The little Song Bird, so scared and timid only a few days ago,yelledat me.
And that means that despite all my fuck ups, and the fact that I haven’t even kissed her yet, that I’ve done something right.
She feels safe with me.
“I’m sorry, Wren.” I wipe the tear from my eye as I sit up, turning to face her. She’s still flat on her ass, staring at me incredulously. “I…I got in my own head. Thank you for yelling at me. I was so determined to not be defeated by an umbrella that I acted like a complete jackass.”
“What about smacking you in the face with it?” she whispers, her knees drawing up close to her chest. “I’ve completely ruined our date.”
“Don’t you dare go back into your cage, Song Bird.” I slide forward on my ass through the sand until I’m next to her, and she watches me with a slightly amused expression. “Theumbrella was apparently needed to knock some sense into me.”
A snort leaves her, and she quickly covers her mouth, her eyes wide. “I don’t know where that sound came from.”
Chuckling, I shake my head. “It was adorable. Now, I would love to continue on with our afternoon of relaxation, what do you think?”
Smiling, she lowers her hand from her mouth. “I would like that too.”
“Great.” I grin. “I just need to do one more thing.” Leaning forward, I take her face between my hands. Her eyes dart to my lips briefly before I’m pressing them against hers, reveling in the breathy little sound she lets out.
I’m instantly reminded of all the sounds I heard her make last night, but there’s plenty of time for that later.
When I pull back, her eyes are hooded, and her cheeks are flushed. “Now,” I grin, getting to my feet and holding out a hand to her, “are you ready for some lake fun?”
She bites back a smile as she takes my hand and gets to her feet. “So damn ready.”
“What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?” she asks thoughtfully, dragging her hands through the sand and gathering more into her pile.
“That’s a hard one,” I admit, digging a deeper hole to add to the pile of loose sand she’s using. “Do you mean strictly military? Or ever?”
“Wouldn’t the scariest thing be from your experience in the Marines?” She frowns, taking the castle mold from the sand toys and piling sand inside. She, apparently, has never built a sand castle. I want to wringher parents’ necks.
“Not even close, Song Bird.” I smile softly, shaking my head. “If you want the scariest experience in the Marines, there was a situation overseas that involved me needing to take someone out, but they had my friend as a hostage—and a human shield. I was nine-hundred and fifty-two meters away, and one move from my target could make the bullet pierce my friend's head instead.”
Her breath catches. “That sounds terrifying.”
“But it’s not the scariest thing that’s ever happened in my life.” I shrug. “I took the shot, my friend survived another day to go home to his pack and kids. He’s the one we have to thank for this cabin.”
“Oh,” she breathes, flipping the castle mold upside-down and plopping it into the sand. “That makes sense. But…if that’s not the scariest thing, then what is?”
My heart clenches, the memory rushing back to me. “When we arrived at Pack Caruso’s house…” Her hands still, and her gaze fixes on me. “I kicked the door open, and I was hit with your scent. It was sour with distress, and there was something chemical in it…but I knew immediately that you were mine. And then…it registered that Victor was holding you by the throat, and I had no idea if the blood that was on your dress was yours or not…” A shiver runs through me. “That brief bit of time between entering the house and then carrying you out in my arms…those were the scariest moments of my life. Worrying that I failed you before even meeting you. Not knowing how much damage had been done.”
“Brennan…” she whispers, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
“But then,” I smile, shaking my head, “you peeked your eyes open at me, and I heard your voice. ‘Mine’, was all you said, but it was like something locked into place for me. Youwere mine—and no matter what I had to do, I would never fail you again.”
Her hand reaches out, grasping mine. “You’ve never failed me. Not once. You didn’t evenknowme.”
I give her a sad smile. “I’m afraid I haven’t been completely honest with you.”
She freezes. “About…what?”
“About the night you met Teddy. It’s the night we all met you too. And I…I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since the moment I heard your voice.” Maybe I shouldn't have said anything, but fuck, it’s too late now.
I huff a breath. “You know that Teddy was at your birthday party because we were looking into Pack Caruso, right?” We had sort of explained everything to her that first night.
“Yes?” She tilts her head, fear dancing in her eyes.
“Well, what we haven’t told anyone is that Teddy…he never turned off his mic and camera that night. And I…well, Maverick and I…we didn’t mean to, but we just…kept watching.”
