Page 22 of Torched

“I better be.” I softly bite her lower lip. “Because I will start amputating the hands of anyone who dares to touch you.”

“Liam.” She pulls back, her eyes widening to show the whites. “You sound like Kane.”

Laughter bubbles from my belly while I keep her tightly pressed against my body. “Just because my little brother is the violent one doesn’t mean I’m the sweet one. Who do you think taught him everything?”

“YouTube?”

“That too.” I laugh, biting her neck, resulting in a squeal that makes my stomach flutter. I love hearing her laugh, and I can feel her loaded energy dissolving under my hands. It gives me a sense of pride, knowing I can do that. That I’m important enough to her to be able to change her demeanor. I press another kiss to her lips, then hold her face so I can keep our eyes locked.

“I mean it, though.”

“What? That you’ll kill anyone who touches me?” she says like a smartass.

“Yes, that too. But no, not what I was talking about. I mean, about you and me. I want it all with you, Gen. You’re my future. I want to move in with you as soon as we fix this shit. I want to build a life. I want to help you get that dream of your own business. I want to support you in whatever goals you set for yourself. And eventually”—I wait tentatively, wondering if this is maybe too soon, but it’s been resting on my tongue for a while now, and I don’t think I can prevent it from slipping out any longer—“I want you to have my babies.” Her pupils dilate, but she’s beaming in a way that urges me to keep going. “I want you to be the mother of my kids.”

“Kids? As in plural?”

“Yeah, four.”

“Four?” she screeches.

“Three.”

She shakes her head. “You forget I have to push these kids out. Two,maybethree.”

“That’s fine. Two was my aim anyway.”

“But you just said four!” She swats my chest, a lighthearted smile coming my way.

“Don’t you get it, babe? This was a negotiation. You always gotta aim high, so you get to the point you actually want to be.”

“That’s evil!” She laughs, indignant.

“It’s how the world works.”

“It’s bullshit.” We both laugh, and I press a kiss to her forehead. My lips linger there until she grows quiet, letting the air escape her lungs with something that I can only interpret as satisfaction.

“I want that too,” she clarifies, her head facing mine again. “Kids with you. A life. A future. I want it all, and I’m just worried something will go wrong. Cristina tried to kill you once. What if she will try again?”

“She won’t. But if she does try, it’s a good thing you know how to fight now.”

“That’s not funny!” She scowls with a laugh, thinking I’m joking. I’m dead serious, though. Yes, Cristina tricked me. But this time, it’s not just me she’s up against. It’s all four of us. Kane and I are dangerous together, lethal in any way and form. But the four of us working as a team? We’re indestructible.

“I mean it. Now, she’s not just fighting me. She’s fighting you. She’s fighting Callie. She’s fighting Kaneandme. The four of us together are smarter than she is,” I say in a matter-of-fact tone. “She has no clue what she’s gotten herself into.’

Gen stares back at me, thinking over my words for a few beats.

“We’re in this together,” she says, though it sounds like she’s saying that more to herself than to me.

“We’re in this together,” I repeat.

“Promise?”

There is hope in her expression, and I know she still doesn’t fully believe it. But I’ll take anything I can get, knowing there is truth in every word I’m saying. There is no other outcome out of this situation than putting Cristina where she belongs. Somewhere in an unmarked grave next to Junior.

“I promise.” And I seal it with a kiss.

6

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