Page 98 of Burned in Stone
I look up at him—this man who fought for me, protected me, loved me even when I was too scared to let him. His face still shows fading bruises, but his eye is clear and focused entirely on me.
“Dance with me,” I say suddenly.
“What?”
“Dance with me. I can hear the music from here, and I just... I want to dance with my boyfriend in his bedroom like we’re teenagers who snuck away from prom.”
His grin is slow and devastating. “Your boyfriend, huh?”
“Unless you want a different title?”
“Oh, I want a different title.” He pulls me against him. “Since you’re my old lady. That makes me your old man.”
“My old man.” I can’t help smiling. “You’re six years my junior.”
“Then what would you prefer to call me—husband?” Heat blooms up the back of my neck and into my ears, fast and sudden and embarrassing considering I’ve literally sucked this man off in the chapel forty-eight hours ago. Boyfriend seemed adequate, but now it sounds too small, like we’ve outgrown it.
“Let’s start with old man and see how that sits,” I whisper, grinning while I guide his hands to my hips. The music’s muffled through the wall, but it doesn’t matter—I start us moving, a lazy sway, our steps barely an excuse to press closer.
He settles his cheek against my hair. “I’ll take whatever you give, angel,” he says, and the tenderness cleaves me with sharp, almost painful sweetness.
We dance in silence, just the two of us turning slow circles, one hand on my lower back, the other lacing through mine.
“I love you,” I whisper against his chest.
“I love you too, angel.” He kisses the top of my head. “More than I thought I could love anything.”
“Even bikes?”
“Even bikes.”
I smile into his shirt, letting exhaustion and relief and joy wash over me.
“I’m going to marry you someday,” Cash says suddenly.
My heart stutters. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Not now—I know it’s too soon. But someday. When you’re ready. When we’ve bought that house with the garage and the yard. When Devil’s is rebuilt and Summit’s a memory.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “I’m going to marry you, Mercy Rogers. And it’s going to be perfect.”
Tears prick my eyes. “I’d like that.”
When I left my first marriage, I never thought I’d want to say yes to someone again. But this isn’t Gabriel’s version of forever. This is Cash’s version of it—messy, wild, made up as we go. Built on trust and second chances and the electric charge of choosing each other, every single day.
“Thought you might,” he whispers, and then he’s kissing me and we’re heading toward the bed.
Outside this room, there’s still work to do. Summit isn’t finished. The bar needs rebuilding. Emma and Bones have a lot to figure out.
But right now, none of that matters.
Right now, it’s just us. Cash’s arms around me. Music playing softly. The warmth of family down the hall—the safety, the love, the certainty that whatever comes next, we’ll face it together.
Tonight, we won.
Tonight, we’re home.
Tonight, we’re loved.
And that’s all I ever wanted.
