Page 110 of Perfect Bragg

He squeezes my hip. “You understand what?”

I don’t answer. Instead, I creep toward the edge of the bed. “I should get little miss changed and ready for the day.”

Elder rolls out of bed. “I’ve got her. I’ll put her back to bed.” He picks Robin up. “And then you and I are talking.”

Talking? I gulp. What have I done? I should have kept my big mouth shut.

And then you would have spent the rest of your life all alone, pining for the man you love.

Which is better than the alternative – being rejected by the man I love.

“She’s still out,” Elder says as he returns and climbs into bed.

“I thought we were talking,” I say as he spins me around until we’re facing each other.

“We are.”

“In bed?”

He waggles his eyebrows. “I can’t think of a better place to talk about our relationship than in the bed where I first made love to you.”

“Our relationship?”

He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me near. “Our relationship.”

“But I kicked you out.”

“Because you were scared.”

I glare at him. “And you left.”

He nips my nose. “I told you I’d be back.”

“You’re stubborn.”

“I’m tenacious.” He smiles. “You’re stubborn.”

“What’s the difference?”

“You fight against what you want out of fear and I fight for what I want because I refuse to lose the best thing to ever happen to me in my life.”

“The best thing to ever happen to you?”

He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “Let me be very clear to avoid any misunderstandings. You and that baby sleeping in the nursery are the two best things to happen to me in my life. I love you and I’m never leaving you.”

My breath freezes in my lungs as fear grips hold of me. “You can’t know that for sure. You can’t predict the future.”

“Let me rephrase. I am never leaving you on purpose. If the unthinkable occurs, if something happens to me, I’ll fight the devil himself to return to you.”

I giggle. “The devil? Not Saint Peter?”

He shrugs. “I’ll fight whoever I need to in order to get back to you and Robin.” He squeezes my hip. “I will never leave you on purpose.”

I inhale a deep breath and admit something I’ve never admitted to before. “I’m scared.”

“I know you are. I can’t blame you after everything you’ve been through. But I’m serious. I’m never leaving you.”

“What if you lose your battle with the devil?”

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