Page 152 of Lamb

I flipped open to her photo I.D. page, perusing the small photo I.D., with her short, cropped hair and a secured stare that felt fresh and unfamiliar. And then I saw her name. Legally, she’d changed her first name now to Ash. But that wasn’t what stopped me.

“I was offered dual,” Ash huffed, propping her hand on her hip. “But I did not think I would need it. I plan to be here for alongtime, after all.”

“Your name …” I murmured, for once feeling my brain jar to a halt, words unfathomable, thoughts lost, and my chest still.

“Ah, right.That.” Ash’s sass softened as her hips wormed a little closer toward mine. Her hands rested against my belt loops, eyes tracing the movements as a warm, virgin blush rosed her cheeks.

“Why?” I breathed. I looked up from the piece of paper, disbelief stirring a maelstrom as I looked into those beautiful,pastel green eyes. She’d slid her sunglasses up onto her head, and now, even though her eyes were a little clearer with her cornea transplant, the slight fog remained. But that color was bright. Brighter than any star, or moon, or sun as they flickered up with their tentative, nervous flutter to meet mine.

“I lost a bet.” Ash shrugged, tugging on my belt loops. “Besides”—she straightened, that blush burning fiercely now down her throat and blooming over her chest—“I worked hard for that passport. I did not want to have to change it again when I only just got it.”

“So, you took my last name?” I looked down at the small booklet once more.

Black, Ash.

“It is a little corny. But I guess I cannot be picky about my husband’s name. You did not choose it.”

I pressed my hand across her lips. The motion was so fast and so sudden that even Ash jarred a little as my fingers closed over her chin.

I couldn’t help it. I felt hot, and my heart was racing in my chest. The disbelief was fading, and instead, something burning and rapid was rushing through my system, electrifying, and boiling, and caustic all at once. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe.

“Are you”—Ash pried my fingers from her mouth. Her lips turned into a sharp, curling, saccharine smile—“okay?”

I pulled her against my chest until her heart was knocking on mine, our pulses in symphony and our eyes both burning with fire and lust. “Let’s go. Right now.”

“Home?” Ash asked, a little lost for breath.

“Courthouse,” I growled. “I’m marrying you right now.”

“So I do not run away?” Ash laughed, tension seeping from her body the moment she thought I was joking.

“Because I love you. You are mine. You belong by my side, and I will not accept anything less.” I held her tighter. “No matter our plans, leaving you there, at his mercy, was the first and last mistake I will ever make. I won’t leave room for another.”

I saw her soften. Saw the moment she realized the truth. I wasn’t joking.

“You are starting to get this human thing at last.” Ash smiled, a new warm and endless expression I hadn’t seen before, both bottomless, and infinite, and easy. She pushed onto her toes, and for the first time in three years, her lips pressed against mine.

Her taste on my tongue was sweet as butterscotch ice cream, melting and softening against my body, as we savored each other, wishing for it never to end. My jeans grew tighter.

Ash’s hips stiffened against mine as she broke the kiss with laughter. She stared down at the rock-hard boner threatening to tear through the thick fabric of my jeans and bury itself home before we even got in the car.

Ash’s eyes darkened with a light, tempting lick of her tongue over her swollen lips. “I doubt we will make it to the courthouse like this …” she purred, her fingers sliding from the belt loops, over the crotch of my jeans.

“Want to bet on it?” I growled, fighting the urge not to push my dick into her hand.

Ash smiled, not a moment of hesitation as she stared into my eyes with so many words and so many actions left unspoken. But it was okay. Because now we could take our time.

Till death do we part.

“Bet.”

EPILOGUE 2

Lamb

One Year After Ash’s Arrest…

The air was cold and bitter, and winter was rolling in. The cloud over Redwood hung heavy in the sky, full of rain and hail threatening to fall; an ominous sign fit for an ominous day.

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