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“I scanned her immediately after deactivating the nerve net on Gage,” Oberon replied. “Hospital staff is due on the scene in less than a minute to look after them both.”
Relief coursed through her veins. She collapsed on the ground beside Gage and let the tears flow.
“What’s wrong, my love?” he asked, wrapping his warm arms around her. “Everything is fine now. I promise. Athena is tough.”
“I ruined everything,” she sobbed. “All because I was afraid.”
“What did you ruin?” he asked.
She thought about the Center, the castle, her law firm, her career, and everything in between.
“Us,” she wailed, realizing it was the only part that mattered.
“Us?” he demanded, sitting up and pulling her with him.
She nodded, crying too hard to speak.
“Naomi Peterson,” he said sternly. “You can ruin your clothing, your credit, even your reputation. But the one thing you can never ruin is us. Unless…”
“Unless what?” she sniffled, looking up into his handsome face.
“Unless my… financial situation changes things for you,” he said flatly.
She was so stunned at the idea that the words jammed up in her mouth and she gaped at him like a fish.
“I would understand,” he told her. “You’re going to be in a precarious position. Just know that what I have will keep a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. It might not be the mountain of credits you thought I had, but if we want more, we can build it together.”
The hope in his voice had tears threatening again, but she swallowed them back, knowing he needed reassurance now.
“Your financial situation sounds miraculous, Gage,” she told him. “I’m so proud and amazed that you saved those children. And because of it, you and Athena have freedom most people can only dream of. And you didn’t cut corners or hurt anyone to get there. Can’t you see how special that is? Can’t you see how special you are?”
Then she was falling into his arms, kissing him like there was no tomorrow, like she would never, ever let him go.
He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her back as if she were the most precious thing in the universe.
And that thought made her heart stutter.
She pulled back, bracing herself.
“What is it?” he asked her. “Are you afraid of the claiming? We don’t have to do it tonight, not until you want it so much you can’t breathe without it.”
“No,” she murmured. “It’s not that.”
“What is it?” he asked. “What else can there possibly be?”
“You know why I came here,” she said, unable to meet his eyes. “You know I wasn’t able to bear a child?”
“My seed will bring your womb to life,” he said automatically.
“What if it doesn’t?” she asked him. “There are no guarantees. What if we can never have a family?”
He pulled her close again, pressing his lips to the top of her head.
“Naomi,” he said softly. “You are enough for me.”
When he cupped her face in his hand, she allowed him to tilt her chin up. And she didn’t care if he could see tears in her eyes again.
“The two of us will be a family,” he told her, his violet eyes crinkling as he smiled down at her. “There will never be a need for more.”
