Page 108 of Ricochet

“I’m glad you’re here with me.”

“I know.” She cuddled close again. “Don’t waste your energy explaining.”

She worried more about others more than any person he’d ever met. “You’re too good for your own good.”

“That’s why we’re in this predicament, remember?”

The armor was down, without a double, and he couldn’t have been more clear-headed thanthat moment. Colin wasn’t just glad she was there but needed her by his side too. It wasn’t a decision, just a clarity his priorities.

She murmured and snuggled close, letting her lips drift sweetly to his neck, and Colin’s eyes slid shut. Content in his realization, he relaxed until she fell asleep with him stroking her hair.

He blinked—and again, realizing he had fallen asleep but woke thistime more alert, next to a freshly showered Adelia. “I’ve been out for a while, huh?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

She helped him take his medicine and awkward kick out of bed, so he could hit the head, and wash himself off. What should have taken thirty seconds felt like hours of hard labor, and he returned to the bedroom to find her patiently waiting with a plate of food.

They ate in a windownook, overlooking a surreal backyard that was fit for a family with kids and a dog, and then he took her hand, they explored the house. With every step and stretch, his muscles worked out their kinks, and the food did its job, fueling his body and nourishing what had been depleted.

Colin didn’t know if one day had gone by or if it had been ten, but he did know he wanted to sleep again, and turningto Adelia, her eyes reached for his. She didn’t complain but their heaviness called for sleep even as he watched her try to fight it. “Tired?”

“Maybe a little,” she admitted.

Her eyes fluttered.

“Have you ever gone to sleep and not worried?”

Adelia grinned softly to answer that she wouldn’t answer and headed toward the hall. “Want anything before bed?”

How had he missed that the tough,sexy biker chick was nothing but a giver at heart? Everything she did, every reaction she had, stemmed from a brutal upbringing and a questionable savior in Mayhem. The more he saw, the deeper he fell for her, despite the stubborn streaks and protective distance he didn’t understand. It took one hell of a strong woman to take the hell she’d been handed and simply survive.

“You coming?” she called,poking her head over the banister.

“Yeah, babe.” Through thick and thin, he had a feeling he’d follow her over and over again. May God give him the strength to survive whatever came next.

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