He turns to her, gently licking her hands.
“He’s slobbery.” She giggles. “I like him.”
When she hugs him tight, it only makes me cry even harder. There’s no gift he could ever give me that would be more special than this one.
And no matter what happens, no matter where we end up, I will never forget this. Not for anything in the world.
FIONN
That night, I hold her against my chest, her hands curled under her chin.
Having her here, having Fia…it’s all I want now. It’s what I never knew I needed until they came back into my life.
But I want more. I want her pregnant. I want to watch our child grow inside her, knowing I did that.
“I can’t believe my mother and Xander did this. It makes me sick.” She sighs harshly.
My fingers trace up and down her spine. “I’m sorry, baby. It’s fucked up. But they’ll never hurt you again.”
She instantly peers up. “What does that mean? Did…did you do something to them?”
Fuck.
“It depends on your definition of something.” I lay a smirk on her, but it doesn’t work. Not that I expected it to.
Her eyes narrow. “Fionn. I know you by now.”
You’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.
I cup her jaw and stare directly into her eyes so she knows how much I mean what I’m about to say.
“When someone hurts you…” My thumb traces her pouty bottom lip. “They hurt me. So if you want the truth, I’ll give it to you.”
She visibly shudders, rising up on her elbow. “Is she dead?”
“No. But he is.”
She backs out of my grasp, slapping a palm over her mouth as she tries to sit up.
“Don’t fucking do that.” I have her on her back in a flash, my body pinning hers to the bed. “You asked me for the truth, and now you’re gonna live with it.” My lips drop to the corner of her trembling mouth, my fingers curling around her pretty little throat. “I am who I am. There’s no changing that. And you’re my wife now. You need to understand I would never let anyone hurt you and get away with it. Your mother is lucky all I did was leave a bullet in her foot.”
“Oh my God!” She cowers, her fear intensifying.
The same fear I saw when I came to kill her.
I squeeze her throat tighter. “I’d do it again.” My mouth falls over hers in a soft kiss. One she doesn’t return. “No one hurts my girl.”
“I don’t want you killing anyone for me.”
“You don’t get a choice. That’s not how this works, mo ban dia. Once you became my wife, I made a promise to cherish and protect you.” I lay another kiss on her jaw. “This is how I do it.”
“That’s not normal.” She shakes her head, tears filling her eyes. “One day, you’ll be the one who dies. What will I say to Fia then?”
The pulse in my temple beats louder at the thought of never seeing them again. “You’ll tell her that I loved her from the moment I met her.”
Her chin trembles.
“Don’t cry, baby.” I wipe the tears trapped in her lower lashes. “I never wanna see you cry.”