Page 118 of Everlasting Promises

Eventually, everyone disperses, and we head home, grabbing burgers from a twenty-four-hour drive-thru. When Hope pulls up in front of my place, my stomach drops and dread consumes me.

I don’t want to be alone tonight.

Hope answers my unspoken plea when she turns off the engine and climbs out of the car, Evan following close behind after pulling a small carry bag from the back seat. I drag my weary bones out of her car and follow them to my front door.

We’re quiet as we make it inside and eat, each of us emotionally and physically exhausted.

“It feels weird not having Rex here,” Evan murmurs.

I rub the top of his head. “Sure does. Hopefully, he’ll be home where he belongs soon.”

After we clean up, Evan puts himself to bed in the bedroom he’s claimed. Hope locks the house, turns out the lights, and leads me upstairs to my ensuite without saying a single word.

55

BEN

Steam fillsthe bathroom shortly after Hope turns on the hot water. She turns to me, like the angel she is, and methodically removes every last stitch of cotton from my body—and hers—then tenderly leads me into the shower. The hot water scalds my tired muscles, easing the tension and loosening the knots a little. The wound on my neck stings when the water hits it, and I wince at the burn of pain.

The clear water turns light pink as the blood on my skin washes down my body in rivulets. With a weird fixation, I watch it disappearing down the drain and out of sight, taking my premature grief with it.

Soapy hands slide over my back and across my shoulders, rubbing soothing circles on my skin and easing my aches. Pressing my hands against the tile and dropping my head between my shoulders, I relish in having Hope’s soft hands on me, massaging my flesh, soothing me, caressing me. And even though there’s nothing sexual about her actions, my cock doesn’tknow the difference and grows hard, just as it always does whenever I’m with her.

She makes her way around to the front of my body, her gaze full of concern. The moment her gaze lands on my neck, her eyes widen and her mouth drops open. Her body trembles as she presses up on her toes to look more closely, gently stroking her fingers alongside the graze.

“What’s this?” she murmurs.

I shrug carelessly. “Just a graze.” Using my fingers to tip her chin up so I can drown in her gorgeous eyes, I add, “It’s nothing.”

Her sculpted eyebrows dip low. “What’s it from?” she asks as her worried eyes flick between mine.

Should I be honest or gloss over the fact a bullet almost pierced my jugular?

Should I protect her or deliver news that could mean she walks away from me forever to protect her and her son?

Long moments pass, steam builds in the bathroom, and my mind slips back to the moment when everything changed for me. In a split second, things I considered important no longer were. My job, the one I worked so hard for, no longer held the appeal it once did. All because of Hope and Evan. Because I value keeping their hearts safe and sharing a long life with them more than I value following my dream.

I cup Hope’s face in my hands and prepare to deliver the devastation I know my words will cause the woman I love. I swallow past the anxiety that I may lose her for good. “A bullet grazed me,” I whisper, the four words laced with guilt. Guilt that I’ve put her through something she should never have to experience.

Tears spring forth instantly, and she drops her forehead to my chest with a shuddery breath. Her legs collapse beneath her and I capture her before she falls. I can do nothing but stand with her wrapped in my arms, holding her as she falls apart.Her soft body presses harder against mine, not a breath of space between us, and I cradle the back of her head, pressing kisses to the top of it.

She mumbles something against my chest, but I can’t understand a single word. Dread and exhaustion has me almost deciding to ignore it, but my rational side knows we need to deal with what happened today.

I guide her head back a little so I can look at her face and hear what she has to say. Red, swollen eyes are my punishment for putting her through hell today. I cradle her tear-stained cheeks reverently. “What did you say, Cookie?” I murmur.

Her eyes lock with mine, and my heart shreds to pieces at the pain I see haunting the aqua pools. “I thought I’d lost you. It was the worst pain thinking I’d never see you again. And then to see how close I really came to losing you …” She sucks in a shuddering breath, her lips trembling. “I-I can’t go through that again, Ben. I-I know I have no right to feel that way. I’ve always known?—”

I stoop and bring her trembling lips to mine, stroking my thumbs along her delicate cheekbones. She returns my kiss with desperation, and the heat between us flames into an inferno. She climbs my body, wraps her arms around my neck and her toned legs around my hips, lining our bodies up and sinking down on my cock, which never got the memo that now isn’t the time. We both groan into each other’s mouths as her hot, tight heat wraps around me and steals all thoughts about our discussion.

But this is important.

I need to tell her she won’t have to worry. Not ever.

I tear my mouth from hers, panting. “I’ll never leave you, Hope. I promise.”

She shakes her head, sending damp curls swaying. Her eyes look so damn sad. “You can’t promise me that. Not with theimportant work you do. You don’t know what each day will bring.”

“I can.” I study her eyes carefully. “I decided to resign from the police force today. I’m handing in my notice in the morning.” Her hot breath fans across my lips, and she sags in my arms. “As I carried Rex’s unconscious body, I realized it could have easily been me.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “I don’t want to hurt you like that. I love you and Evan so much …” I glance away, then back to the woman who made me realize exactly what’s important. “My job used to be my world. It used to be the most important part of my life … but it’s not anymore. You and Evan—you’re my world. Our family is all that matters.”

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