Where We Found Our Home (Lost & Found, #1)

by Natasha Bishop

“Tell me no, Angel. Tell me to stop, and I’ll leave right now. We can forget it ever happened or we can slow it down. But if you tell me yes—if you tell me you want me—I’m going to carry you to your bedroom and worship your body from head to toe until you scream my name and then I’m going to bury myself so deep inside you, you’ll still feel me there tomorrow.”

“Angel. Nothing is more important to me than your safety. If you need this to feel comfortable, let me give it to you. I wanna be the only thought on your brain when I sink inside you.”

The marks we’re leaving will fade physically, but we’ve embedded a piece of our souls within each other, and I know already that it can never be undone.

We’re lying in my bed, her legs draped over mine, her arm wrapped around my waist, and her face pressed against my chest. Her natural orange and vanilla scent surrounds me, putting me under her spell. I move a piece of her hair off her face. She stirs but just barely. I’m in fucking trouble. I’m falling for this girl. Hard. It terrifies the ever-loving shit out of me. I don’t know if I’m ready for this. I put my heart on the line once, and it ended in tragedy. But I know I’ll regret it ten times more if I let her go now.

“You’re not. I’m asking you. I am honored you’ve shared this with me, Ciara. I’m honored you trusted me with this. So now I’m asking you to trust me to make my own choice with the information you’ve given me. I choose you. I choose to be the person you lean on, the person to keep you safe, the person to be your strength when you feel like you don’t have any.”

“Lincoln, you are a dream I long thought impossible. Thank you for dragging me out of my darkness and into your light, and thank you for allowing me to carry your darkness too. I’ll treasure it the way you treasure me.” Knocked. On. My. Ass.

He chuckles. “I love you. I think loving you was inevitable. I didn’t want it to be, but my soul recognized its match in you the moment you jumped in front of that car. It forced my heart to start beating again, just to answer your siren call.” My breath hitches as his words etch themselves onto my soul. “I’m not telling you this so you’ll say it back. It’s okay if you’re not there with me. I know life is complicated right now, and you may not be ready to hear this but I don’t want to go another day without telling you how I feel. Your courage feeds the piece of me that’s been hiding beneath the ashes of my life. Your selflessness calls out to my soul that’s been drifting away so slowly I didn’t even recognize it at first. I feel like myself again with you. You set me free, Angel. So I don’t care if you’re never ready to say the words back to me. I will always be yours.” He doesn’t even wait for me to respond. He just kisses the top of my head and then goes to the kitchen to make dinner.

“Here’s what I know. I know you have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. Your selflessness knows no bounds. I know you have the insane ability to make me laugh one moment and make my dick twitch in the next. I know you make me happier than I’ve ever been, and I breathe easier when you’re near. I don’t need to wait any longer to see if we’re right for each other. Our love story was written in the stars the moment I held you in my arms. I don’t want to waste time. I want to start the rest of our lives right now. So question time, Angel. Don’t think, just answer. Will you marry me?”