“We’re in the Bradonian world, remember?” He nibbled on her neck and said, “There’s no escaping us. I have a cousin who’s ordained, and if he lived here, I’d drag you to his house right now and marry you.”
“We don’t even have a marriage license.”
Aw, hell. “I forgot about that. First stop after your appointment, Circuit Court Clerk’s Office.”
She laughed, and he said, “You think I’m kidding?”
As he lowered his lips to hers, she touched his chest, holding the kiss at bay. “Ty, I’ve been thinking about where to have the treatments done.”
The steadiness of her voice surprised him, especially since she hadn’t wanted to talk about the impending scan or what they were going through. “You know I’ll be there wherever you choose to have them done.”
“I know you will. I don’t know any of the right doctors back home, and I’m afraid to put that kind of pressure on my sister and her family. I also think you’ll need support as much as I will, so it’s probably best if we do them here. Unless you think it’s too much for your family to deal with?”
His chest constricted. He was glad she wanted to stay here, where they would have the support of his family. “I think my family will be glad we’re here.”
“Okay.” She slid her hand around his neck and tugged him closer. “Now, please love me until you’re all I can think about.”
The first touch of their lips was electric, flooding him with desire. He released her hands, determined to obliterate her sad thoughts and needing to feel more of her as their bodies rocked greedily against each other. He ran his hands through her hair, along her shoulders, and down her torso. Her skin was warm and soft, and so damn sexy. His mouth burned a path to each of her pleasure points, from the tips of her taut nipples to the sensitive skin around her belly button, making her squirm and moan as he kissed and sucked and lavished her with attention. She smelled like the break of dawn, fresh and inviting. Her hips rose off the mattress as he slicked his tongue along the warm skin between her sex and her inner thigh. He loved teasing her, making her body tremble, and her breathing hitch.
She fisted her hands in his hair, writhing against his mouth. “Love me,” she pleaded.
“Always.” He lowered his mouth to the sweetness between her legs.
She clung to his hair as he loved her with his hands and mouth, her hips pulsing with every thrust of his tongue. He brought her right up to the edge of release, her thighs flexed, her body shaking. He teased her with his fingers as he moved swiftly up and sealed his mouth over her breast. Her body jolted, and a long, low moan escaped her lips. She grabbed his arms, her fingernails carving into his skin as her body clenched tight and hot around his fingers. Her sinful sounds surrounded them, soaking into his skin and whirling inside him until he was holding on to his sanity by a shred.
“Need you—” He moved over her and captured her mouth at the same time his hips thrust, burying his cock to the root. “Love you,” he panted out between steamy kisses as they ate at each other’s mouths and their bodies pounded out a frantic rhythm.
“Ty—” she gasped as she shattered around him.
He held her at the peak, slowing their pace, taking them both higher, until they were barely breathing, his body tingling from head to toe. Her fingers burned into his skin, her center clenched around his shaft, and he breathed in soul-drenching drafts, filling his lungs with her love. He pushed his hands beneath her ass, angling her hips, loving her deeper, harder, and slow went out the window. They clawed at each other’s skin, kissing and biting. Heat pooled inside him, consuming his every breath, until his orgasm crashed over him with magnum force, sending them both soaring to the clouds.
They collapsed to the mattress and he gathered her against him, his heart full of love and tortured with anguish. He was probably holding her too tight, but he was unable to loosen his grip, needing to be as connected as physically possible.
“Love you, Ty,” she whispered in a voice devoid of energy and full of love. “Don’t let go, okay? Even if I fall asleep.”
He pressed his lips to his brave, strong girl’s. The woman who didn’t want to talk about what they were going through. Didn’t she know those three words—Don’t let go—told him more than a conversation ever could?
