Page 63 of Then Came You

“I’m scared.”

“About Xan?” I nod. “And about the future.”

“Why?” She stands up straight, ready for a battle. Little does she know, I am about to wave the white flag and surrender myself to her.

I can't deny us anymore.

“Because I’m afraid of losing you and losing my son.” She gasps at my raw, uninhibited confession.

“Is that why you didn’t even look at me earlier and just dismissed me like I was no one? Why you entertained talking to Kate or Katherine or whoever that lady was hanging off you like a handbag?” I nod sheepishly. In fairness, though, Katerina was one of our most generous donors, and I was steadying her as she had too much to drink.

I scrub my face with my hands, my skin itching.

“I’ve never felt like this, Row. I’ve never just been myself. Vulnerable. Never let another person in. Not until you.” I smile at how this little emo pixie has managed to get me to bleed emotions and feelings I never thought I had.

If she can be brave enough to start an entirely different life, to fight for a life she wants and knows she deserves, then why can’t I? I’m terrified to be brave, but I need to be for us.

With one last gulp of breath, I finally say and do what I’ve wanted for so long.

“I need you. Want you. I’m done fighting this. Us.” I panic, rushing the words out. I hear her breath hitch and see her eyes shining with emotion. Cradling her face in my hands, my lips touch hers softly, melting into them. I know I should be saying goodbye, but I’m not. I never will. This is my hello. This is me taking a chance on us. “I can’t walk away anymore. Tell me you want this too?” I breathe into her mouth. She casts her eyes down, seconds feeling like minutes. She nods.

She nods.

Hallelujah.

Stepping forward, she places her dainty hand over my heart. “Yes. I want this. I want you,” she says, gripping the lapel of my jacket and planting another sweet kiss on my mouth. “I’m done fighting this.” Another kiss to my prickly jaw. “All I want is you.” She wraps her arms around my neck, pulling my mouth down toward hers. It’s a searing kiss that will brand me for the rest of my days.

She only wants me.

My Row. My Tink. My baby girl.

A radiating warmth spreads through my chest at her words and touch.

Zee might be my son, but Row is a part of my soul.

She’s etched into my skin, decimating my sanity, and becoming my only reality.

Chapter 27

Row

Being with Blade feels necessary. It's like he's the air I need. I don't want to deny this anymore. I don't want to be without him.

Months of talking, getting closer, and falling in love with him have built up to this moment.

We've fooled around. We've made each other climax with our hands and mouths. We've kissed in secrecy and longed for each other openly. But there's something so final about the door slamming and the lock clicking in place.

This is the moment I've been waiting for.

The moment when everything is about to change.

It's deliberate.

It's undeniable.

It's inevitable.

As I appraise him, he looks overjoyed and relieved. But there's something else. Anticipation. Anticipation for when he finally sinks into me for the first time. It's a look of raw masculinity and pure adoration.

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