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Deaton speaks up, “My hands stay where they belong—on her. And I’ll take her on that walk, but you’re welcome to come if you feel like showing us around.”
“I’m right fucking here. I’ve been right fucking here. For years. You walked away. You refused to acknowledge what I’ve basically been begging to give you.”
“Why?” He crouches in front of me. “Why can’t you take them back? Why can’t you let me love you?”
“Then, fix it. Right now.” His eyes flit between mine, and my pulse quickens. “What are you asking me exactly?” “I’m asking you to pick me.”
I know for a fact I can be everything you could ever need. I fucking feel it, Kenra. With everything inside me … I feel you.”
“Don’t wish anything for me. Don’t do anything for me. Do it for you. Be happy for you. What I want, shit, what I need? Is to know that you’re happy.”
“Would it matter if she didn’t? Change her mind, I mean.” He stares at me, his eyes pinched at the sides. “Not even a little bit.” “Then, what are you worried about?” “Her selflessness,” he answers instantly, and it clicks.
“Nate.” I shake my head. He looks away. “She disappeared on me once. I know that shit was different, and we’re solid as fuck now, but what if she does it again because she wants me to have all the things she thinks I need or want? I don’t need a damn thing but her. Not a damn thing,” he mumbles. “You tell her that?” “’Bout every day since you brought me back to her.”
“I pretty much asked Kenra to leave Kellan for me today.” Nate’s eyes flash to mine. “I’m in love with your sister.” “In love with my sister?”
But she has to be brave enough to make us happen.
From now on, I’ll be right here, fighting. Every day until the day she—if she—marries him. And maybe even after.
They get a full four steps when Deaton calls out, “Hey, Mason!” Mason nods over his shoulder. “You got my family in your hands.” Respect. That’s what Deaton just earned in one sentence.
“You’re worth everything I have, Kens,” he whispers, and a small smile takes over my lips. “Everything I am is already yours; you just have to take it.”
“I’m ready.” He’s quiet and then, “For?” “You.” I swallow. “Us.”
“I’ll do whatever you need me to. Be wherever you need me to be.”
“I’ll save you every chance I get. You fall; I fall.”
“You leave here; I break. You don’t come back; I shatter. You live unhappy, unloved, and underappreciated, and I fucking die inside, Kenra. Please. Don’t go.”
“Shh, baby. It’ll be okay.” He cradles her face. “I know you’re afraid, but I know we can do this. I promise you, Payton. We talked about getting away, starting a family later anyway. Now, we just get to do it sooner.”
“Just you wait, baby. This is only the beginning.” He rubs her belly, and her hand comes down to cover his. “I love you both. I’ll take care of everything.”
AWW DEATON
I knew this would happen. It always does. I give Kenra everything I have, and she carries it with her on the way back to him.
I belong to her, but she doesn’t wanna belong to me.
“That night in Mexico, when shit blew up in my face, you said to me, ‘He doesn’t get to do this to you.’ I heard you. Hear me, Hero. She does not get to do this to you.”
“And Deaton?” I ask quietly. “How’d he … what happened?” “There were no airbags in the back, and when they flipped, his head …” She gets choked up. “They said he died instantly.”
I’m convinced I’m the only one who can bring her back to being her. And I will. Because I’m her safety. And I’ll be her defense, protect her from anyone who gets in her—in our—zone even if I have to protect her from herself.
I don’t care what happens today, tomorrow, next fucking month. In the end, it’s her and me. It has to be.
While Lolli’s face doesn’t change, there’s a flare in her eyes at that. “You come within a state of him, and I’ll flip your life upside down without thinking twice. You wanna play with no rules, lady? Fine. I’m game.”
I’m broken down. Out of options and out of time. Out of fucking hope. And completely gutted.
“That boy is something special,” she whispers. “That was a beautiful thing he did, shielding you and your family like that.”
There’s only one answer. It’s a question I don’t even have to process, but it still saddens me to admit it. “In a heartbeat,” I tell him in a whisper.
“Name your price, Baylor.” He lifts his chin. “Everything has a number.” “She’s my number.”
But, if I have nothing, if all is gone and all that’s left is her, I’ll still have everything. She is everything.
“I’ve loved her for years. Can’t stop and don’t want to. She’s the most selfless, big-hearted, beautiful woman I have ever known. She’s more than I deserve but all I want. She was there for me when no one else cared to be, heard me when no one else would. She gave me hope. Made me believe there was more when all I felt was emptiness.
I’ve tried not to let her back in ’cause, every time she goes, she takes more of me with her, but my heart’s defenseless when it comes to her. I can’t shake her. Can’t deny her. She’s inside me, and she ain’t going anywhere. Ever.”
“You don’t need to ask me, sir.” My eyes bounce between his. “The answer is yes. I’m sure about her and I. She has all of me.”
Right there, mid-page, in bold-ass print, it shows the bill of ownership. Fifty percent belongs to Kalani Lee Embers. Fifty percent belongs to Parker James Baylor.
“You’re my family, Parker,” she whispers, tears filling her blue eyes as she squeezes my hands, letting me know she’s got me. “And, now … you’re her hero.”
“I’m done.” I slide my lips against his, closing my eyes. “I don’t wanna wait anymore.” “Wait for what, baby?” he breathes. “Tell me. Say it for me.” My eyes pop open to lock on his. “I wanna be yours … I’ve been yours.”
“Me and you. Fuck the world here. You try to go, and I’ll drag your ass back. Don’t care where or why. No excuses or reasons will cut it. Not a fucking thing, no fucking more.” He pops a blond brow, making me grin. “I’ve got no more plays. I’m all out of defense here. Gotta keep you now.”
“Didn’t you know, Mr. Baylor?” I lick his lips, and he groans, trying to catch my lips, but I pull back. “When it comes to each other, our hearts are defenseless. No way out. No others in.” “No way out,” he repeats in a cemented tone.
“Don’t worry,” I whisper. His features tighten as emotion flares in his gaze. “Be happy,” he responds in just above a whisper.
So Parker, my safety.
“I love you, Kenra Monroe,” he whispers. “Always.” “Always,” I whisper back with a smile of my own. This is it. The beginning.
“You, Deaton Baylor, will be the most loved little dude ever.” My heart both hurts and swells in pride when Lolli says his name.
im gonna cry
“I need to hold you in our bed, in our home, every morning and night. I want you there, with me, always. Let’s erase all the bad with good, Kens.”
“Me and you, every night, Nightingale.” She grins against my lips, her eyes still closed. “Every night, Safety.”
She’s everything I ever wanted and nothing I thought I’d ever have. But here she is. In my arms. My nightingale.