LATER THAT MORNING Ty gazed out the windows of the waiting room while Aiyla had her PET scan. It was strange to see life carrying on outside their little bubble of anxiety, when their lives hung on the results of one test. A pregnant woman sat beside Ty’s mother awaiting an ultrasound. He’d heard her say that she was having twins. Would Aiyla have a chance to carry their babies? They’d talked about having children when they were in Saint-Luc, and he’d told her he wanted a big family. Now he wished he hadn’t. If she couldn’t have children, he was all for adoption, or even not having a family if that was what she wanted when they got beyond this, but he knew Aiyla would feel guilty if they couldn’t have babies. There were so many unknowns backing up inside him, he struggled to focus on the things he could control.
His mother touched his back, pulling him from his thoughts. It was a gentle touch, a touch that said, I don’t want to startle you and I love you at once. A touch he’d felt a million times, but the worried look in her eyes made it feel different.
Wasn’t everything different now?
The very air they breathed felt different. It felt like a blessing, and he’d taken it for granted his whole life.
The things he’d worked for now seemed frivolous. He’d give everything up in exchange for Aiyla’s health. Hell, he’d give up his own life to protect hers.
“Sweetheart?” His mother brushed his hair from his eyes, a small smile on her lips. Last night she’d asked Aiyla if it was okay to tell his father about today’s test, and of course Aiyla had been fine with that, though she’d appreciated her asking first. “I’m used to you being lost in your own world, and I’m trying not to be overbearing, but you look more lost than ever. Is there anything I can do?”
When they’d left Aiyla to have the procedure, he’d felt like he was leaving her behind. He hadn’t been sure how to step out of the room, and his mother had put a gentle hand on his shoulder and shown him how. Just as she’d shown him how to walk as a baby, how to study as a young adult, and how to believe in himself. The same way she’d shown him how to love with his entire being. He had a great life, and it had all started with his parents, who had always been there for him, unconditionally. Aiyla had lost the one parent she had, but now she had him—and his parents. And everyone else in their circle whose lives she’d touched.
Two weeks ago he’d thought he had the world at his fingertips. What he’d failed to realize was that the world he’d thought he had wasn’t the one that mattered.
Ty blinked away the dampness taking up residence in his eyes and said, “I’m not lost, Mom. I’m scared about what this all means, but I’m not lost. I think I’m seeing life much clearer than I ever have.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
FRIDAY MORNING TY and Aiyla sat on the back porch of the house Beau was renovating, watching the sun come up over the horizon. They’d grabbed a few pieces of fruit, bottles of water, and blueberry muffins that she, Maisy, and Leesa had made the night before while Ty, Cole, and Ace had played with Phillip and baby Avery. Leesa hadn’t let on if she’d known about Aiyla’s medical diagnosis, and Ty had said that Cole had probably not told her, since he’d asked him not to mention it to the family. She wasn’t sure if she should be thankful, or feel guilty for having his brother keep a secret from his wife. But she assumed that as a doctor, those types of secrets were okay.
Their legs dangled off the edge of the porch. A cool breeze swept up the hill, tickling Aiyla’s bare feet. It was so peaceful listening to the world wake up, sitting next to the man she loved, she was almost able to pretend that the pain in her leg was innocuous. Almost. Something had happened when she was lying in the machine yesterday getting her scan. As it pinged and knocked, s
he’d seen her mother in her mind, healthy and smiling, rushing around the way she used to. She’d had the overwhelming sensation that her mother was there with her, trying to distract her from her worries. She still didn’t know what it meant, but she’d come out of the scan feeling more at peace than she had for the last several days.
She put her fingertips over Ty’s and said, “Did you ever think you’d find a woman who liked to watch the sunrise as much as you do?”
“Before you, I never thought about finding a woman to spend my life with, period. There was no looking, no wondering, no wishing.”
She put her head on his shoulder, thinking of the sunrises they’d watched together in Saint-Luc, Colorado, and there in Peaceful Harbor. “I think sunrises are our thing.”
“We have so many things, baby. We’ve only just begun to figure out what they are.”
