“I didn’t mean to fall in love with you, either, but my heart made that choice long before I had a say in it,” she says, reciting words I’ll never forget because I wrote them. “And when you’re ready, I’ll be standing right here,” she continues, then shocks the hell out of me when she slowly slips her wedding rings off her finger. “Waiting for you.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
ELIZABETH
Beautifully Broken Love
For years,I have worn my grief like body armor, hoping to protect the remnants of my fractured heart. I never expected to fall in love again. The Fates, who were often cruel with how they manipulated my life, had also gifted me with two great loves. Jayson and Ryder. My moonlight and my starshine. My two best friends. The two boys whose smiles stole my heart when I was a little girl. My first love and my forever love. I never thought it would be possible to love another man the way I loved them.
Until Fallon.
This beautifully broken man whose darkness soothes the damaged parts of me. A man who makes me laugh when I thought I’d forgotten how. A man who challenges me and dares me to be fearless but also supports me every terrifying step of the way. He accepts all my jagged pieces and never tries to erase the past that Jayson and Ryder occupy, only asks to walk beside it at his own pace. And when I stumble along the way, he steadies me. When I fall, he catches me.
I finally see it all. I seehim, truly, for the first time. How he’s always been there beside me, quietly moving through the shadows of my life, unassuming, but always there.
Reading the letters Fallon wrote to me shifted something, like a missing piece of the puzzle of my life had finally been placed in the space where it belonged.
The ache of Ryder’s absence hasn’t faded—it will always be there—but it no longer feels like a prison made of grief and heartbreak. Because I’m finally…finally…ready to move on. Completely and without reservation.
I’m ready for the final chapter of my story to begin.
With my heart pummeling my ribcage, I curl my fingers around my wedding rings, feeling their warmth one last time. Fallon’s ice-blue gaze tracks my movements as I gently set them on the dresser.
“I love you, Fallon. Not as a friend or because you saved me when my life fell apart. I love you as the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.” Taking a step toward him, I lift my hand, offering him my whole heart without fear because I know it’s safe with him. “Are you ready for another adventure, Fallon Parker Montgomery?”
The smile that breaks free across his face dazzles me. He grabs my hand, and I’m suddenly crushed against him.
“Goddammit, Kitten,” he says, tears choking his words.
I’ve only seen him cry once before—that night in Barcelona. He hates showing weakness of any kind, but he wears his vulnerability for me like an open wound.
“You don’t have to take off your rings to prove that you love me.”
A future of possibilities opens as I stare into this magnificent man’s eyes. “I know.” With reverent fingertips, I caress the side of his face, from temple to cheek. “But just to be clear so there isno misunderstanding, I want to spend the rest of my life loving you with everything I have in me.”
Fallon tilts my face, his kiss possessive and demanding. And damn, does he kiss me.
Fisting his shirt, I pull him closer, moaning louder with every stroke of his tongue. “Take me to bed.”
The significance of my request is monumental, and he tenderly cups my face between his calloused hands, his love for me shining brightly behind the tears.
“Soon,” he says, and I know I’m in trouble—the very good kind—when his eyes glint cerulean fire. “But you’re not in charge right now.” He sneaks a hand underneath the front of my shorts to find me already soaking and needy. His smoldering gaze holds mine with a challenge as he slips a finger inside me. “Let’s see how quiet you can be. Don’t want the kids to hear me defiling their mother.”
“No, we wouldn’t want that,” I rasp as he teases circles on my clit that have an explosion of desire racing through me.
Craving the release his clever fingers are promising, I adjust my stance and widen my legs. Pleasure pulses and swirls as he deliberately edges me toward climax…only to stop just when I’m about to tip over that sharp edge into bliss.
“Fallon.”
Another smile, this one full of amused devilment. “I love it when you purr.”
“It was a growl, not a purr.”
“Let’s see what sounds you make when I do this.”
Whatever I was about to say comes out as a long moan when he punishes my clit with firm strokes.Oh god. Oh god. I have no time to prepare. No time to brace. My orgasm slams into me with brutal force, stealing the air from my lungs.
The room flips when he lifts me and lies me down on the bed, deftly shedding my shorts until I’m left bare to his heated gaze.
