I’d spent the last few days telling myself I was doing what I was supposed to do.
Protecting her.Watching her.Being there because the club said she needed eyes on her at all times.
But that was bullshit, and I knew it.
I wasn’t here because Wrecker told me to be.
I was here because somewhere between the moment I realized she was missing and the moment I found her on the side of that road, something inside me snapped into place.
I wanted her.
Not in the casual, passing way I’d dismissed for years.Not in theshe’s pretty, she’s sweet, she’s off-limitsway I’d always filed her under.This was deeper than that.Sharper.More dangerous.
When she was taken, I’d felt it like a blade under my ribs.Panic.Rage.A certainty that if I didn’t find her, something in me would break beyond repair.
That wasn’t cousin shit.
That wasn’t protectiveness.
That was want.
Possession.
Need.
And now she was here, wrapped around me like I was the safest place in the world.
I tipped my chin down and finally looked at her.
She was relaxed in a way I hadn’t seen since before the kidnapping.No tension in her brow.No tightness around her mouth.Just soft and warm and peaceful.Her lashes rested against her cheeks, her lips parted slightly as she breathed.
God, she was beautiful.
She stirred, just a little, her fingers flexing against my chest.Her head shifted, and then her eyes fluttered open.
For a split second, she looked disoriented.
Then she focused on me.
A slow smile spread across her face.
“Morning,” she whispered.
My chest tightened.“Morning, baby.”
Her smile deepened.“I like it when you call me that.”
I didn’t hesitate.“I like calling you that.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, just studied my face like she was committing it to memory.Her hand slid up my chest, fingers splaying over my heart.
“Sleep okay?”I asked.
She nodded.“Once I finally managed to, yes.”
We lay there, inches apart, breathing the same air.The room was quiet, sunlight spilling in through the window in pale gold streaks.Everything felt suspended, like the world had hit pause just for us.
“Ender,” she whispered.