She waves off my concern. “Don’t be crazy. Of course we came, and Lyra loves seeing everyone.”
I smile at my niece’s cute face. “Perks of being so little, I guess.” Turning my head, I look over at Savanna. “Van, come here, baby.”
She walks over, and when she’s within reach, I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her into me. Her body fits to mine so perfectly, and every time I feel it, it’s a reminder that she was always meant to be mine.
“Look who just woke up,” I tell her, but she’s already leaning in and oohing and ahhing about how cute Lyra is and then giving Talia a hug.
“We’re so glad you’re back safely,” Talia tells her. “We know you’re both exhausted, but I really wanted to come down just to check.”
Lyra looks around at us from where she’s nestled in my brother’s arms. She’s fine one second and then she’s scrunching up her cute face and letting out a scream that feels way too powerful to come out of such a small body.
Talia laughs while Max readjusts her so she’s up against his chest and he’s patting her tiny butt. “Right on cue,” Talia says. “It’s time for me to feed her, but make sure you get my numberfrom Niki, okay? I know what you’re going through, and I’m here if you ever want to talk.”
“Thank you,” Savanna says. “I really appreciate that. After we get some sleep, you guys need to come down and eat with us. I’d love to get to know Lyra, too, when she’s not so hungry.”
Talia grins at her. “She’s much sweeter then. Just let us know when you feel up to company. We’ll be in town for as long as you need us.”
“We should get back upstairs, too,” my dad says, “let you two rest.”
My mom’s already giving us hugs and then racing over to help Max with Lyra. She motions for Grace to join her. “Come on, you both should come, too. We’ll get some lunch and talk about the wedding our kids are about to have.” My mom looks over at us and winks, “And how many grandkids we think they should have. I think five sounds like a good number, don’t you?”
Grace laughs and says, “Or six, that way it’s even.”
“I like the way you think. Six is much better,” my mom says as they walk to the door.
We say our goodbyes, and when we’re finally alone again, I wrap my arms around Savanna and pull her in for a tight hug.
“Six does sound good,” I murmur into her hair. “One of them is bound to have a dimple and be good with computers.”
She huffs out a laugh and angles her head so I can kiss her neck. The bandages on my hands are annoying, but my fingers are still free, so I run them through her hair, letting the soft strands drag along my skin while I nip and suck on her neck.
“Tony said we’re supposed to rest,” she says, making me smile before I run my tongue along her pulse point.
“Such a little rule follower. You’re going to make an excellent teacher.”
“You’re trying to corrupt me,” she says.
I let my teeth gently graze her skin. “Thoroughly,” I say, not even bothering to deny it. With my hands like this, I can’t lift her like I want, so I lean down just a bit and say, “Wrap those beautiful legs around me, Van.”
She doesn’t make me ask twice. With her arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders, she hikes one long leg around my hip and then stops. I know she’s worrying about my hands, but I don’t want her worrying about anything, so I bring my mouth to hers, kissing away her hesitation as I snake my right forearm under her ass, giving her the leverage she needs.
In between kisses, she whispers, “Don’t you dare hurt yourself, Niki.”
“I’m not planning on it, baby, now stop worrying.”
Before she can say anything else, I deepen the kiss and carry her to bed. We’re both exhausted, so when I slide into her, it’s sweet and slow. She keeps her blue eyes locked on mine, both of us not wanting to look away from the other, and when I feel her body tense and hear the sexy whimper of my name falling from her lips, I don’t even try to fight it. I let her body take me over the edge right along with her, both of us climaxing together. The pleasure that thunders through me is nothing compared to the bliss I feel at just having her beneath me, at feeling her around me and knowing she’s alive and safe and mine.
Instead of pulling out, I keep her against me and roll over, dragging the covers up and around us while she rests her head on my shoulder and buries her face against my neck. I kiss her shoulder and wrap my arms around her. Last night I would’ve given anything for this moment, and now that it’s here, I feel like it’s a dream.
Afraid I’ll fall asleep and wake up to a reality where she’s still missing, I keep my eyes open, lightly dragging my thumb along the soft skin of her back. I feel her body go lax as she drifts off,but I stay awake for hours, holding her and convincing myself that she’s not about to disappear again.
Exhaustion finally wins, but even as I fall asleep, I keep her tightly held against me, refusing to let her go.
Chapter 22
Savanna
Over the next week, Niki hovers over me, looking adorably worried every time I do anything he deems “too dangerous,” like trying to unpack boxes, setting my office up, or going to class. He wants me to rest, and he convinced me to take the week off. I’m really glad I did. My instinct was to push through, but I’m still waking up from nightmares every night, and I can’t shed the guilt about the woman I couldn’t save.
