“You head on inside. I’ll get our things.” I leaned down and kissed Toyin first, then the top of Rafe’s head. He reached for me but I nodded to the door. She smiled and turned to head inside.
After I brought our things in, I dumped the plastic bin with Rafe’s toys on the living room floor. He whined and squirmed to get out of her lap but she held him tightly.
“Toy, let him play.”
She closed her eyes and buried her face in his hair for a minute but she did as asked and placed him on the floor. His little legs moved clumsily and fast, heading right for his toys. I sat next to Toyin, dragging her into my lap. She curled into me, resting her head on my chest.
“You want to talk about it?”
“No…” she said quietly.
“I think you should.”
She exhaled a sigh. “I know I should.”
“Tell me whatever you want and what you don’t want to share you don’t have to.”
I wanted it all. Every single detail. I wanted to bring him back to life and kill him a million more times. He’d hurt Toyin mentally and wanted to physically hurt her and our son. My wolf growled at the memory.
“He killed my mother.”
I tensed. “He told you that?”
“Yes and I believe him. He said a lot of things but mostly that he never wanted me.” I tightened my hold on her and kissed the top of her head, waiting for the rest. “She knew about you and Rafe…”
“What do you mean?”
“My mother was skilled with divination. The same way she knew about you, according to my father she knew about Rafe. She saw my future before she had me. The curse was only one way to keep me from you and to be honest, I’m not sure I was ever at risk. The ring might have been a ploy to keep me from mating with you but it was also a way to keep him from finding me.”
She paused and twisted the ring on her finger before continuing.
“If she knew my future, my fate—that my father would want our son—she would have wanted to protect me any way she could. He’s the one with pure blood. Not her. Maybe it was all a lie.”
She lifted her eyes to mine. “If she did all this to protect you then it was a necessary lie. Wouldn’t you do the same for him?” I glanced at Rafe and her eyes followed.
“Yes.” She brushed her fingers over my neck. “That lie kept me from you.”
“It doesn’t matter. You have me now.” Her eyes shifted to Rafe again and I added. “And he’s safe. Your father is gone. He’s not coming back.”
“Neither is she…” she whispered quietly.
“Yeah…” I hugged her tighter. Toyin had been through a lot. Everything she learned had been overwhelming and would take time to work through but she had me. I would make sure she survived it all because I needed her and so did Rafe.
“It feels like I’m losing her all over again. At least before, I hoped I would see her again. Now I know that’s not possible and it really fucking hurts.”
“I know. I feel it too.”
She smiled up at me. “That still is hard for me to get used to.”
I lifted her chin and lowered my mouth to hers. “I don’t think we ever will. At least I damn sure hope we don’t. I like feeling you. Even if it hurts.”
“Me too.” I kissed her and when she pulled back, she buried her face in my chest. I would be her safe space for as long as I had breath in my lungs. That was one thing I knew would never change, regardless of what else in our lives did.
* * *
The next morningI awoke feeling the heat of Toyin’s body next to mine. I was grateful I’d persuaded her to let Rafe sleep in his crib instead of in the bed with us. At the moment my dick was incredibly hard and I needed to feel her.
When I slipped my hand between her thighs and she moaned her approval, I shifted enough to roll her onto her back and she smiled up at me. “Good morning.”