Page 217 of A Curse On Black Lake
I glance over his shoulder at the giant greenhouse he built me. He was a man on a mission after they dropped the charges. I helped him a little, though.
Next to it is the line of garden beds where I’ve planted plenty for fall. There was no insurance on my land. So it’s sitting there with my house in ashes. The barn is barely intact. The other plants that stayed alive the first time were burnt from the heat of the fire. Though some of them are trying to survive, I saw some lower growth. Maybe one day I can have a true store. But it won’t be for a while. Every time I step foot on my land, it still breaks my heart. What would Grams say? Would she be mad?
“You don’t have the ‘Spirits are talking to you look’ on your face, but I can see steam coming out of your ears.”
I glare at him.
Killian chuckles and tickles my feet.
I grumble, trying to pull out of his hold.
“We’ll get you back up and running. It’s going to take time, as most things do,” he says, reading my mind.
“I know,” I rasp.
“I love you,” he says.
I can’t help but smile at him.
“I love that smile,” he grins, rubbing his thumb over my cheek.
“I love you too. But I have to admit, the way I feel about you terrifies me.” “I didn’t think I wasthatscary. I suppose a good shave might clean things up,” he says.
“I’m serious, Killian. What if I lose you?” I ask him.
He hums and pulls me into his lap. The swing bounces a little from the springs at the top, and he grips my chin, looking me directly in the eye. “I asked myself that question for months since you came into my life. But we got a second chance, and I’m going to take it by the horns. I want the privilege of loving you for as long as I possibly can. I want to love you despite the reality that we will lose each other one day. And even after I’m gone, I’ll still love you, Eliana Greer. Every bone in my body will love you long after it’s turned to dust. And if that’s not worth the risk of my heart and yours, then nothing ever will be.”
I stare at him in shock, even though I shouldn’t be. He’s said that to me in so many words multiple times. But hearing it again, after everything that’s happened, erases the fears in the back of my mind.
“Take the risk with me, Eliana.”
Clasping his face between my hands, I lean in and kiss him.
“I’ve never been more willing to dive into the unknown than I am with you,” I whisper.
He grunts and pulls my mouth back to his. Our hands search and grasp until it’s too much for both of us.
Killian takes us inside and up the stairs, and it always amazes me when he does that because I’m not a small woman, but he acts as if I weigh nothing.
He carries me into our room, careful he doesn’t clip me with the doorjamb, and throws me on the bed.
“Off now,” he commands.
I grin and whip my dress off.
He groans and stares at me for a moment.
“I still can’t believe you’re mine.”
I snort. “Last time I checked, you’re mine.”
“Damn straight, darlin’. I’m all yours.” He grins and sets his hat on the dresser behind him.
I sit on the edge of the bed, leaning on my hands, watching him undress. He looks hungry as he climbs onto the bed and scoots me back into the pillows.
“I have a confession,” he says, dragging his lips over my collarbone and down.
“What?” I ask, eyes closed, hands in his hair.
