Page 174 of Beat of Love
That was metamorphic.
It was what he’d been searching for his whole life — knowing there had to be more, yet never quite finding it.
He’d come close with Charlie. But now he understood: the idea of Brandy-Lyn Powers had seared itself into his soul twenty years ago, casting a shadow over everything that came after.
No.
It started even earlier — with Dónal and Saoirse.
Their love had been denied its happy ending, but its power endured, stretching across time and bloodlines to him and Brandy-Lyn.
Accept my love.
Such simple words. Yet not.
Not while Kamila Carvalho posed a threat.
“Red …” He faltered at the flash of disappointment in her eyes.
I see you. Therealyou.
Not the man he’d become, but the idealistic fool of years ago who’d seen an opportunity to free a group of trafficked women and jumped in without thought of consequence, thereby changing the course of his life. No longer a soldier in the USArmy, but a pawn in the hands of alphabet agencies. He’d been good, damn good at blending in, entrenching himself in whatever situation he was needed. Yemeni traffickers, Irish mob, one-percenter MC, drug cartel …
Rafferty Lawson was the man.
A scorpion, burrowing deep, watching his prey, waiting to deliver his sting.
ButEn Scairphad one last sting to deliver.
After he’d seen to the safety of two vulnerable children.
And ensured his impulsive decision of drawing Brandy-Lyn into his wild custody scheme did not put her in Kamila’s crosshairs.
Her hand dropped away. “Forget—”
“No,” he barked, whirling about, unable to stand the pain in her eyes.
He gripped her middle and lifted her, setting her onto the vanity slab. Moving in between her thighs, he placed his hands on the marble on either side of her hips, bringing his face close to hers. “Ishouldforget everything you said,” he stated, “but I don’t want to. I should tell you to walk away. Now. Just go. Back to Texas. Scour everything that’s happened here from your mind. But I don’t want to.” He paused, sucking air into his lungs while silently cursing himself for being the selfish bastard his brother proclaimed him to be.
A small smile played on her lips even as a frown drew her brows together. “Why?”
“Because I’m a selfish bastard and I fucking love you, Brandy-Lyn Powers. With every beat of my heart, with every breath in my lungs, with every fiber of my being, I love you. And God help us, but I just cannotset you aside.”
Her smile faded, and her eyes darkened to a soft, mossy green. “I don’t want to be set aside.”
“I dragged you into danger, Red. Simply by being with me, I painted a bull’s-eye on your forehead. If something happened to you—”
She cut off his words by placing her hand across his mouth. “We’ll be careful. I have faith in the people protecting us. You’re not getting rid of me, Rafferty Lawson. I knew the danger when I climbed into my Yukon back home. But see, I’m selfish, too, desperate to grab hold of you in any way possible and never fucking let go. One day, two weeks, three months, a lifetime … whatever time we have left together, I want to spend it with you.”
He closed his hand over hers and kissed her palm. Then the inside of her wrist, her elbow. His dick swelled, growing harder. Moving the collar of her pajama top, he kissed the pulse throbbing in her neck, its beat frantic — a beat echoed by his pulsing cock.
“I love you, Red. And you’re mine.Mine. I’m never letting you go.”
Her fingers toyed with the hairs on his nape. “And you’re mine, cowboy.”
His lips found hers.
And his fingers dug into her ass, nudging her to the edge of the marble.
