"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For everything you’ve done for me." She lifts her head, her eyes finding mine in the dim light. "For saving me. For believing in me. For loving me when I didn't know how to love myself."
"You don't have to thank me for that."
"I know. But I want to." She presses a kiss to my chest, right over my heart. "You changed my life. You gave me a reason to keep fighting. And I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you know how grateful I am."
"The rest of your life?"
"If you'll have me."
I pull her up, settling her on top of me so I can see her face properly. "I'll have you," I say. "Every day. Every night. Every moment you're willing to give me."
"Then I guess we're stuck with each other."
"Guess so."
She laughs, and the sound is bright and free and everything I never knew I needed.
Tomorrow, there will be problems to solve. A club to run. A future to build. But tonight, there's only this.
Only her.
Only us.
CHAPTER 15
Ripley
Six months later…
I wake up to the smell of coffee and the sound of a motorcycle rumbling to life somewhere outside.
For a moment, I lie still, letting the sounds wash over me.
The creak of the clubhouse settling. Voices drifting up from the common room. The distant clatter of someone in the kitchen. Ordinary sounds. Safe sounds.
The sounds of what I now call my home.
I stretch, reaching across the bed for Levi, but his side is empty.
The sheets are cool, which means he's been up for a while.
Probably in his office, going over paperwork, handling the thousand small crises that come with running an organization like this.
I don't mind.
I've learned that his early mornings aren't about avoiding me—they're about protecting me.
About handling problems before they can become threats.
About making sure the world is safe before I have to face it.
That's who he is. My protector. My partner. My home.
I swing my legs out of bed and pad to the bathroom, catching my reflection in the mirror.
