“This wasn’t here last time,” she murmurs.
“No.”
She traces the lines of the tattoo with her fingertips. “A red rose.” Her gaze finds mine, and there’s a question in it.
“When I couldn’t find you, I got the tattoo. I kept you close to my heart and never gave up hope of seeing you again.” She blinks quickly and looks away. “Hey.” I turn her face toward me. “Don’t cry. I’ve found you now.” I pull her onto my lap and draw her body toward mine. “I’ve got you now, Paige.”
I kiss her eyelids and her cheeks and the corners of her mouth. I kiss every part of her, and every kiss feels like coming home.
Three years of waiting for this comes out in my kisses and movements as I explore her body, running my mouth and hands over every part of her I can reach.
I’d given up on this. I’d given up on finding Rose, but what I’ve found is so much better.
We move together, and when I can’t hold back any longer, I lift her up and slide inside her welcoming pussy. She arches her back, and I grab hold of her as if I might lose her again. My mouth encloses around a nipple, and she cries out my name. Her head flicks forward, and her hair trails across my shoulder as her breasts skim my chest.
I’m home. I’m where I’m meant to be, and it doesn’t matter that my body has changed. We’ve both changed, but our bodies mold together in the best way.
I roll my hips, and Paige grabs by shoulders. Her moans turn to cries as she releases, and a moment later, I explode inside her. I pull her close, and we cling to each other, panting and satisfied.
For one glorious moment, I forget what I’m missing, and I’m consumed with what I have. A beautiful woman whom I’m never letting go of.
27
PAIGE
Ryan jerks next to me, and I jolt into a sitting position. A red light flickers on his vibrating watch.
“There’s an intruder.” He pulls the covers off and slides his body around the side of the bed.
“Noah.” I race out of bed and down the hall, skidding to a stop when I reach Noah’s room. He lies peacefully on his back, soft rattling snores coming from his open mouth.
My hand goes to my chest, which is when I realize I’m completely naked. The memory of last night cuts through the panic for one blissful moment, making my body heat even as I slap my hands over my exposed areas.
There’s a thump from the bedroom. In my rush to get to Noah, I forgot about Ryan and his prosthetic. I jog back to the bedroom and find him on the floor.
He’s pulling himself back onto the bed. His face is set in a determined line, made even more determined by the red glow from the flashing light on his watch.
The watch that tells us someone is on the property.
I reach for the light switch.
“No,” Ryan grits out. “I don’t want them to know that we know they’re here.”
He reaches the prosthetic, and with one hand on the bed, he pulls himself up to sit on the bed. He’s slow, and that’s not his fault, but there’s someone creeping around my property, and I need to do something about it.
I throw a t-shirt over my head and grab the baseball bat from under the bed.
“What are you doing?” Ryan whispers.
He’s struggling to pull on his underpants, and if I weren’t so panicked, I might find this funny. We went to all the trouble of setting up cameras, and we’ve both been caught literally with our pants down. We’re wasting precious seconds, but I don’t want to draw attention to how long Ryan is taking. He’s sensitive about his prosthetic, and even though certainly nothing was lacking last night, I don’t want him to feel less than if he’s too slow to go out there and protect us.
“I’m going to…” I tap the bat on the palm of my hand.
What exactly am I planning to do out there? Last time, I chased them away, and they ran quicker than I did and got away. I’m not sure I could actually swing the bat and hurt anyone.
Ryan finally tugs his underpants over his thighs, and as he pulls them over his hips, I glimpse his smooth, grabbable ass. But instead of strapping into his prosthetic, he reaches for his laptop. He pulls it onto his lap and opens the lid.
“Neither of us is going out there.”
