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“You were.” The husky timbre of his voice reverberates through me, all the way to my bones. “But only about your use of past tense. Not only do I still love you. I fucking live for you, tiger cub.”
“Every breath,” he continues. “Every heartbeat. Every drop of my blood is yours. It has all been yours from the moment we met all those years ago. If you want it, I’ll carve my fucking heart out and lay it at your feet. It’s yours, and always will be.”
“If I tell you, you’ll hate me forever, cub. Say the word, and I’ll confess every dark sin of mine to you. Just not that one.”
“I was so angry and hurt when I realized it was you,” I continue. “For a while, I even hated you. The only man whom I trusted absolutely. The man who said he’ll never do me harm. The love of my life . .
“I didn’t know, cub.” A tear slides down his cheek. “I swear, I didn’t know. When I saw you there, rushing toward him, and realized what I had done . . . I wanted to die, Nera. I’d rather kill myself a thousand times than cause you the slightest anguish. But I didn’t know. The fucking barely literate bastard that I am, I didn’t even bother to read the bio of the target. Please, believe me. I didn’t know. I didn’t fucking know.”
I loved my father. Realizing that my demon was the one who killed him, almost crushed me. Almost. But I forgave him. Nearly as soon as I grasped the truth. I loved him too much not to. Yet, he still left. And that did crush me.
“I’ve dreamed of being inside you again for years,” I say next to her ear as I trail my palms down the small of her back to grab her ass, positioning myself at her entrance. “I’ve imagined how you’ll smell. The tiny sounds you’ll make.” Slowly, I slide inside her warmth, one agonizing half inch at a time, savoring every single moment. “I’ve wondered if it would feel the same. Like before.”
“Over ninety-nine million,” I growl as I keep slamming into her. “That’s how many seconds I’ve spent without you. And every single one felt like death, Nera.” I crush my mouth to hers. “Never again.”
“I need to make you come again, cub. I’ll keep taking you over and over until I’m convinced you’re real—here in my arms—and not some figment of my imagination. I need to watch you shatter under my touch. Again. And again.” I slide two fingers inside her and lean to whisper in her ear. “I’m going to fuck you until my damn cock bursts and my brain finally accepts that you’re with me and I’m not dreaming. You’re mine.” I curl my fingers upward. “You got me, cub?”
“You belong here,” I say. “With me. And our daughter. But I need to know, Kai. I need to know. No lies. And no more secrets.”
“You never lost me.” I kiss his chin. Then his collarbone. “I was always only yours. Even when I believed that I’d never see you again.” I sweep the strands of hair from his face, then kiss his cheek. “Even when I believed that you forgot me or no longer cared.”
“You, my tiger cub, were the only thing I remembered.” He lowers his head and buries himself inside me. “My everything.”
“The safety of you and my daughter has no price tag,” he grits out, then clashes his mouth to mine. “Let it go, Nera.”
“I’ll never forgive myself for not being there for you. But, I’m here now, and no one will so much as look at you wrong going forward. Whoever dares, will instantly meet his maker. And if you decide you’d rather keep this weird criminal empire of yours, I’ll off your scheming stepbrother the moment he’s out from behind bars so he can’t take it from you.”
“It was the hardest fucking thing I’ve ever had to do. Not being able to hold you in my arms, have you next to me.” I kiss her. “But I have you now. You’re safe. I promise.”
“No, baby.” I rise onto my toes and kiss his jawline. “I’m going to tell her that her dad is Kai Mazur. The man who’s been watching over me for years, keeping me safe. Who took a bullet for me. The man who has barely slept in weeks because he’s been protecting us. Who spent hours simply watching her sleep, instead of getting rest himself. Our guardian angel. The love of my life.” I tilt his head lower until our lips touch. “The man who loves her and her mamma more than anything else. Just as we love him. That’s what I’ll tell our daughter.”
“I’ll love you till the last drop of blood courses through my veins, tygrysek,” I whisper.
“Okay. Oatmeal is yummy.” Lucia shrugs, takes the elastic from her ponytail, and tries to put it in my hair. “Last time Mommy made me oatmeal we had lotsa boomers and big rain, which made Mommy sad. But she told me a secret then. She said my daddy gotted lost a long time ago in the storm. But that he gonna find us one day. Are you my daddy, Rapunzel-boy?”
“You are my reason for living, cub. And, in this life, I don’t need a signature or a ceremony to confirm that you’re mine. You are. And I’m yours, every cell of my body. Till my dying breath. And even when I perish, in whatever afterlife awaits.” He cups my cheek in his palm and bends his head so our noses are almost touching. “But I want to do this thing right.”
“Would you please be my wife, tiger cub?” “Always, demon.”
