Hazel stared up at the ceiling as she thought about her days with Winnie in the hospital. She’d been completely terrified, and yet she’d known her other two girls were safe with Reyvor. He’d held her hand, whispered words of encouragement, and had kept their little family together in a time of crisis. As she’d sat beside Winnie’s bed, she’d realized something important. She loved him.
Of course, she hadn’t told him yet. Not because she doubted her feelings, but because it never seemed like the right moment. She didn’t want to blurt out the words over coffee in the morning, and if she said it at night when they made love, then Reyvor might think she was only speaking in the heat of the moment.
She turned onto her side and studied his face, relaxed in sleep. He’d told her several times since their honeymoon that he loved her, loved all of them, and she felt horrible for not saying the words back. How could she not have known she’d fallen for him? It shouldn’t have taken a tragedy to wake her up. He deserved so much better than her, but now that she had him, she was going to hold on with both hands. A life without Reyvor would be no life at all.
“Reyvor,” she said softly, gently shaking him awake.
He groaned and cracked his eyes open. “Something wrong?”
“No. I… I had something I wanted to say.”
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes then propped himself on one arm and stared down at her. “What is it, Hazel?”
“When we got married, you said three very important words to me, and like an idiot I didn’t say them back. I wanted you to know you weren’t alone. I love you too. I was just scared to admit it to myself or to you, and then we came home and…” She sighed. “Things have been hectic, but while I was sitting in the hospital I realized how much I love you and you mean everything to me.”
He smiled, his lips tipping up on the corners. “Are you certain?”
“I’m positive.”
Reyvor kissed her softly. “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. I don’t know what I did to deserve a second chance but I’m glad the girls and you stumbled into my life that night. You once told me I’d saved you, but really it was you who saved me. I was on a path of self-destruction, but the moment I looked into your eyes my life was changed.”
“Thank you for coming into our lives.”
“I have some news I was going to share over breakfast. I hope the girls will be pleased.”
“What is it?”
He laced their fingers together. “I heard back from the Terran law department. They were able to track down the girls’ father and get him to sign away his rights to them. And they filed the proper paperwork for me to legally adopt them. Once everything is finalized, we will really and truly be a family.”
“Reyvor, we’ve been a family since the first night we slept in your hotel room. No one has ever taken such good care of us, and you never pushed me to do things that weren’t right for the girls and me. You always asked if you could get us things or take us places, and that means a lot to me. During a time when I had completely lost control, you gave a little back to me.”
His smile turned downright seductive. “You can have control whenever you want it.”
Hazel giggled and kissed him. “I kind of like you being in charge in the bedroom, but maybe we can mix things up a little tonight. I read a book the other day that had some good ideas in it.”
“Are we sure the girls won’t sleep for a few more hours?”
“I already heard Nikki getting something out of the mini-fridge. I think she’s watching cartoons.”
“Fine.” Reyvor sighed. “I suppose I can wait until then for you to have your wicked way with me.”
Hazel laughed some more, kissed him again, and then snuggled into his embrace. Her life had been in complete ruins when she’d met him, but now she was finally going to have her happily-ever-after. Reyvor was everything she’d ever wanted in a man, and more than she could have ever hoped for. Life couldn’t get more perfect than it was right this moment.
As he kissed her again, a little deeper and longer than before, she thought perhaps one thing might make their lives a little more perfect. Perhaps they could work a little harder on adding a baby to their family. She couldn’t think of anything she wanted more than to have a baby with the love of her life, and she knew her girls would be in complete agreement.
Jessica Coulter Smith
Jessica lives in a world where warlocks, shapeshifters and fairies exist, and everyone deserves a happy ending -- from tragic vampires finally finding love after centuries of being alone, to super hunky womanizing werewolves finding their destined mate -- it’s all in a day’s work.
Unable to find a werewolf of her very own, she decided to marry someone who thinks he’s one -- minus howling at the full moon, fleas, and a rousing game of chase-the-mailman. Okay, so he sometimes howls at the full moon.
When she isn’t writing, Jessica enjoys spending time with her family, reading (mostly romance), or going to the beach. She’s especially fond of bookstores and Starbucks!
Jessica loves to hear from her fans! You may email her at [email protected], or visit her at her website: http://www.jessicacoultersmith.com. You can also find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessicacoultersmith. Would you like to be kept up to date on new releases, offers of free books, and more? Be sure to sign up for Jessica’s newsletter.
Find more of Jessica’s Sci-Fi and Paranormal Romances at http://changelingpress.com/author.php?uid=144.
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