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She gave him a watery giggle. “You’re so poetic.”
“And romantic. Yeah.”
Her delicate fingers curled around his cheek. “I’d say that’s why I love you…but that doesn’t even scratch the surface.”
“I more than love you, Raine. Thank you for listening.”
Spilling his life story had been painful and cathartic. He’d hung on to the bitterness for years—anger toward his unfeeling parents, his depraved caretakers, and his stupid-ass self. If his parents had just given a shit, maybe he wouldn’t have been such easy prey for two ruthless sexual freaks. If he hadn’t been horny and lonely and ready to flip his parents the moral bird, he wouldn’t have been so ready to toss away his innocence for a kinky fuck. At the end of the day, he couldn’t blame anyone but himself—which he’d been doing for twenty years. His shit went way further back than Juliet, and he allowed himself to admit it. Wasn’t it time to forgive himself, too? He’d made mistakes—some good, some bad. Either way, they’d all led him here, to this woman, to the love he’d been seeking his entire life, to this bond they shared with Liam.
To peace.
To pure, unconditional love.
“I always will.” She brushed a kiss across his knuckles. “I’ve spent a lot of time the past few weeks wondering if maybe we would have all been better off if I had left Shadows that morning I threatened to. You know, the morning I sneaked in your bed and tried to seduce you.”
“Oh, I remember.” He enveloped her small hand in his broad palms. “You scared the shit out of me.”
A smile tripped across her lips. “I was terrified, too. But if I’d walked out the door like I’d threatened, we could have saved ourselves so much pain.”
“But—”
“But we would have missed out on everything wonderful. I know.”
“I wouldn’t have missed you for the world. I don’t care what we’ve been through. This is worth it.”
Her smile turned dazzling. “Last Halloween, I never fathomed we’d be here today. I’d never kissed you. I barely knew Liam. That was less than four months ago. Now we’re sharing a house, having a baby…”
“And you’ve made me happier than I’ve ever been. I’d spend three lifetimes behind bars to have shared these past few months with you and Liam.” Hammer placed his hand on her stomach. “I might not get to share the joy of raising this child. But I’ll always be a part of you, Liam, and our baby. I might not be here physically, but I hope I’ll be here.”
He raised his hand to her heart and slanted his lips over hers.
“You will.” Her voice cracked. “I don’t want to do this without you.”
“I hope you don’t have to, precious.”
Raine wrapped her slender hands around his cheeks and drew him to her lips. Hammer couldn’t help but groan. The feather-soft kisses she pressed to the corners of his mouth were so heartfelt he nearly crumbled. Her sweet affection bled the ever-present anxiety from his veins. Soothed him. Calmed him. For the first time in his life, Macen relinquished his control and simply felt.
Hyperaware of the smoldering connection that always pulsed between them, Macen’s senses sharpened. Time ceased to have meaning.
When he closed his eyes, he could almost see them, one still image after the other, as their love flared. Hammer pressed every picture into his memory, storing them away in case the feds locked him up. He’d cherish and relive each one when he was going mad with grief, loneliness, and need.
But he wasn’t just seeing them together. He was completely in the moment with Raine, so attuned to her—aware of her every nuance—that even something as simple as her breathing awakened his senses.
The sensual bow of her lips fascinated him. He leaned closer and traced them with his finger. Her hypnotic feminine heat hovered in the air, intoxicating. She made him ache to feel her, taste her. To drag her beneath him and never let go.
“I want to make love to you, precious.”
Her lashes fluttered down to her cheeks as her mouth curled up in a soft smile. “I’d like that.”
“Listen to me, Raine. I don’t mean sex or a power exchange. Tonight, I just want to be a man who loves a woman.”
“Macen…” A single tear tracked down her cheek. “I’ve always felt your love.”
Even when he hadn’t meant for her to. Even when he hadn’t given it freely.
He thumbed away the clear drop as he stood and wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t know how, but I thank god every day you did.”
He couldn’t—wouldn’t—waste another second. With infinite care, he lifted her, clutching her close as she wrapped her slender legs around him. She slid her arms behind his neck and sent him a searching stare.
“I want to touch you in ways I never have,” he told her.
