Page 102 of Deeper

Rylan

Colt Park is quiet when you’re not supposed to be on the property. After a night of violence and death, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than where I am now. In Callen’s arms, under the stars, and sprawled out in the grassy field. Laurence’s body is safely hidden away to rot until the chaos dies down, and Callen can dispose of the body. In a few days, he’ll dismember the body and dump the pieces in the Connecticut River. We can’t afford to risk another public scene with the reveal of our last victim, but that’s a small price to pay. The men who hurt Aria no longer walk the earth.

“What now?” Callen asks while tracing my jawline with his thumb.

“What do you mean?”

“The job is over. You’ve gotten your revenge, so what’s next for you?”

“Honestly, I don’t have an answer for you. Since Aria died, my fixation has been on those that hurt her. I don’t know where I go from here. What about you?”

He turns and rests his chin on his arm. I follow suit, so I can look into his eyes.

“I got an interesting call yesterday,” he admits. “It was for a new job.”

“Where?” I’m hesitant about his answer.

“Oddly enough, Nevada.”

“Are you going to take it?” I look away. I can’t bear to watch the words leave his lips when he tells me he’s leaving. The stars above me seem to dull.

“Depends.”

“On?”

His fingers gently turn my face back toward his. “You and what’s next for you.”

I’m compelled to kiss him. Our connection, his words pull me to him.

Then, I whisper against his mouth, “I don’t want us to end. Deep down, I know this is only the beginning for us.”

His mouth moves with mine. Our kiss is filled with forbidden secrets. Our world is our own, and it’s fucking beautiful. I don’t want what I have with him to ever end. With him, I hope for forever.

“Rylan”—he pulls back, and confidence radiates from his eyes—“I love you.”

His declaration hits my ears and goes straight to my heart. This man loves me.

“I think I always have, and I’m certain I always will.”

“Say it again,” I plead past the emotion constricting my throat.

“I love you, Rylan Pierce. I love every twisted and dark depth of your soul. The way you challenge me. The way you fight me. Even the way you torture me. I love your free spirit and the unconditional way you care about the people you hold close to you. I love your darkness, but I also love your light, which I’m not even sure you’re aware exists in you.”

Violence. Fetish. Gore. Fucking.

Revenge.

And love.

“I love you, too, Callen Bailer. I don’t think I’m capable of waxing poetic like you just did because you might have knocked me off my feet. I’ll gladly take a hit for words like that, that come from a man like you.”

Callen shifts, and then he climbs on top of me. His fingers wrap around my locks, and his mouth descends upon mine. I could taste the death on our last kiss, but in this one, there is only love. Ours and forever.

“So, I’ll ask you again. What’s next?” Callen asks before dropping another brief kiss to my lips.

“I guess it isn’t smart for me to stay here in Maplefield. I shouldn’t push my luck…”

“You will get away with this. We’ll get away with it. I’ll make sure of it. There was a but missing at the end of your statement, though, right?”

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