by Leah Brooke
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Loving the feel of his wife’s warm softness held against him, Boone carried her to the mirror, holding her closer to ease the tremors that still went through her. “Look.”
Leaning against him in a way that never failed to make him feel ten feet tall, Rachel looked at herself in the mirror, grimacing at her reflection.
Her hair was wild around her face from where they’d had their hands in it. Her mascara was smudged, and her lips were swollen and dark.
To him, she’d never looked more beautiful.
Meeting his gaze in the mirror, she smiled. “Not bad, but I’ve looked better.”
Boone smiled. “No, you haven’t. This is how I love you best. You look like you’ve been well and truly tumbled. Your eyes have a slightly glazed look in them, as if you’re here, but not really here.”
Still holding her gaze, he touched his lips to her hair, hiding another smile at the feel of the wild tangle of silky waves against his cheek. “You lean against me so trustingly, a trust that always makes me feel as if my chest is going to burst. You have a satisfied smile that we put there, and there’s an intimacy in the way you look at me that I’ve become intensely addicted to.”
Rocking her in his arms, he moved back when Chase approached with her robe, helping her into the silky material as Chase closed in on her side. “You’re everything to me, and for you to think that we could be turned off because you’re tired, or wearing spit-up because you’ve been taking care of the child you gave us, infuriates me.”
Rachel blushed, delighting him. “I didn’t even get to wear my new nightgown.”
“There’ll be plenty of time for that.” Chase smiled, running a finger over the upper curve of her breast. “I know how you like to get all dolled up for us, but when you put on a fancy dress, all I can think of is stripping you out of it. When you wear lipstick, I just want to kiss it off of you, and when you fix your hair, I can’t wait to mess it up again.”
To Boone’s consternation, Rachel’s eyes welled with tears.
“Thank you.”
Boone turned her to face him, wiping away a tear, so filled with love for her that he felt he might burst. “We’re only telling the truth. We love you, Rachel. Nothing can change that. We like your fancy nightgowns, but we don’t need them. We just need you.”
Chase gripped her chin. “We need you, baby.”
Boone knew that if he hadn’t been watching her closely, he would have missed the flash of relief in her eyes before she turned away.
He didn’t understand how she could doubt for a minute what they felt for her, but blamed himself. They’d fought their feelings for her for so long that they’d ripped away her security, something he vowed to never do again. “Come on, baby. Let’s get a shower and then we’ll open a bottle of that wine you like so much.”
Hours later, Boone held Rachel’s hand and stared into the darkness of their bedroom.
“She’s still exhausted.”
Boone’s lip twitched at the sound of his brother’s voice. Chase had never been as serious about things as Boone had, but Rachel had changed him. “Yes. She is, and she’s trying hard not to let us see it.”
Chase sighed. “Just like she didn’t let us see that she still thought we married her because of Theresa. Christ, I feel like an idiot.”
“So do I.” Rolling to his side, Boone gathered his wife close, breathing in the scent of raspberry and Rachel. “Erin told me some things about their father. It seems that Rachel always blamed herself for him having affairs. She was close to him, while he kept Erin and their mother at a distance. Finding out about his affairs devastated Rachel. She didn’t trust men after that.”
With a curse, Chase rolled to face her. “So trust is hard for her. Shit. We fucked up, didn’t we?”
“It’s not too late to fix it.” Boone’s stomach clenched at the thought of what could have happened. “We’ve got another chance.”
Burying her face against her neck, he let his eyes close, something inside him settling at the warm softness of her body pressed against his.
Love for her swelled inside him until he thought he would burst with it.
Breathing in the sweet scent of her, he smiled and pulled her closer, relief easing muscles that had been tense for days.
Things between them were better than ever, and he sure as hell wouldn’t let anything come between them again.
She was everything to him, and he wouldn’t let her forget it.
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
When Leah’s not writing, she loves spending time with her family and furry babies, who always keep her feet warm.
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Siren Publishing, Inc.
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