Page 54 of Stolen Hearts

Now he was never letting her go.

Her breath ghosted over his neck, leaving a streak of warmth through his chest.

“I didn’t really want to leave the ranch after I found the flowers.”

He smoothed his hand down her spine in a soothing stroke. “I know, baby. You don’t have to run. I’ve got you and Navy.”

She tipped her head back to look at him, the moonlight bathing her beautiful face in silver-blue. Damn if the way she looked at him didn’t make his chest ache.

“But what if—”

He pressed two fingers to her lips, silencing her. “No what-ifs. He’s not getting anywhere near you. There’s a small platoon of men prepared to fight—”

He saw the alarm on her face and hurried to add, “Not that it will come to that. Rhae, I would die to protect you and Navy.”

She issued a soft noise.

He traced a finger down the curve of her cheek. “More than that, I will live for you. The military might have thrust me back out into the world of the living, but it’s you who brought me back to life.”

“Denver.” Her eyes pooled. “I’m in love with you.”

“I know, baby. And I’m in love with you.”

Hearing the words broke something wide open inside him. He wrapped her tighter in his arms and kissed her with all the love and passion exploding inside him. His chest burned with everything she made him feel.

They fell into a comfortable silence, still after their stormy past.

“Do you think it will always feel like this?” she whispered after a long time.

“No. I think it will be better.”

She moved against him, lips brushing over the skin of his chest. She let out a sigh that sounded with hope. “Better than last night’s chocolate souffle?”

He chuckled. “Now I don’t know. Maybe I’ve changed my mind.”

She batted his arm lightly, and he grinned.

Their legs tangled together, and they drew even closer in the darkness.

“Denver?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For everything. For loving me. But most of all, for Navy.”

He brushed his thumb over her chin, drawing her gaze to his. “I was going to thank you for giving me the family I needed all along.”

Two tears slipped from her eyes, and she didn’t try to swipe them away or hide them from him. She let them fall.

With Rhae in his arms and Navy sleeping a few feet away, his world finally felt real. His future solid.

He was never letting go.

Chapter Twelve

The office was quiet, lit by the mellow afternoon sun filtering through the blinds. The beams of light fell across the playmat where Navy sat babbling to her stuffed lion. Occasionally, she’d pause to slap at the rectangle of light on the floor as she learned about the world.

Rhae smiled at her. “What did you find, Navy?”

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