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“Good. Good. I’ll talk to you soon. Light a candle for my immortal soul, will you, Father?” Grant jokes. “I don’t think there’s much of one left to save.” I laugh. “Talk soon.”
He’s a work of art—even more beautiful in sleep where I can take it all in.
He makes me want to earn the soft smiles he doles out in moments like this. They’re rare little sketches of hope I want in my back pocket. If I’m honest, I don’t hate him. Not really. This would all be easier if I did.
“So I know you, little nun.” His fingers brush under my chin. “You don’t have to hide with me.”
“That’s just how Stockton men show their affection. They can’t just say they like you, they have to act like you’re the bane of their existence and torture themselves over whether or not to admit they might just have a little crush.”
“You’re really fucking gorgeous, Zephyrine. I hope you know that. Everything about you. Not just your face or your body. Your mind. Your laugh. Your heart. Every little thing about you. You’re literally what dreams are fucking made of.”
“Here.” He picks one and spits on it. “Just spit on it like that and wipe the dirt off. Then you can taste them.” I watch him with a raised brow, and his follows until he realizes where my mind is wandering to. “You have a filthy mind for a nun.” “I blame you. I was perfectly fine until you came along.”
“Drop the gun,” she repeats calmly, the nun coming through before the ruthless man’s daughter returns. “Or I will happily use you to test the theory.” Fuck, I like this woman.
“You’d look pretty in a paper bag. You know that, right? Whatever he said or did to you, whatever doing time with the rest of the chastity cheerleaders has convinced you of. I hope you know that much, and if you don’t, I’m happy to tell you as many times as you need to hear it.”
He’s right. With him, I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to be embarrassed. There’s no judgment. I can just let myself go.
“Never thought I’d like the sound of a woman laughing while she has my dick in her hand, but fuck if you don’t turn everything upside down. Your laugh is so damn sexy,”
He’s a rare blend, sadistic and methodical, but careful with his words and gentle in his execution of them. Cruel and kind, sometimes all in the same breath.
“I swear if you give them a chance, you might like them.” “Kind of like you?” “Kind of like me.” I smile at her.
I pull her close and kiss her softly. I shouldn’t. Not out here in the open where my family can see. Because the way I kiss her isn’t like I’m trying to seduce her or keep her in line with little favors. I kiss her like I want to make her mine.
“See that right there; you’re the only person on earth who describes Levi Stockton as sweet.”
“Who says you have to settle down? One of Grant’s best qualities is that he likes supporting whatever wild ideas I have, just as long as he can be the safety net when I jump.”
“But I just know the way he sees me, like I’m a lost little nun he has to protect. Someone who he needs to watch after. And sure, that’s been nice, but after a while, he’ll get bored with that. I see him more with someone like you.” “Strong, brave, able to overlook all his vices and violence to see who he really is?” I nod at her assessment of herself. “Exactly.” “Agreed. He’d need someone who can take her hurt and turn it into something productive. Teach him how to do the same. Someone who can sit in the silence with him long enough that he’s willing to talk. Someone who knows enough about
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Fuck, she’s gorgeous even when she’s threatening my life.
“Sometimes good things are going to be true, even if the past tries to trick us into believing they’re impossible. You taught me that.”
“All the reasons I love you are the same ones that mean I have to lose you.”
“Don’t they always tell you your body is a temple?” He answers me with a soft kiss to my core, his tongue teasing me with the promise of more before he pulls away. “I’m just worshiping at the altar, like any good penitent would.”
“Holy hell. You’re so deep.” I have to catch my breath to speak, and he drags his lips down my throat. I bury my fingers in the hair at his nape. “I have to be. The only chance I have of saving my soul is when I’m buried deep inside you,”
“I didn’t move on, Zeph. How could I possibly move on knowing you’re out here? You’re everything I ever wanted and more that I didn’t know I needed. I’m just trying to reconcile my greedy, jealous impulses with what you’re offering.”
“Do you think I could get Grant to do this?” Dakota looks at me. “I don’t think he’d let you do this in a million fucking years. He’ll kill me for giving you the idea.” “Fine.” Dakota lets out a huff of frustration. “But it’s sexy. You two have matching brands on each other. That’s commitment.” “Right?” Zephyrine agrees with Dakota. “You’d think he’d be more excited about the fact that I want him forever.” “I’m plenty fucking excited about forever, sweetheart. But I already knew that. I didn’t need a brand to prove it to me. I just have to look into those pretty blues.”
“See, just like this. The way you look at me? I can see forever right there in your eyes. You've been looking at me like that since the night at the lake.” “And when did you know it was forever?” she asks, and I grin at the fact that she doesn’t argue with me. “When I jumped in after you. When you burned me. When you kissed me that day in the woods. Just now, when you trusted me to do this. It wasn’t just once, sweetheart. It’s been every single day since I met you.”
