Raising her hand over my heart, she asked, “All of you?”
I covered hers with my own and nodded. “You always have.”
She inhaled deeply, eyes fluttering closed, as if steeling herself for something. When those amber orbs locked on mine again, she said, “I love you, which is all that matters now. Right?”
My heart launched itself into my throat. I wasn’t a crier, but my nose stung with the threat of tears, and I blinked furiously to keep them at bay.
“I love you,” I rasped. “I havealwaysloved you. There has never been anyone else for me, sunny, and there never will be.”
Sutton merely grinned and kissed me.
Our tongues tangled, slow, explorative strokes that set my blood on fire. My cock thickened between us, but I ignored it, not wanting to push things. Instead, I lost myself in the feel of her mouth on mine. When we peeled apart, breathing hard, Sutton turned her back to me and returned to the cradle of my thighs, head resting on my chest.
Sutton had said earlier she was worried I’d wake up one day and not want her anymore—an insane notion, and I realized there might be a way toconvinceher that would never happen.
“You know how I was in that coma?” I asked conversationally.
She snorted. “Yes, I’m familiar with you almost dying, thanks. Why?”
“I had a dream.”
“What kind of dream?”
“I like to think it was more of a…vision of the future than a dream.”
“Okay…” she said slowly, likely thinking I was losing my mind.
“It was about us.”
“Us?”
“Mhm.” I lifted my hands, smoothing them over the gentle slopes of her shoulders and down her arms, covering hers with my palms. “We were married.” I traced my thumb over her ring finger. Then I bent to press a kiss to the side of her neck, speaking against her skin. “And we had kids.”
She shivered. “How many?” she asked quietly, as though afraid to speak too loudly and break the spell, tilting her head to give me better access to her throat.
“Two.” I gave her two quick kisses. “A girl and a boy.”
“I’ve always wanted one of each.”
“I’ll give them to you,” I promised.
Sutton giggled. “You can’t control that.”
“No, you don’t get it. This dream…it feltreal. As real as me sitting here with you right now. I have a hard time convincing myself that’s not exactly what our future looks like.”
“You’d want that? Marriage, kids?”
“I just said that.”
She reached around and pinched my side. “Don’t be a brat. I’m just making sure.”
Angling her head so I could capture her mouth again, I spoke against her lips.
“I want everything with you.”
thirty
. . .
