She squeezed his hand.“You and me.”She smiled, loving the sound of that.“Want me to let your family in now?”
“You ready for them?”
They were a huge part of his life.She would never get in the way of that.And, bonus, she actually liked them all.“I’m ready.”For his family.For him.For their future together.
For all of it.
Bring it on.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
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As soon as Tristanwas discharged from the hospital, Cassie drove him back to his place, where he went straight into the shower and then crashed.He slept like the dead, spent another two days mostly in bed or on the couch recovering from the blood loss and surgery.
On day four, he woke curled up on his right side with the sound of the rain tapping on the window.Faint, gray morning light filtered in around the edges of the blinds covering the windows.
The pain in his arm was down to a dull ache, and he no longer felt that heavy weight of exhaustion dragging him under.Cassie was sprawled out on her stomach next to him in the wide bed, face turned toward him.Her breathing was soft and even, her lashes casting dark shadows against the tops of her cheeks.
His heart rolled over in his chest with a hard thud as he drank her in.He couldn’t believe she was finally, completely his.If getting shot was what it had taken to get her to realize and admit her feelings, then everything he’d gone through was more than worth it.
He loved his family to death.They had all been amazing with helping out and checking in on them since he’d come home.But Cassie had been with him 24/7 and done most of the heavy lifting while also dealing with her own aftermath.
Without her beside him throughout his recovery so far, he would have been lost, and he’d done everything in his power to be there for her in return.
Her mouth and skin looked so soft, but her pointed chin betrayed her stubbornness.She was strong and brave and capable.The way she’d handled the situation with Quinn, facing him down all alone, blew him away.She was dealing with everything the best she could, but it was a heavy load.
And though his left upper arm ached like a bad tooth, being this close to her naked body made him hard all over.She hadn’t been sleeping well, or much.He didn’t want to wake her now but couldn’t stop himself from gently skimming the fingers of his right hand over her hair.
Her lashes fluttered.She stirred, opening sleepy silver eyes that focused on him quickly.
“You okay?”Her voice was raspy.Sexy as the rest of her.
“Just drinking you in.Didn’t want to wake you up, go back to sleep.”
Her soft smile soothed the deepest part of him.“I’d rather look at you.”She moved closer to kiss him gently.Her thigh shifted, coming into contact with the ridge of his erection.She pulled her face back, staring at him in surprise.“Oh.Are you...?”
