Page 102 of Guarded from Havoc

I couldn’t imagine ever feeling this much joy.

This much love.

But here I am. On vacation with the love of my life. Sitting here in this incredible resort, introducing her to some of my oldest friends. And when we leave, we’ll be returning not just to the place we both work, but our home.Together.

As the conversation hits a lull, Enzo sets his glass down and turns his attention to me. His smile shifts into something more serious. “We’ve all been giving you shit because it’s your turn. Just like I got it when I met Winter. And Finn with Hanna. And Webb—it’ll happen to you, man. You say it won’t, but it will.”

Webb makes a skeptical face, but he stays silent.

“Erik,” Enzo continues, “I’ve known you for a long time. I know how hard things were for you. But you came out even stronger than you already were. So I think it’s only fitting you met a woman who’s strong like you are.”

Tate’s hand squeezes my leg. She leans her head on my shoulder.

“I guess I just want to say,” Enzo adds, “I’m so damn happy for you, brother. I can see how happy you are. And I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more.”

Hanna sniffs quietly.

Tate kisses my jaw. “I can’t think of anyone, either.”

My throat goes thick.

As I glance at Tate, my heart feels like it’s bursting.

Thisis what happiness feels like.

“Iamhappy,” I tell my old teammate. Then I look at Tate as I say the next part. “And I’d go through all the hard parts a thousand times over if it brought me back here. To you.”

To Tate.

My love.

My future.

CHAPTER 20

TATUM

“We needa shower like this inourapartment.”

Erik drags his lips from my neck and raises his gaze to meet mine. Dark and heavy lidded with desire, his eyes remind me of the sky just after the sun sets, a deep, inky blue with sparks of gold scattered throughout.

“You’re right,” he agrees huskily. His mouth covers mine, hot and wet and tasting faintly of sweet mint. “Wedefinitelyneed a shower like this. Although—” He lifts me slightly before settling me back down and sinking even deeper inside me. “If we do, we might never leave it. I’ll just keep you in the shower all the time.”

“That sounds pretty good?—”

But I swallow the rest of my words as he tilts my hips so he can hit that magical spot, the one that makes my thoughts splinter and my body catch fire.

“What was that?” Erik asks with a small, satisfied smirk. “What sounds pretty good?”

Guiding my brain back on track, I manage, “Staying in the shower all day. We could get a bench. And a table for drinks. And?—”

Clever fingers reach between us to find that sensitive bundle of nerves; flicking and stroking it. Erik kisses my neck again, working his way down to my collarbone. My breath catches when he sucks at my skin; hard enough to leave a mark.

Pleasure shoots through me, starting at my center and spiraling out.

My womb clenches.

My fingers dig into Erik’s shoulders, holding him to me.

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