Page 192 of Defend Me

“Well, I’m not touching them.”

He grunted when I moved behind him and jumped onto his back. “I can’t do this with the weight of a full-grown man on me.”

“I’m lighter than you,” I said.

“This is goddamn abuse. Dad, do I have a will? I don’t want Tilian to get any of my stuff after he kills me.”

“Shut up,” I laughed. “We’re only going a couple miles up.”

“Oh. Then, hold on.”

I gripped his neck tightly when he started running. He didn’t make it very far before he started laughing and had to stop. I let him go and dropped to my feet. Noah was a little ways back and I was going to tell Brooks that we should wait for him, but he latched onto my throat and pushed me up against a tree.

“You’re so fucking lovely,” he murmured against my lips.

“No, you.”

“Whatever happens, it’s me and you, right? You still want that?”

“Of course. You’re everything.”

The look in his eyes was heavy, weighed down by those insecurities that shouldn’t exist, but sometimes, he let me see them now.

“I’m not gonna leave,” I said firmly. “You’re safe. Give me your pain. Always.”

He kissed me with all the possessiveness in the world. I held on to him, wanting this moment to stretch into forever.

Chapter 51

Tilian

August 2025- five months later

“I can’t believe your dad is teaching mine how to fish,” Brooks said with a laugh. He was standing with his arms crossed as he stared at the two of them by the lake.

“I can’t believe your dad doesn’t know how,” I countered.

“And yours couldn’t command an entire room the way mine can. We all have our flaws.”

“Is that how you’re gonna be?”

“If the stars align.”

“Stars don’t need to align for you to be amazing.”

He turned and captured my lips. Somehow, it still made me feel like I was flying, hurtling toward the unknown. It was exhilarating and at the same time, it was the safest I’d ever felt.

“You should learn too,” I noted, jerking my chin toward the lake.

He scoffed. “I’m not touching a fish.”

“You and your weak stomach.”

“Says the guy who sends me to order his food for him because somehow, the person who sells it for a living will judge you for having the audacity to eat.”

Turning my nose up, I started walking toward the water. Every time I was here, I looked at the spot we’d first had sex, under the moon and the rain. I wanted to plant a flower there or something so that I’d never forget it, not that I would. It was memorable.

Before I could get very far, Brooks grabbed me around the waist. His fingers slipped under my shirt and trailed over my skin with a gentleness that made me melt into him.

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