Page 197 of Somebody's Watching Me
His tired mind planned their future as he dreamed. They would make a home wherever she felt comfortable. Haven House, or one of its cottages, or anywhere she would let him love her until the end. As long as she was happy, he would be happy. They would have a family if she wanted one. He hoped she did, but if not, he was perfectly fine to spend the rest of his days with just her. Without a doubt, there would be cats in the picture, but he would need a dog to balance it out. A nice sturdy mutt to round out their fur family.
As if offended by his dreams of dogs, Colonel Brandon pounced on his chest, waking him from his perfect life with Annabeth.
“What’s up, big guy?” A hiss ripped past the Colonel’s lips, and he swatted a paw against Rowan’s cheek. “You should be used to me by now.”
A rolling hum of feline fury rumbled from the ball of fur, and Annabeth stirred. “No, don’t let them.” She flopped over, reaching for someone who wasn’t there. “Dad, you can stop it.”
His heart cracked. There would be no nightmares on his watch. “Annabeth.”
“Stop.” Annabeth thrashed, her arms flailing about. “Stop them.”
“Hey.” He settled on top of her, keeping her cocooned under him. “I’m here, sweetheart.”
Her eyes fluttered open, the tears in them breaking his heart further. “Rowan?”
“I’m here. I’ll always be here,” he murmured, stroking her hair. “I love you, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Coming fully awake, she stiffened. “Can you please get off me?”
The detached indifference in her tone had him moving. “What’s wrong?”
Gathering the sheet close, she hid her body and the blood in his veins turned to ice. “We need to have a serious discussion.”
“About what?”
“I can’t let this thing between us go any further.” She wouldn’t look at him, fiddling with a frayed corner of her sheet. “Without us discussing the exit strategy.”
“Exit strategy?”
“For when we end.”
Ah, so this is what death felt like. A visceral cut to the soul. Her words made his heart stop, and already a dead man, he lunged forward.
“This isn’t fucking ending.” Fighting for his life, he yanked her beneath him to hover from above. “You love me.”
She shook her head back and forth, holding on to that damn sheet as if it were a shield. “No, I don’t.”
“Oh, is that how it is?” he growled. “You’re going to lie to me?”
His kiss was brutal, a deserving punishment. “You love me so much, I can feel it,” he snarled against her mouth. “Every second of the day, I can feel that you’re mine.”
She gave up the fight, kissing him back, and he ripped the sheet away, refusing to let her hide. “You love me, Annabeth.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Like hell it didn’t, and he kissed her harder. “It’s the only thing that matters.”
She pushed at his chest so he would back off enough for her to speak. “Loving each other doesn’t matter in the long run. We can keep things as they are for now, but only if you’re willing to accept there’s no future for us.”
“Of course, there’s a future for us.”
“I can’t go!” she yelled. “I can’t leave. I’m stuck.”
As it was starting to make sense, he smiled. “If you stay, I stay.”
She scoffed at him, sounding about as threatening as the Colonel. It was all he could do to keep a straight face. “Rowan, that’s not fair to you.”
“Living without you wouldn’t be fair.”