Ty jumped off the deck and stood between her legs. The dusky light danced in his eyes, the way it did on the rippling creek below. His rough hands skimmed up the outsides of her legs, from her ankles to her knees and back down again. Cupping her heels with a coy smile, he lifted her left leg and kissed his way up to her thigh. Then he did the same with the right. “I love your legs, Aiyla Bell, and your pretty little pointy feet.”
She laughed and said, “That’s a good thing, because they’re the only ones I have.”
He ran his fingers lightly over her thighs, spreading shivers like wildfire. He took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “I love your hands, sweet baby cakes.”
She reached for him, and he put his hands behind her and hauled her forward so they were nose to nose.
“I love your face, beautiful girl.” He kissed her tenderly and said, “I love your kisses. I love your eyes, your voice, your laugh.”
She wanted to cry again. Her emotions were all over the place lately, but these were happy tears. Tears of truth, because she knew he meant every single word.
“I love your sense of adventure,” she said honestly. “And the heated look in your eyes when you want to fool around. And that boyish smile you flash when you’re testing the waters.”
“Go on,” he teased, and she laughed.
“I love your humor and your arms.” She ran her hands along the smooth ridges of his biceps and across his broad shoulders and framed his handsome face. “And this mouth? It’s pretty talented.”
He waggled his brows.
“But what I love most is right here.” She covered his heart with her hand. “I love that you didn’t run when things got scary, and that you’re strong enough for both of us”—tears spilled from her eyes, and her words caught in her throat—“because I’m not sure I could do this without you.”
“You’ll never have to,” he promised. “I want every sunrise, every sunset. I want it all, baby.” Just as he’d said, they’d applied for their marriage license yesterday. They were one step closer to forever.
But how long was their forever? The thought came without warning, and she hated it, tried to push it away, but the words came anyway. “Me too, even if we only have a few left—”
Sobs stole her voice, and Ty crushed her to him, holding her so tight it was hard to breathe.
“We have a million left. Do you hear me?”
“We don’t know that,” she cried, unable to stop the truth from tumbling out.
He drew back, anger warring with the dampness in his eyes. He cradled her face in his hands, his tears falling on her cheeks. “No more talk about not having many left, okay? We’re not thinking like that.”
“I don’t want to think like that. Don’t let me, Ty. Help me stop.” She hated sounding so weak that she couldn’t control her own thoughts, but this was Ty, and she trusted him. She wasn’t afraid he’d turn tail and run from the pressure, or think she was any weaker for being honest. He was her anchor. Her safe haven. He was her everything.
“I won’t, baby.” He wiped her tears, kissing her softly. “We’re in this together, every step of the way.”
He embraced her, holding her until she calmed down. Then he tipped her chin up and she felt herself smiling. She was liable to give him whiplash with her roller coaster of emotions. But he returned her smile. He should have told her to pull her shit together, but that wasn’t who he was. His smile crawled all the way up to his eyes. It was a magical smile. The kind of smile that made her believe in miracles.
His smile shifted, a little cocky, a little coy, with an ounce of surprise, like she was a gift—the best gift he’d ever been given. Her pulse quickened.
“Want to take a picture?” she teased. “It’ll last longer.”
He shook his head. “Your beautiful face is etched into my mind. I don’t need a picture. I’ll wake up to that sassy smile and those sexy eyes every single day for the rest of our lives.”
He pulled something from his pocket and took her left hand in his. “I love you, Aiyla Lillian Baby Cakes Bell, and I cannot wait to make you my wife.”
He slipped a breathtaking ring on her finger, stunning her into silence. Two diamond bands intersected at the center of the ring, glittering in the morning sun. Intertwined with them were two twisted rose-gold bands, in a simple and elegant design that was perfectly them.
“Ty…? When did you have time…?”
“I had it made for you, and picked it up yesterday while you were baking.” He lifted her hand. “The diamond bands are our paths crossing—one for Saint-Luc and one for Colorado. The twisted rose-gold bands symbolize eternity, because I know we’ll be together forever. And our wedding rings are designed to fit around each side of your engagement ring. Showing we’re made for each other.”
