Page 26 of Savage Hearts

I’d burn down the world to keep her safe… even if it meant sacrificing myself.

ten

CELESTINA

My daughter’ssoft mewl startled me awake, making a momentary bout of panic gather in my chest. When I peeled my eyes open, the sight in front of me stilled my breath. Beckett was lying beside me in my bed, our daughter pressed against his bare chest. He was sound asleep with his arm holding her firmly in place. At two months old, she already had him wrapped around her pinky.

“Are you staring at us?” The deep timbre of his voice brought a smile to my lips for the first time in weeks that wasn’t my daughter’s doing.

“Where’s your shirt?”

Beckett gently rolled to his side, placing Emilia between us. He fingered the tiny black curl on her head and grinned.

“She was restless, and I wanted you to sleep, so I asked your sister what to do. She said skin-to-skin contact would relax her. And she was right. Becks fell asleep almost immediately.”

“Oh God, not you, too,” I groaned. “Ihatethat name.”

He arched a brow. “I like it.” He reached out and ran his finger down my cheek. “You needed rest, sugar.”

“Thank you, but I need to go to the bathroom. Put her in the crib. I don’t want her to get used to sleeping in my bed.”

I hurried to the ensuite and relieved my bladder. After splashing water on my face, I brushed my teeth. Giving myself a pep-talk, I exited the safety of the room and froze in the middle of my bedroom. Beckett was laid out on my bed, with his hands stretched over his head and one arm across his eyes while the other draped against the pillow. His body was just as I remembered it—chiseled from marble and cut with cords of muscle. My eyes didn’t miss the puckered skin near his belly button. I stepped forward and ran my fingers down the raised scar.

“Is this from that day… from Manuel’s men?”

His hand shot out and halting my touch. “Woman… you can’t touch me like that.”

I snatched back my hand and cradled it against my chest like I’d been burned.

“I’m sorry—”

Beckett reached up and pulled me onto the bed, rolling so he was over me.

“I’m hanging on by a thread, Celestina. Touching me will lead to things you’re not ready for.”

Closing my eyes, I sighed and turned my head.

“I’m not the woman you remember, Beckett. Having her was not nice to my body.”

His hands framed my head. “Look at me, Celestina.” Turning my face, I forced myself to hold his gaze. “Nothing… and I mean, nothing, will change how much I want you. Having my baby only makes me desire you more.”

A lone tear spilled down my cheek.

“When the accident happened, I was unconscious by the time they found me. I’d been in active labor for a while, so when I got to the ER, the doctor did an emergency C-section. It left my body tattered.”

Beckett leaned onto his elbow so he could swipe at the wetness gathering on my cheek.

“I want to trust you, but…”

Beckett blinked, but then nodded his head in understanding and pressed a chaste kiss to my forehead before rolling off me.

“Let’s get up and go downstairs. I’m sure they’ve eaten by now, but we can try to scrounge up something.”

I watched, unable to advert my eyes, as he tugged his t-shirt over his head. As if he knew I was watching him, he turned slowly and winked. Coming around the bed, he paused and held out his hand. Slipping my fingers into his, Beckett tugged me to my feet. He pressed his palm to my cheek and gazed down at me with a look of longing.

“I’m sorry I hurt you, Celestina. That wasn’t my intent. Even if we never get back to that place where we were before, I’ll always protect you and Emilia. I swear it.”

The moment his hand dropped, and he stepped away, I felt a profound sense of loss. Grabbing the baby monitor, I checked on our daughter one more time before meeting him at the bedroom door. He watched me with rapt attention, his eyes never straying from me as I crept toward him. When we stepped into the hall, I reached out and took his hand, lacing our fingers together.

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