Page 61 of Enzo

She lowered her head to kiss him, sucking on his lower lip until his lips parted and let her in.

"Your kisses mess me up. They're so addictive. Enzo, I love you. I never thought I would be able to love again. After my mom died, I wanted to put my heart on ice so that I wouldn't feel that kind of heartbreak again. Then Matt came into my life pretending to be everything I ever dreamed of, but it was all a lie. He was the last straw. I refused to ever love again after him. Then I met you, and you kept doing things that were unselfish and were all for my benefit. You kept loving me even when I didn't think I deserved it.

"There are a thousand and one reasons I have to love you, but I don't know which one did the trick or if none of them did it. I don't love you because of the things you've done for me. I love you because you're you. I love that you're Kur'ik and that you have a son. That you fought, but now you're making a different life. I love that you went running through the streets to protect your child. I love your tenderness and compassion, and yes, I love how you love me. I love you, Enzo, and everything that makes you, you. I'm honored to be your mate."

He wrapped his arms around her and allowed his head to lie in the crook of her neck. Her scent flavored the room as he kissed her. The gentleness of his kiss telling her more than words how he felt. He picked her up, carrying her to the bedroom.

"I love you, camire." He shut the door so he could make love to his mate.

It was the pounding on the front door that woke them up. Enzo jumped up and put on a pair of jeans before answering the door.Deja took a little more time to find wakefulness before she put on her robe and went out front. Enzo and Declyn were sitting at the table in the kitchen surrounded by Ven, Cole, Xander and Caden. She needed a bigger kitchen.

"What happened?" This was the most serious she'd seen them since the Thalians tried to attack her.

"The ship's sensors went off about an hour ago," Declyn told her. "We intercepted a message from Corso, the Alpha of the Thalians."

"Are your people coming back for you?" she whispered, feeling fear.

"Not ours, the Thalians, but it amounts to the same thing.

"Why would he do this after all this time?"

The males looked at each other, but none of them had an answer.

"What do we do? They don't want you. They want the Thalians. Won't they just take them and leave you alone?"

"We're at war, Deja." Enzo came to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I won't let them take you, any of you. You're my new family and families fight for each other."

They nodded, but none of them looked confident.

"We'll need the ship to fight them," Declyn said.

"Won't using your ship give away your location?" They nodded at her.

"We'll have to find—" A knock on the door interrupted what she was saying.

Enzo let her go and went to the door. He growled, bringing the other males into the living room.

"I don't want any trouble." Avel was standing at the door.

"The last time I saw you, you wanted me dead or for breeding purposes," Deja spoke up.

"Yeah. It made sense at the time, but now the Thalians have found us, and I've heard that we can mate with human females and have children."

Enzo opened the door wider and invited him in. "They stay outside."

Deja peeked out the door to find hundreds of males clogging the streets.

"I want to apologize to your female first. I am the Beta of the Thalians, and as such, I uphold what we stand for, even though we no longer believe a lot of the rhetoric we were taught."

"What changed your mind?" Declyn asked.

"Corso rose. I've always believed he was like us. A soldier bred through an enzymatic process to fight and die. What never made sense was why he was always going to ground. He's a Thalian, a plant to make sure the soldiers are fighting and dying. He was the one who contacted the ship on its way."

A huge roar went up in the room. Avel stood his ground.

"Why should we believe you?" Enzo walked up to him until they were face to face.

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