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I slid the ring on her finger, got off the floor, and lifted her in my arms. After I kissed her, Ellery buried her face in my neck and squeezed her arms around me. “I’d go through it all over again to have you. I love you so much, Kane.”
If I could have erased all the heartache she’d suffered before, I would have. But since that wasn’t an option, I’d spend the rest of my life doing whatever I had to do to make sure she never felt it again. “I love you, too.”
I settled us back in the bed again, and Ellery eventually got a hold on her emotions. She pulled her face from my neck, swiped at her tears, and looked down at her ring.
“It’s beautiful,” she said.
“Just like you.”
She lifted her eyes to mine and smiled. “I’ve got to do my part.”
“What?”
“You’re making all of my dreams come true, so I think the least I can do is start working on fulfilling yours,” she explained.
“You said yes, Ellery. I want us to get married and have some time together, just the two of us, before we start adding kids to the mix,” I told her.
“I know.”
Tipping my head to the side, I asked, “So, what else do you think you’ve got to do?”
Ellery grinned at me seductively and slipped her hand down between our bodies. “I was going to put you back inside my mouth and suck you off like you wanted,” she shared.
“Right. Yes. You should definitely get on that,” I urged her.
She shifted her body, positioned herself, and lowered her mouth to me. She glanced up at me and said, “When the time comes that we’re ready for babies, I hope they get your eyes.”
I had about a million thoughts of what I wanted our children to get from her, but before I had the chance to share any of my ideas, Ellery parted her lips and took me in her mouth.
She was going to be mine now forever, so I figured the conversation could wait until later.
PREVIEW OF RUINED
Prologue
Hanna
Was I a monster?
As I stood just a few feet in front of the television, unable to tear my eyes away from the screen, I struggled to come up with an answer.
I watched the news. It was my thing, and that alone often made me question my sanity. The truth was, all too often, the news was wrought with the worst kind of stories. One after the other, they’d pop up on the screen, and I’d wind up feeling a wave of disappointment and sadness wash over me.
But there was one part I enjoyed.
One of the local news stations in Steel Ridge, Pennsylvania, had a segment that ran close to the end of their evening programming. That segment was what I lived for. It was the feel-good portion of their programming, and I always thought it was great that they chose to end the evening news on that note. Because after all the bad that often preceded it, most folks probably needed something to lighten the weight of all they’d just taken in.
That segment of the show was my favorite. It often featured stories about local heroes—the little girl who rescued her daddy because she called 911, or the elderly man who fought off the would-be robbers with his cans of corn and string beans.
Of course, there were also the stories of the professionals who did good in our community, too. I’d had as close to a front-row seat as was possible when a new friend of mine had found herself in a bit of trouble. In her situation, she sought the help of the men at Harper Security Ops, a place that employed current and former members of the military. Not only had my friend gotten the help she needed, but she also managed to find love in the process.
I smiled every time I thought about it.
Because those were the situations that demanded that kind of reaction. I liked it when the underdog came out on top. I loved to see the person nobody expected to be the one to do something sensational.
Maybe that was because those people reminded me so much of myself. They reminded me of how far I’d come in my life. And they reinforced that notion of being grateful for where I was now and what I had in my life.
I’d lost a lot, and I’d done a lot.
