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pair of the bluest eyes I’d ever seen met my gaze. Blue like the ocean on a sunny day. Blue like the evening skies above the Montana mountains. An endless blue that swallowed me whole.
hummed. “Nice to meet you, No One Special. Mind if I call you Hot Bar Guy instead?”
Savannah, my beautiful and stubborn girl, kept returning. And I’d never turn her away. She’d gotten better at hiding her visits. And if she was here, I made sure to sneak her out the back before I opened the front.
Hux inched forward, towering over me, all height and strength. His spice-and-soap scent filled my nose. His heat engulfed me. Hux’s fingers found their way to my hair as his palm cupped my jaw.
“Haven’t I been punished enough?” Wasn’t a prison sentence enough? Weren’t years and years of guilt enough? Wasn’t missing out on Savannah’s life enough? Because she’d stripped me bare. April had taken every good thing in my life. My freedom. My child. That woman had broken my heart.
“I like Savannah,” I said. “She reminds me of me when I was that age. Stubborn but soft. She wants to pretend like she’s got it all figured out but deep down, she’s scared. She’s unsure, though she’ll never admit it.”
“You look beautiful.” I smiled. “Don’t say shit like that to me.”
Fuck, but she was beautiful. The warm tones of the paint swirled with the caramel and cinnamon flecks in her eyes. The chocolate of her hair. Everly was a piece of living art. “One of these days, I’m going to see you bare. I’m going to put a mark on every one of your curves. Highlight every line. Then I’m going to sink into your tight pussy and fuck you all night long.”
“No. I don’t need a big dream. I’d rather accomplish a small one,” I admitted. “I want a happy life. A simple home. I want to be around people who aren’t afraid to belly laugh and tell me they love me.”
He loved her so fiercely, it broke my heart to see his pain.
“Thank you.” “Huh?” I panted. “Thank you,” he repeated. “Two weeks a month is more than I’ve ever had. It’s . . . everything. Don’t know why but when the judge came in, looked at you and smiled, I just knew it was going to work this time. This whole thing worked. Because of you.”
“I was afraid if I touched you in that courtroom, I’d fuck you in that courtroom.”
“Get. Out. No one touches my wife.”
“The only man who touches you is me,” he said, his voice husky and as dark as the painting. “The only man who watches you is me.”
I wished he’d say those words because he wanted me. For years and years to come.
Life with Everly had taken me by surprise. She had taken me by surprise. Ev had the grit to gut out the hard moments. She had a smile that made the good ones shine like the sun. Along the way, it had stopped being about sex. Or only sex. She’d become a constant. A companion. Maybe even a friend.
My daughter wasn’t going to let anyone into her life without testing their resolve first.
started driving and I guess . . . I like it here. It’s peaceful. I needed some peace.” It was the same reason I’d come here too. But another realization came crashing down as I stared out the window. The peace wasn’t in this meadow. It wasn’t the grass or the flowers or the trees. The peace was at Everly’s side.
His sweet moments. His scowl. The way he loved his daughter. The way he made me feel safe. Emotion clawed at my throat but I swallowed it down, holding those blue eyes that peered straight into my soul. He made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. He made me feel special. Craved. I was his addiction and he was mine.
That was all I needed in this life. Love from this beautiful girl.
“You don’t believe me.” “No, I don’t fucking believe you.” She jerked and whatever pain was in her eyes turned to fury. “I have never done anything but help you. I have never been anything but honest. And no matter what I do, you don’t trust me.”
It had been for mine. Hux made me feel safe. He made me feel wanted and worshiped. His heart was a mirror image of mine, the missing piece. How could I not love him?
mine. “I started your portrait three days after that first night.” “What?” But then that would mean . . . “I love you.” His voice was a warm caress. “Fuck, but I love you.” My chin quivered and a sloppy smile split my face. “Don’t say shit like that to me.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my scowling husband?” He flashed me his breathtaking smile. “My wife told me to work on that scowl.”
