Alive.We’re alive.We survived.
I make sure she comes a few times before I finally let go, burying myself deep inside her.Afterward, we lie tangled together on the couch, my heart hammering against her cheek where her head rests on my chest.Dawn light filters through the blinds, painting everything in shades of gold and rose.
“We should sleep,” she murmurs against my skin.
“Probably.”
Neither of us moves.
“There are fifteen people who will wake up safe tomorrow because of what we did tonight,” I say quietly.“That’s what wholehearted looks like.”I press my lips to her hair.“Not perfection.Not fixing everything.Just doing what we can, when we can, with everything we have.”
Serena shifts, propping herself up to look at me.The sunrise catches her amber eyes, turning them to molten gold.
“Together,” she says.It’s not a question.
“Always.”I pull her back down against me.“Now sleep,álainn.We’ve got another war to fight tomorrow.”
Her body relaxes against mine as exhaustion wins the battle against adrenaline.I stay awake a little longer, watching her—the curve of her shoulder, the way she breathes, the shape of her against me—memorizing every detail to make sure Serena is here with me.
Safe.Whole.Mine.
And for the first time in my life, I let myself believe that maybe I’m allowed to have this.
That love might not bring death.
Because now I know love is the only thing worth staying alive for.
Serena taught me that.
I close my eyes and let sleep take me, my wife in my arms.
Tomorrow, we finish what we started.
But today, we’ve already won.
31
Serena
The shower water runs hot enough to turn my skin pink, but I don’t care.After a night of confessions and whispered promises and barely any sleep, I need the heat to ground me in reality.
Shelby steps in behind me without warning.His hands find my waist, pulling me back against his chest.His erection presses into my lower back, powerful and demanding.
“Thought you could use the company,” he murmurs against my ear.
I turn in his arms, water cascading down both of us.Shelby’s icy blue eyes hold nothing but heat as they trace down my body.
“And I thought you were making breakfast.”
“Changed my mind.”His mouth finds the sensitive spot beneath my ear.“I’m hungry for something else.”
His hands slide down my slick skin, one cupping my breast while the other travels lower.I gasp as his fingers find my pussy, already wet from more than just the shower spray.
“Shelby...”
“Tell me to stop.”His voice is rough with need.“Tell me you’re too tired, too sore, to do anything.And I’ll walk away.”
I reach back, gripping his hip and pulling him closer.“Don’t you dare.”
