn barbecue I’ve ever tasted.

Willow slowly makes her way down the steps and sits halfway down the staircase. Her hair is in a messy bun, and she’s only wearing one of my long T-shirts. The sight alone has my cock hardening. No matter how long we’ve been together, the sight of her in my clothes still does something to me.

“I’m not going tonight,” she says as she rests her head against the banister.

I finish straightening my tie in the mirror and walk up to where she’s sitting then sit next to her.

“What’s wrong? You were excited this morning.”

“I know…I just don’t feel good.”

I place my hand against her forehead, but she doesn’t have a fever. Maybe she ate something bad last night at the restaurant. We went out to a new place downtown, and the food wasn’t the greatest, but I didn’t think it would give her food poisoning.

I glance at my watch and realize I need to leave in the next ten minutes or I’ll definitely be late. Maybe I should just stay home with her. Things have been a bit chaotic since Jeremy and I took over.

“I can stay home with you…”