CHAPTER 9
I collapse against Legion's chest, my breathing still ragged, my body limp with satisfaction. The sun plays hide-and-seek behind the banded claystone walls of our canyon hideaway, casting shifting patterns across our tangled bodies.
This little alcove has been my secret place since childhood—a natural fortress of rock where even my mother's camera couldn't find me.
Now it's ours.
Legion's heartbeat thumps steady beneath my ear. His fingers thread through my hair, separating the strands with gentle precision. Neither of us speaks. We don't need to.
I trace the edge of his brand with my fingertip. The infection has receded, leaving behind a mess of scar tissue—angry and red, but healing. Ten days of antibiotics and around-the-clock care have pulled him back from the edge. The memory of his fever-bright eyes and incoherent mumbling still wakes me at night, cold sweat prickling my skin.
I want this silence to last forever. I want this peace we find ourselves in, to be real.
But it’s not and so… eventually… the words come.
And they come from him, not me.
Because this can't last.
"So…" Legion starts, his voice vibrating through his chest and into my ear. "What's the plan?"
What's the plan. I could ask what he means, but why? I know what he's asking. What's the plan for us? Because it sure as hell isn't living on my family ranch like the Ashby's and Kanes are just some big happy family.
I don't want to talk about this. Not now. Not when his skin is still warm against mine, not when I can still feel the phantom thickness of his cock inside me.
Instead of answering, I turn over and hook my leg across his hip. I press my lips to the side of his neck, just below his jaw where his pulse beats strong and steady. My fingertips trace down his stomach, barely touching, following the trail of blonde hair that disappears beneath the blanket.
I find him. Not fully hard again, but getting there.
Legion chuckles, but puts a hand on mine to stop the intervention.
"What’s wrong?" I murmur, my words low and soft as they touch his ear. "Did I wear you out? Is the Little Ashby Princess too much for big bad Demon Kane?"
Legion smiles. He knows I'm changing the subject, but if he cares, he doesn't show it. Instead, he places his hands behind his head and lets me play with him. I wrap my fingers around his shaft, stroking him casually—not trying to have sex again, just enjoying the feel of him growing harder under my touch. Just enjoying the fact that he’s mine.
For the first time in my life, I’ve got Legion Kane all to myself.
Is it a crime that I want to enjoy it?
"I love you," I whisper against his collarbone, the words muffled but unmistakable.
His fingers begin a gentle exploration of my hair, separating the strands, twisting them around his fingers before letting them fall.
"I feel so much better," Legion says, breaking the spell I’m tryin’ to put him under. His hand slides from my hair to my bare shoulder, tracing lazy patterns on my skin. "Thank you for everything you've done, Savannah. The medical team, bringing me here, taking care of Mercy. I don't know what would've happened if?—"
Something cold slips into my stomach despite the warmth of the sun on my back.
He's better now.
He can leave.
I've been so focused on getting him well that I haven't let myself think about what happens after. But the truth crashes down on me all at once.
Legion never had any plans to stay at the ranch.
It was only ever a necessity—for his health, for Mercy's safety.
A temporary solution to an immediate problem.
