by Delores Fossen, Rachel Lee, Carol Ericson, Tyler Anne Snell, Rita Herron
She should fight back, but she was just...tired. And he felt so good. His mouth skimmed the shell of her ear. “I stayed away as long as I could to give you the space you wanted, but I choose you. I’m committed to you. No more secrets. No more lies.”
Liquid warmth pooled in her stomach and melted her from the inside. That was all she’d ever wanted. Honesty. Safety. Love.
Kate spun in his arms, locked her gaze on those piercing blue eyes. She loved him. More than she’d ever loved another human being. Not the husband she’d buried, not the man who’d saved her life during the investigation but the combination of both. Each had their own strengths, their own weaknesses, but together they formed the man she’d dreamed of spending the rest of her life with. Raising a family with. “What do you want me to say to that?”
“Say yes, Kate.” His short burst of laughter ruffled her ponytail. “Say you’ll give us a chance to get it right this time.”
She stepped out of his reach. Kate bit back the shock of seeing him for the first time in weeks. Dark circles had taken up residence under his eyes, but his blue gaze remained bright and focused on her. “No more secrets.”
“No more secrets. You have my word.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. He locked his fingers around her arms. He stepped in close, his heat tunneling through her thin tank top and deep into her still-sore muscles. “I’ll never hurt, betray or disappoint you ever again. I want us to last. No matter how hard things get, I have always and will always need you in my life. I’ll spend as long as it takes to prove you can trust me again.”
Sincerity deepened the lines carved into his forehead and at the bridge of his nose. He held her steady when all she wanted to do was collapse into him. He meant every word. His expression, his eyes, his hold on her, they all said he wanted this to work, and for the first time since he’d come back into her life, she believed him.
A weak smile curled one corner of her mouth, and she set her palms against his chest. “I haven’t slept since that night. I miss having you there in my bed when the nightmares...”
She closed her eyes.
“You don’t have to miss me anymore.” He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, urging her to look at him. “I’ll be there. Every night to soothe you back to sleep. Every morning to sprinkle cinnamon over your hot chocolate, even when I think you’re crazy for drinking it in the summer. I’ll be there to decorate the Christmas tree and build you a snow fort. I’ll do anything to have that chance again.”
“I live in an apartment. I don’t have a yard,” she said.
A genuine laugh rumbled through him, and oh, how she missed that sound. Missed him. His heart beat strong under her hands, constant, assuring. She focused on the highest mound of scar tissue beneath his T-shirt, the one identical to hers.
“You say all this now,” she said, “but I know you, Declan. Even with amnesia, you ran straight at the first monster until you brought him down. It’s in your blood. You might’ve turned down your dream job, but what if another violent criminal is running rampant in Anchorage? What then?”
“Whatever happens, we’ll survive, just like we have for the past year. Together.” He lifted his hand to her jaw, bringing her gaze up to meet his. A slow burn simmered in her veins at his touch, and it took everything inside of her not to melt against him. His voice dipped an octave as warmth swirled in his eyes. “I told you when Dominic thought he could take you from me—I’m not going anywhere.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes.” Declan dropped his hands to hers. “You and I can officially live out our lives without our house getting shot up.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice? Maybe then I’d stop getting nasty looks from the garbage man.” She surveyed the disaster zone that was supposed to be their living room. Focusing on Declan, she curled her fingers in his shirt collar. He’d saved her life, sacrificed his future for her, promised to be honest and open from now on. He deserved the truth, too.
“During our marriage, you dealt with such horrible things, I didn’t want to add to any of it. So I kept everything bottled up until it had nowhere else to go. I can’t do that again. No matter what happens, I promise to be honest with you, too.”
“Then we have a deal?” he asked. “We’ll both be honest with each other and try not to mess this up a second—no, wait—a third time?”
“On one condition.” He’d sacrificed so much for her already. She didn’t have the right to ask for anything more, but he didn’t have to give up his dream job. Not for her.
