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“I’ve wanted this for four years, Natalia. Nothing is going to scare me away from you.” He whispers as his hand snakes around my waist pulling me flush against him. His eyes find mine, then flick to my lips momentarily.
I glance away from him and bite my bottom lip, but Declan reaches up and grabs my chin gently, making me look at him again. His thumb softly pulls the flesh from between my teeth.
My eyes find his lips. I have to fight the urge to lean down and press mine against his. I pull away from his touch and glance over at the clock. “We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We should probably go to bed.”
“I hate that you’re right, but tomorrow will be a good day.” His optimism eases my anxiety a little.
Taking his hand, I pull him up from his seat and lead him down to the bedrooms. Not wanting to let him go, I tug him into my room with me, shutting the door behind me. “Stay with me?” I question softly.
There’s no hesitation from him, only a wide grin as he pulls me toward the bed and climbs under the covers. I go to lay my head on his chest after slipping in beside him, but a question I’ve had for four years burns in the back of my mind.
“This piece has to be my favorite out of all of the ink that you have.” My eyes dart to the pair of wolves tattooed on his chest, my fingertips trace the delicate lines. “What does it mean?”
“This will sound cheesy, so don’t roll your eyes.” He tucks his arm behind his head and the other snakes around my waist, holding me close. “The male wolf represents loyalty and guardianship. Then the she-wolf… well… she reminds me to ferociously protect those I love and stand my ground.”
As I listen to his explanation, another thought dawns on me. The eyes. “She… she’s me.”
“That she is,” he confirms and squeezes my waist gently. “I knew that night I would stop at nothing until you were back in my life. But until then, I wanted the constant reminder of you.”
Tilting my head back slightly, my eyes find his. The pure love and adoration that fills them takes my breath away. I reach up and brush my thumb across his cheek,leaning up and kissing his cheek. All of the anger I felt towards him earlier dissipates.
“I knew there was a reason I liked that tattoo so much,” I tease, laying my head back down on his chest. “Goodnight, Dec.”
“Goodnight,mo ghrá.” He leans down and kisses the top of my head. “Sweet dreams,” he whispers and I can’t help but smirk. How could I have anything but good dreams while wrapped in his arms?
Chapter seventeen
Declan
“Good morning, Dec,” Natalia says as I walk into the kitchen. The smell of bacon and eggs fill the air, my mouth waters.
“Good morning,” I mumble, walking over to her and kissing her cheek. “Are you ready for today?”
“Not even a little,” she replies as she throws the bacon and eggs on two plates.
“Don’t worry, it will all work out.” I take my plate from her and grab two bottles of water from the fridge.
“Your optimism is nauseating,” she joins me at the table and stabs her eggs with a fork. “Let’s go over the plan one more time.”
I chuckle and begin to eat. I’m surprised she’s even eating with how high her anxiety is this morning. “So, we will leave here in your car. Finn will come to get mine. I’ll take you out for lunch, and then we will prepare a wedding!”
“If this whole thing goes off without a hitch, I might have a stroke,” she says over a mouth full of bacon. “My dad could still shoot you.”
“I’ve been shot before,” I shrug. “We know that Ivan is okay with us getting married, he said so after you were abducted. I’m not sure why you’re so anxious.”
Just as I go to eat the last of my bacon, a knock at the door stops me mid-bite. Looking at Natalia, I motion for her to grab our guns. Another knock at the door tells me whoever is on the other side is getting impatient. Natalia returns, handing my pistol over.
Switching off the safety, I walk over to the door. Glancing back at Nat, she nods her head. Throwing the door open, I draw my gun and then exhale. “Damn it, Finn. That’s a great way to get your brains blown out.”
“Sorry man, I didn’t know how else to contact you since you guys turned your phones off.” Finn says, stepping inside the house.
“What’s going on?” I ask, placing my gun on the table.
“Well,” Finn rubs the back of his neck as he walks to the couch to sit down. It’s then that I notice the files in his other hand. “I found something.” His blonde hair is a mess, he has ditched his suit for a black t-shirt and jeans, and I can tell he must have spent all night working on this.
“What do you mean you found something?” Natalia asks as she comes around the back of the couch.
“Finn has been helping me search for the men who abducted and tortured you and Dmitri,” I explain while I grab her hand, pulling her down into my lap as I sit beside Finn. “What did you find?” I turn my attention back to him.
