Page 102 of Desperate People

And now I can’t get up.

Not when she's the one thing that makes me feel alive.

Like I have somewhere I belong.

Lucy is my reason.

Not the job.

Not the money.

Not the scars I carry in silence.

Her.

And as I stand there, frozen on the deck, lost somewhere between shadow and light, I watch the woman I married rise from the crystalline water like a dream made flesh.

Moonlight dances along her skin, droplets sliding down her curves like they worship her too.

I don’t blame them.

Her eyes find mine.

And in that moment, an expression touches her face—pure joy, raw and real—and it guts me. Completely.

I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life.

Not because she’s flawless. But because she’s real. Mine.

And letting me see this part of her—the soft, unguarded part—is the most sacred thing I’ve ever been given.

And I know—I know—there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep her just like this.

Happy.

Safe.

With me.

Always.

I’ll burn down the world if I have to.

For her?

I’d do it with a big, fat fucking smile on my face.

Chapter Twenty-Four-Lucy

I’m back in our Verona home, padding barefoot across the cool marble floors while mentally replaying every minute of our whirlwind honeymoon.

My cheeks flush just thinking about Balor.

My sexy as fuck, ravenous for me, husband.

I’m literally crazy about this man. Every single inch of him.

His hands, his mouth, the way he looks at me like I’m not just his wife, but his entire world.

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