Page 106 of Shea's Hero

And maybe sometimes we have to go through the hard stuff to find our happy ending.

“Oll.” I press my lips to his. “I love you so much.”

He swallows hard. “I love you with all my heart.”

There’s a long stretch of silence as we just stare at each other, our eyes saying so much more than those three words.

Then I smile at him. “Do you think we can get this police business over with and go home?” Dropping my voice, I add, “I think we both could use a massage after this. With that new chocolate-flavored oil?”

The lines of worry and fear in his face smooth out as he returns my smile. “Yes. Definitely. And tomorrow, I’m taking the day off.” In a low tone, he says, “Naked mini golf, special pancakes, and I plan on making love to you at least four times. How does that sound?”

And just like that, all is right in the world again.

“That sounds like awonderfulidea.”

EPILOGUE

2 MONTHS LATER

OLIVER

“I think this new flavor is the best yet.”

Lifting my head from Shea’s breasts, I look up at her and add, “The vanilla cupcake was an excellent choice. Idefinitelyapprove.”

Shea gazes at me, heavy-lidded, her eyes glazed with desire. “I thought you might like it.” Her voice is rough. Slightly breathless. Sultry without even trying.

“Oh. I do.” Taking her taut nipple into my mouth again, I swirl my tongue around it, adding a little flick that makes Shea’s breath catch. “Especially when I get to taste it here.”

Releasing her nipple with a little pop, I start kissing a path down to her stomach, tasting hints of sugar and sweet cream as I go. Her hands tangle in my hair, pulling gently, and she sucks in a sharp breath as I reach her bellybutton and lap at the tiny puddle of flavored oil there.

“Oll.”All the muscles in her abdomen tense. “Oh. That feels…”

“Good, I hope?”

“Beyond good.”

“Perfect.” I grab the small bottle sitting on the mattress and uncap it, pouring a small amount of it into my palm. Then I dip my finger into the liquid and trace a line of it from her bellybutton to just above the apex of her thighs.

Parting Shea’s legs, I move between them, bracing my hands on either side of her hips. But before I lower my head again, I just look at her, taking a moment to memorize everything.

With Shea spread out like this, offering herself to me without hesitation, I know I’ve been given the most precious gift. Not just a beautiful one, although that’s irrefutable—with her skin gleaming like satin, sweetly flaring hips curving to a slender waist, and small but perfectly plump breasts tipped with rosy nipples, she’s like a masterpiece come to life.

I love every tiny detail about Shea, from the tiny birthmark just below her right hip to the scar on her thigh she got when her childhood cat, Lucky, accidentally scratched her. I love the tattoo on her ribcage with the letters J and S looped together in an elegant script, the initials of her beloved parents. And most of all, I love the way she looks at me, her gorgeous sapphire eyes filled with the same depth of love I feel for her.

But it wouldn’t matter what she looks like. Shea is beautiful in every way. Her beauty is in her kind heart, her selfless desire to protect the ones she loves, the funny little comments she makes that always make me smile, and the ways she shows her love in the most creative ways, like naked mini-golf and taking me to Fort Ticonderoga to see battle sites from the Revolutionary War, even though the topic bores her to tears.

Shea would be the first to say she’s not perfect. But to me, she is.

“You’re so beautiful,” I tell her. “Every part of you.”

“Oliver.”

“You are.” I kiss her bellybutton again. “Here.” My lips brush across her hip. “And here.” Pausing, I rest my hand over her heart. “And here. Here most of all.”

“So are you,” she replies, her gaze softening as she meets mine. “You’re perfect. And I still can’t believe you’re mine.”

A lump lodges in my throat. “Always.”

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