Page 60 of Expiry Dating

Cutting Alice off, he continued. “Being a marine was all I had. All I knew. I’ve got no living family. Had no woman. Or even a pet. I just had my team and my job. And in one day, everything I had was all taken away from me. I lost everything.”

Alice was quiet for a while, when she did speak, it was whispered. “Do you still feel broken?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted, “less since you came into my life. I want to fix myself for you, Ali. You deserve a man who is whole.”

Alice’s head snapped up as blue fury filled his vision. “You are whole! And there is not one goddamn thing you need to fix, Brady Mitchell—do you hear me?”

Even with the intensity of their conversation thickening the air, his woman never failed to bring a smile to his face. “Yes, ma’am.”

That was the right answer and satisfied her enough to curl back into his chest. They both stayed like that for a while. Quiet. Eventually, he was the one to break the silence.

“It took me a long time to accept my new limits. But I’m getting there.”

“It will get better,” she reassured him as her hands continued to caress his torso. “You’ve gotta know that your flexibility is a lot more advanced than most people with similar injuries. And God knows this six-pack hasn’t suffered.”

He let out a short laugh as she traced each ridge and muscle. “Well, that’s all that matters, sweetness, keeping my woman happy.”

After crawling up his body, she planted a soft kiss on his lips. “Oh, I’m more than happy.”

Even though a part of him knew he may never feel good enough for Alice, looking into her eyes, he knew that he’d spend his life doing everything he could to make her happy. No one would ever love her more than he did, and that was enough. He may be a little bit broken, but Alice Hart was making him whole again.

“I love you, Brady.”

A peace he never knew existed settled over him. This is what being content must feel like. “I love you too, Ali.” He couldn’t resist giving her another kiss before she returned her head to his chest. “You know, with you knocking down my door, I never got to give you my speech.”

She looked up at him, her chin pressed into his pecks. “You had a speech? I bet it wasn’t as romantic as mine.” Alice grinned.

“Well, sure, it didn’t start with ‘when I met you I wanted to throat-punch you,’ but it was pretty good.”

“Okay, I’m ready. Give it to me.”

He raised his eyebrow, a cheeky grin on his face as his gaze ran down the length of her body.

“Brady! That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“Okay, sweetness.” He laughed as he twisted them both so they lay face to face on their sides. “When I planned on knocking your door down, this is what I was gonna say.” He took his time running his hands down the curve of her waist while staring into her eyes. “I know you’ve been hurt. I know you’re scared to trust me, but I’m not going anywhere. Whether it takes a week, a month, a year, ten years, I don’t care. I’m going to show you that you can trust me with your heart. That I’ll keep it safe. Always. ’Cause you’re it for me, Ali. I’m never gonna stop loving you, and I’m never gonna stop fighting for you.”

Unshed tears glistened in her eyes. “Damn you, Brady Mitchell.”

“You didn’t like it?” He couldn’t help but chuckle.

Without answering, she pushed his shoulder until he was flat on his back again. She then proceeded to climb onto him until she was straddling his hips. Giving him a view he wasn’t quite sure he deserved, but he was going to bask in all the same.

“I didn’t have a chance, did I? You were always going to worm your way into my heart. With your silver tongue, that stupidly sexy face, and that goddamn uniform. I never stood a chance.”

“Stupidly sexy face, huh?” He bucked his hips and watched her giggle as she bounced above him.

As soon as she dipped her head, he caught her lips. He was never letting go. She was his forever.

---