Violet’s eyes drift to my arm. “I’ve been wondering about these,” she says softly, her fingers skimming along the edge of my forearm where the ink disappears beneath my sleeve.
I glance down, watching her trace the outline of a tattooed wing that curves around my bicep. “Which one?”
“Any of them. All of them,” she says, looking up at me with those green eyes.
“This one,” I say, rolling up my sleeve to reveal the full spread of black wings that wrap around my upper arm. “I got it after my second tour.”
Her touch is featherlight as she traces the outline.
“We lost someone,” I say. “From our unit. He was this kid from Georgia with the world’s worst poker face. Couldn’t lie tosave his life. Always talking about his mom’s blackberry cobbler.”
I shake my head. “He stepped on an IED right in front of me.”
Violet’s hand stills on my arm, her eyes wide and focused on mine.
“Wings were his thing,” I continue. “He had this saying about how we all needed wings to get home. That we were watching over each other.” I flex my arm slightly, the ink rippling. “So I got these. For him.”
She doesn’t say anything for a moment, just traces the outline with gentle fingertips. “What was his name?”
“Kevin,” I say.
She nods, her touch reverent now. She brushes her thumb over the inside of my forearm where the ink is older and faded. “And this one, the flower?”
It’s small, subtle, easy to miss unless you’re looking for it. I got it the night before I left for boot camp. I was fucking terrified, but I needed something permanent. Something that wouldn’t change even if everything else did.
Her thumb stops mid-stroke, eyes widening as they meet mine. “Is this…a violet?”
I swallow, suddenly feeling exposed. “Yeah,” I murmur. “That one’s yours.”
She’s quiet for a moment, long enough that every muscle in my forearm burns with the need to reach for her.
Her eyes are shining in the dim light. She swallows, and it’s the smallest thing, but I see the way her throat moves, the way her lips part like she’s about to say something and then changes her mind.
Then, she finally says, “You got this? For me?”
“I did. Before I left. You were always the only soft thing in my world, Violet. I wanted to keep you close.”
I almost laugh because it sounds so fucking cheesy, but it’s true.
“Rowan…are you trying to make me cry?’
“No. Maybe a little?” I huff a breath. “I don’t know, am I doing a good job?”
She grins, but her eyes are still glassy, caught in that fragile space where everything’s right on the brink of unraveling. “Well, you’re doingsomething.”
I shift closer, brushing my knuckles along the back of her hand. “I feel for you today the same way I did then. I know your heart, Violet. Even after all this time. I know I’ve got some catching up to do, but I’m going to get it right this time.”
She looks at me then. Really looks, like she’s reading every word I’m too chicken to say out loud. Her fingers weave with mine, so delicate it might’ve gone unnoticed if not for the way it sends little shocks up my arm. I hold tight, afraid she’ll pull away if I breathe wrong.
Violet’s lips part, and for a split second, I think she might laugh it off or make a joke. Then her mouth trembles, and a tear slips down her cheek, bright against her impossibly perfect skin.
I can’t handle it. I can take a punch, a bullet, hell, even my old man’s worst day—but I can’t take this. I brush the tear away with my thumb, gentle as I can.
She draws a shaky breath, and her hand clings tighter to mine. “I missed you,” she whispers. “I missed you so much, Rowan. I missed you every day.”
Whatever restraint I have left burns away. I pull her into my lap, arms wrapping around her, trying to hold her together by force alone, and kiss her. None of the slow, careful shit from before. I kiss her with everything I am, everything I lost, and everything I found in her. She kisses me back, desperate and sweet, her tears mixing with the taste of her mouth and my own want.
I shift, guiding her gently onto her back as I brace myself above her. My knees sink into the couch cushion, caging her in without pinning her down even though Ireallyfucking want to do just that.
