Page 98 of Hidden Memories

“Ourtree,” she corrects. “And how so?”

“Because that was one of the most stunning landscapes I’ve been around. And somehow, with oil pastels and some paper, you made it even more beautiful.” I kiss her nose. “That’s sorcery.”

My appreciation has her cheeks turning pink.

She stretches, the movement slow and unhurried, the ease of it makes my chest tighten. This is what I want for her—for us. A life where mornings aren’t rushed by fear, where laughter and light can seep through the cracks.

Unfortunately, there’s an elephant in the room and a little boy in the next, so I have to broach the subject. She’s either going to be completely understanding or hate me in a minute.

“We need to talk.”

“Theo…” she reads my mind. “He likes you. But we should take it slow.”

I’m relieved by her line of thinking, but there’s more to it. “Slow might be faster than works for me. Trust me, Kat, I’m never letting you go again now that I have you but I’m not ready to go public. I have my foster application out. Now I think on the whole it would only improve my circumstances to have someone like you in my life. But I can’t slow down the application with reassessment. Owen’s current foster parent is unwell, and he needs a new home soon.”

She tries to hide what sounds like disappointment. “So we’ll be a secret like before?”

I tilt her chin up, forcing her to meet my eyes. “It won’t be like before.” Emotion claws through me, heavy and unshakable. “That was the end. This is the beginning.”

Her lips curve into a smile, “I told you not to take it too fast.”

I huff out a laugh. “If you think I’m making thesame mistake twice, you’re with the wrong man.” My grip tightens. “I’m yours,Michi. Get used to it.”

She giggles, and damn if it doesn’t send my heart into overdrive.

“So…” I kiss the tip of her nose. “Now that I’m yours, will you be my girlfriend?”

I expect an easy yes, something lighthearted to match the moment.

But she stills. So does the whole damn room.

Her lips part, then press together. A flicker of something flashes across her face—uncertainty, fear, doubt—there and gone before I can name it.

But I felt it. And it knocks the breath from my lungs.

For one awful second, I wonder if she’ll say no. If she’ll decide she can’t risk it. If she’ll let everything we just reclaimed slip through her fingers.

Thank God she doesn’t.

“Yes, Santiago Mendez. I’ll be your girlfriend.”

The relief slams into me so hard I have to close my eyes for a beat before dropping my lips to hers.

We linger in our kiss until Kat’s cell alarm goes off next to her. She leans over to turn it off.

“Theo usually stirs in thirty minutes.”

“Let’s get decent,” I say, sitting up.

She pulls me back down to the bed, and the surprise of it has me falling back into the space next to her.

“Do we have to?”

I crawl on top of her, pin her hands to the mattress above her head, and straddle her. My dick hangs down onto her soft belly, going instantly thick for her. “How am I going to keep my hands off your perfect body if you keep being a bad girl? Hm?”

We should get up, get dressed and be responsible adults.Instead, I press my cock right against the slick heat of her messy pussy. I’m losing my goddamn mind.

“This isn’t going to be easy.” I grit my teeth, fighting for control.

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