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I can’t remember which of us reaches for the other first, but suddenly Willow is in my lap, in my arms, her tears mixing with mine as we kiss. And like everything with Willow, it’s different than other kisses—better, sweeter. It’s a brutally honest conversation, a confession, and by the time she finally pulls away to ask, “I’m not hurting you, am I?” I’m so full of feeling my chest is about to explode.
“No.” I tighten my arms around her, needing her to stay right where she is. “You feel…beautiful. And terrifying. And perfect.”
She brushes her fingers gently across my cheeks, swiping away the damp. The tenderness in her eyes makes me believe I am more man than monster, and that I can become something even better, as long as she’s here beside me.
“I feel the same way,” she whispers. “But you don’t have to be afraid of me, Maxim. I won’t hurt you. I promise.”
“But someone could take you away,” I say in an equally soft voice, the possibility too horrible to speak at full volume. “Maybe even forever.”
Understanding and pain flicker in her eyes. “Yes, they could. And they could do the same to you. So, I guess we’d better make the most of every day we get, huh?” She kisses my forehead, making me feel safe in a way I can’t remember feeling since my mother died and the one person who loved me unconditionally was taken away.
My father loves all his kids, but…it’s not the same and it never was.
I cup her cheek in my hand. “Whenever we decide to have children… If we decide to have them… They will be so lucky to have you as a mother. They will never doubt that they’re so loved.”
She blinks faster. “Stop or you’re going to make me start crying again and I’d really rather get naked. If you’re up for it. Even fraught, super emotional sex is probably pretty great, right?”
Wonder blooms in my chest. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had that kind. I think it’s called making love when you do it that way.”
She holds my gaze, nodding slowly. “I think so, too.” She threads her fingers gently into my hair. “Would you like to try it? With me?”
“More than anything in the world,” I promise, standing and lifting her into my arms, ignoring the hot pain that flashes through my still-wounded leg and foot.
I’ll nurse my injuries tomorrow.
Tonight, I have to prove to my mate that we’re both still alive and that no one can take this bond away from us.
I carry her to the closest of the two beds in the room and pull down the ugly flower bedspread to reveal the sheets. They smell of bleach and laundry detergent and other civilized scents that seem to promise we’ll find a way to bring order to a world gone mad.
But before we bring our people together, I need to fall apart with my woman.
