Page 133 of The Last Promise You Made

Gia pulled my hand into hers. “If we don’t believe she’s safe, she won’t ever feel it.” I tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear but didn’t say anything, and she let out a breath, as if she’d been holding it for a century, before saying, “She’s safe, Ryder. We’re all safe.”

My throat bobbed. I hated that her voice was still raw and rough. Hated what had happened to her as much as I hated what had happened to my daughter. But Gia was right. Nothing was coming after us anymore.

All we needed to do now was let our bodies heal while we loved on each other.

And loving on people…I was good at that. I’d once been great at it.

For Gia and Addy, I would become a world-champion lover and dad.

I whisked Gia into my arms, and she gave out a startled little cry as I marched her down the hall to my room. I kicked the door shut behind me, punched the button by the light switch to shut the blinds, and tossed her onto my bed, being as careful with her arm as I could while still getting my point across.

She laughed but didn’t move. Instead, she just directed a long, slow gaze over me from head to toe, slowing along the expanse of my chest and settling on my jeans, where my hard-on pressed against my zipper.

I returned the favor, taking in her dark hair spread across my sheets, skimming over the hard tips pushing against her thin sweater and the black leggings that were clinging to her hips. The cast and bandages sliced into me, but when my eyes found hers again, the unconditional love there eased that pain. There were no more secrets. No hidden agendas. Just love. My heart exploded, sending a burst of confetti of passion and devotion into the air. It spread over us, coating everything with a hazy glow.

I didn’t remember moving, but I found myself devouring her like I’d consumed her at Phil’s. She met me stroke for stroke, not yet surrendering control to me, determined to do just like she’d said that first night and give as much as she received. Hands and mouths nipped and glided over each other. Clothes were shed, and I’d settled in between her thighs just as the moonlight shifted out from behind a cloud and shone on her through the skylight. It made her look ethereal. Fairylike. If Ravyn had been Eowyn, Gia was absolutely Arwen, giving up her way of life to be part of mine.

I’d never let her regret it now that she’d chosen to stay.

Our gazes locked, and she brushed a soft palm along the stubble on my jaw, which was already turning back into a beard.

“Make love to me, Ryder,” she said. “Make love to me in a way that screams this is where I belong. That proves to my heart and body they belong to you. Make me feel it with every touch and caress. And I promise, I’ll do the same. I’ll write myself onto your soul and never let go.”

I let out a low, guttural moan, half pleasure and half pain, before I captured her mouth with mine, searing into us the promises we were making to one another. Fingers trailed over hot skin, lips following the same path. Her movements echoed mine, every touch and caress returned with equal fervor. A battle to see who could show who how much they cared most. A battle to prove this was the only place we belonged. We slid together, the sweet glide of silk against silk. Two souls merging as the moonlight surrounded us and the rest of the world disappeared.

Chapter Forty-three

Gia

TAKE MY NAME

Performed by Parmalee

Two months passed in what felt like the flash of code along my computer screen. I spent my days alongside Ryder, helping him with the construction of the cabins. At first, he wouldn’t let me do much with my cast and bruised neck, but as I grew stronger and my body healed, I was able to wield a nail gun, one-armed, in a way that made his eyes grow heavy with lust whenever he stopped to watch me. It often ended with us taking breaks that Brandon, Shawn, and Ramon chuckled over and made my cheeks flush.

But I never said no. I liked the breaks. I liked being needed so much he couldn’t wait.

What I tried not to do was think about the Lovatos, the NSA, or anything to do with my job.

I worked my body to exhaustion and spent my nights being worshipped by a man who loved me more than I’d ever imagined a person could be loved.

While we finished the cabins, Addy studied with Rianne, learning and growing stronger in a different way. She now talked to all the family in complete sentences without ever wavering. But if Shawn or Ramon or any of the farm workers talked to her, she clammed right up. We weren’t sure if she’d ever adjust to a regular school, but there was no hurry or pressure to make her do so, even though Mila begged her almost every day to come with her so they could play together at recess.

I had a feeling Mila would get her way eventually. She usually did.

But as the cabins wound down to paint and decorations, which I wasn’t much help with, I had less and less to do. Eva seemed to read my restlessness and ordered me into the kitchen with her one day. Gearing up for six months of guests took more time and prep work than I’d expected. With Sadie’s hands full at the bar, Eva needed help baking and canning and freezing food, so I became her sous chef. After my cast came off and I had full use of my arms again, she taught me to roll dough and bake bread. She taught me to cook and bake in ways that would stun my mom when I finally made it home for a visit. I needed to make that happen soon, as everyone in my family called daily to make sure I was okay.

While I worked my body to exhaustion, I could forget about what I was going to do next. I loved the bubble I was in, even though I knew it couldn’t last. It would pop, and life would expect me to move in one direction or the other. For now, I concentrated on the satisfied feeling I had at the end of the day when I went home with Addy chatting in the back seat and Ryder sending me looks that promised another night with him in control and me being worshipped.

I always got in some adoration of my own.

Whatever else happened during the day, I always felt complete when Ryder and I were lying skin on skin in the moonlight.

Everything about my life felt right in those heartbeats.

In early March, Maddox came to the house one evening to pick up Mila after she and Addy had spent the afternoon playing together. He asked if he could have a word with me.

“Don’t give her a hard time,” Ryder grunted out.

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