He lowered his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. He untangled his hands from hers, skimmed her lower back and pressed her closer as though he never intended to let her go. “As long as we’re together, I’m in.”
“Come work for Blackhawk Security,” she said. “With me.”
Declan pulled away, eyes on her. “What?”
“We made a good team when we worked the Hunter case together. I think we could do it again. Besides, you’re too good of an investigator to quit the serial killer business for good. This city needs you. Blackhawk could use another investigator now that we’re expanding.” She jerked him toward her. “And I need you close.”
“You’re serious.” Excitement brightened his features.
She ran a hand through his tousled brown hair. They’d survived bullet wounds, arrow wounds and had taken down one of Anchorage’s most violent serial killers. Together. She could only imagine the possibilities in their future. “I don’t want you to resent me down the road. You saved my life, and I know how much that job meant to you. The least I could do is return the favor.”
He crushed his lips to hers, penetrating the seam of her mouth with his tongue and thrusting inside. Planting a hand on the back of her head, he seemed intent on making them one. He spread hair-raising pleasure throughout her system. She’d missed his touch, his taste, his warmth. Missed him. He bowed her back into him, her hips level with his.
Her phone pinged from the dresser, and she tore her mouth from his. A reminder. Was it time already? Reaching for her phone, she swiped the reminder off the screen before he had a chance to read it. Yep, right on time. “Besides, Blackhawk will need someone with your particular skill set in a few months when I put in my notice.”
She curled her fingers into fists. Why was she so nervous?
“What? It’s not the arrow wound, is it?” His hand slipped to her shoulder.
“No, it’s not the wound. My injury is healing fine. This is...something else.” Kate untangled herself from his arms. He had the right to know. Getting rid of him wasn’t going to be easy anyway. Not with that suspicious look on his face. She inhaled deep. “I’m pregnant.”
His bottom lip dropped, then his eyes crinkled at the edges. Tension spread from his shoulders down to his toes. A new kind of brightness engulfed his blue eyes. “What? How...how—”
“Are you asking me how we made a baby?” She couldn’t read past his shock. Was he excited? Terrified? Both? “Because that should’ve been something we discussed before we slept together in the snow fort you built in Vincent’s backyard. Which we’re never going to tell him about.”
“No. I remember that very clearly.” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He slid his hands around her hips. His warmth permeated her clothing and soothed the bubble of nervousness spreading through her. Mouth a mere inch from hers, he asked, “How far along?”
“Almost six weeks, and I have my very first appointment with the doctor in thirty minutes if you want to come.” But Declan still hadn’t shown any kind of sign of what was going on inside his head. Nervous energy built behind her sternum. “Okay, you’re going to have to tell me what you’re thinking. I can’t read you right now.”
“This is the best day of my life.” He pulled her to him and set his mouth against hers once again. “When do we need to leave?”
&
nbsp; Heat flooded her system with every pass of his mouth over hers. Wave after wave of blistering arousal swamped her thoughts. She threaded her fingers in his hair at the back of his neck. Not close enough. Dropping her hands to the hem of his shirt, she stepped out of his arms and tugged his shirt over his head.
Deep purple bruising surrounded the bullet wound in his side, but the injury itself had sealed shut. Her insides burned for him. Her husband. Her partner. The love of her life.
“I think we’ve got enough time to see if the water’s been turned back on in the shower first.”
* * * * *
millsandboon.com.au/survey2020
IMPRINT: Intrigue
ISBN: 9781867216889
TITLE: INTRIGUE BOOKS 1-6
First Australian Publication 2020
His Brand Of Justice © 2020 Delores Fossen
Conard County: Hard Proof © 2020 Susan Civil-Brown
Buried Secrets © 2020 Carol Ericson
Last Stand Sheriff © 2020 Tyler Anne Snell
Protective Order © 2020 Rita B. Herron
Caught In The Crossfire © 2020 Natascha Jaffa
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