Page 107 of Slayin Villain
She looked me over, eyes narrowing.“Something happened.”
“Yeah,” I said, setting the bag down.“We need to talk.”
We sat on the porch swing, her hand resting lightly on the swell of her belly.I told her everything.About Ember.About Rome.About the van.About the betrayal.About how the club was keeping Ember safe, and what that meant.
Rachel stayed quiet through all of it, her eyes hard to read.
When I finished, she blew out a slow breath.“So, she’s staying?”
“For now.”
“She safe?”
“Yeah.”
She nodded, lips pressed tight.“And you?”
“What about me?”
She looked at me, straight through me.“Are you done?”
I swallowed.“I was done the second you walked out that first time.”
Her eyes softened, just a little.
“I still love you, Rachel,” I said.“I was an idiot.A scared, selfish, guilt-ridden idiot.I thought maybe if Ember was pregnant, I could fix what I broke.But I was wrong.”
“You think?”she said, but there was a smile ghosting her lips.
I reached for her hand.“I don’t want a maybe.I want you.I want us.”
Silence stretched between us, broken only by the creak of the swing.
Finally, she said, “Then do it right.”
My chest squeezed.“What do you mean?”
“Patch me,” she whispered.
I stared at her.“You want that?”
“I’ve been acting like your Ol’ Lady for weeks.Might as well make it official.”
I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.“Hell yes.”
We didn’t say much after that.
Didn’t need to.
The sun was sinking low, casting everything in a soft amber glow.Rachel stood, brushed her hands on her thighs, and looked down at me with those green eyes like sin and salvation rolled into one.
“You coming in?”she asked.
“Darlin’, I’d follow you into hell.”
I meant it.
Inside, the house was too damn quiet, but in the space between our silence, I heard everything, our hearts pounding.No more cold stares, no more half-finished sentences.Just heat.Raw and rising.