“Fated to be,” she whispered.
“Yes, we are. And my engagement gift to you, my sweet girl, is this house, complete with a sleeping porch, and all the renovations you spoke with Beau about.”
She gasped. “The house? You said you didn’t want a house.”
He wrapped her in his arms, smiling so hard it had to hurt. “I said I had never found a reason to buy one. You’re my reason, baby. We need a place of our own, and the second you saw this house, you lit up brighter than the sun. Now we’ll have a home for whatever comes down the road. Whether you’re going through treatments, or we just want to watch the sunrise between travels, in a few short weeks this will be ours.”
Too overwhelmed to speak, she went up on her toes and he lifted her into his arms, kissing her the way he always did, like he never wanted to let her go—and she knew in her heart he never would.
TY HAD BEEN thankful for many things in his life, but chasing after a four-year-old had never been one of them—until now. Waiting for the results of Aiyla’s scan was excruciatingly stressful, and Phillip’s never-ending energy was the perfect distraction. Ty and Aiyla and his parents had taken his curious nephew fishing on the riverbanks. When Tempest had first met Phillip, he’d rarely spoken. He’d changed so much since then. Because of Phillip’s incessant questions and zest for all things animal related, they’d spent the last few hours digging up worms, baiting his hook—consoling him about baiting the hook with the worms—chasing butterflies, and searching for frogs.
Ty stood by the water holding Phillip’s plastic fishing rod while Granny Maisy and Phillip gathered rocks for his newest endeavor—a castle made of mud, rocks, and grass. The boy’s imagination was endless. They’d brought Ty’s camera, and Aiyla was crouched a few feet from where they were gathering rocks, happily clicking away.
He wondered what her artist’s eye saw when she looked through the lens. Where was her mind? Was she plagued by the questions he’d had the other night about having a family? Or was she blessed with a few minutes of freedom from thoughts of the disease inside her?
He hoped for the latter.
When she lowered the camera, allowing it to hang from the neck strap, and he saw the thoughtful smile on her beautiful face, he had a feeling his wish had been granted. Relief swept through him. She glanced over, catching him starin
g, and her smile changed to one meant just for him. Damn, he loved that.
She walked over, and he ached at her uneven gait. She was favoring her sore leg more than ever, but her smile didn’t fade as she came to his side. “Can I borrow your phone? I want to make a video of Phillip for Nash and Tempe, but I don’t want to use mine in case Jon calls.”
“You can have anything of mine.” He handed her his phone, warmed by her thoughtfulness toward his sister.
“That’s quite a pole you have there,” she teased.
“You know what they say. It’s not the size of the rod; it’s how you use it that matters.” He leaned in for a kiss and felt a tug on the fishing line. “You might want to get this on video,” he said quickly, then hollered, “Flip! My man, come over here! You have a fish on the line.”
Aiyla stepped back, turning on the video and catching Phillip as he sprinted over.
“I do?” Phillip yelled. “I love fishing! Come on, Granny Maisy! I’m catching a fish!”
“Whoa, buddy, slow down.” Ty put a hand out to stop him from running right into the water, and crouched beside him. “Okay, you need to focus, buddy, so you don’t scare the fish away.”
“I know how to focus. Papa Ace taught me. Watch.” His brows knitted and his lips puckered, causing everyone to laugh.
“Good job. Now hold the rod, and when you feel a tug, reel it in a little.” Ty glanced at Aiyla, who was smiling ear to ear as she watched them through the phone. She stepped closer and crouched to get a better view of Phillip.
Phillip put his face right up to the screen. “Hello? Hello? Hello?”
“This is a video for your mommy and daddy,” Aiyla said.
“Look at me!” he yelled at the phone. “I’m catching a fish!” His line bent and he squealed. “Uncle Ty! Help!”
Ty’s arms circled Phillip from behind, and he helped him reel in the fish. “That’s it, buddy, slow and steady.”
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