Edge of Desire (26 page)

The corners of his eyes crinkled in that sexy way that she loved, a slow, kind of crooked smile softening his ruggedly sculpted mouth as he growled, “I want to lay more than that on you.”

She smiled at his sexy teasing, then slowly tilted her head, her smile slipping as she said, “It almost doesn’t seem real, does it? I mean, so much has happened. Tonight was such a nightmare, and yet I’m so happy right now. Is that terrible?”

“No, honey, you deserve to be happy.”

“So do you, Ri. You’ve lived with your secret for so long,” she murmured, smoothing a fingertip over his dark brows. “Did you ever tell Elaina what you saw the night of the ceremony?”

“I tried, but she wouldn’t listen. I think she felt guilty, and then I decided it was something for me to deal with alone. You’ll never know how hard it was for me to do that to you, Hope. I’ve missed you for so long.” His voice trailed off, and he studied her eyes for a moment, before saying, “Are you sure you’re okay with leaving Purity and going back to Colorado with me?”

“I’ve loved it there, but it was never home,” she told him. “The only thing that I’m not okay with is being away from you.”

“Won’t happen, sweetheart. We’re always going to be together,” he promised in a low voice. “I just hate that this is how it has to be. If I could stay in Washington with you, I would. In a heartbeat. But there’s—”

She put her fingers over his lips to silence his troubled confession. “I know you would, Ri. But until this war is over, you need to be at Ravenswing. So I’ll go where you go.” She took a deep breath, then said, “And it’s the right thing to do, for me
and
Millie. She’s looked after me for so long, and I love her so much, but it’s time she got to enjoy her own life now, without me around.”

They’d gone by the hospital to check in on her aunt as they’d driven through Wellsford, bringing her up-to-date on everything that had happened. Millie told them that Hal had come out of recovery. She also said that he didn’t remember anything about his attack, and they hoped it would remain that way. It had been strange saying goodbye, but Hope knew it was time for both of them to move on. After almost losing him, Millie had
vowed that she wasn’t going to let Hal out of her sight, and maybe together they’d keep the café going…or just keep renting the cabins. It was their future, their destiny, and she’d do everything she could to help them.

“Hal, he’ll be good for her,” she murmured with a smile. “But what about your job back in Colorado?”

“I don’t know,” he rasped, staring into her eyes as he rubbed his battered knuckles against her cheek. “I didn’t think I’d still be around, so I hadn’t planned that far ahead. But now that I’ve awakened, it’s too dangerous for me to stay on as sheriff.”

She nodded, understanding the troubles that still lay ahead for them. But she had no doubt that together, they could face whatever those assholes threw their way. After years of lonely desperation, they finally had one another, and nothing was going to take him away from her.

As he rolled her beneath him, his blue eyes smoldered with a breathtaking look of love and possessiveness as he stared down into her face, saying, “Here’s the way it’s going to happen. You can argue, but I’m warning you now, it isn’t going to do any good.”

“You’re just telling me, huh?”

“That’s right,” he rumbled in a low, sexy slide of words. “And for once, you’re going to listen.”

“I’m all ears,” she whispered, knowing instinctively that she was about to hear something wonderful.

“Our lives aren’t always going to be this crazy,” he told her. “And someday, when this war is over, we’ll build a house, Hope. Wherever you want. Washington.
Colorado. Hell, I don’t care if you want to move to the farthest reaches of the earth, so long as I’m there with you. And we’ll have a family. The life we should have had a long time ago. The life we’ve always wanted.”

She smiled at the exquisite vision of their future glittering in his dark, beautiful eyes, and as he kissed his way into her mouth, she tasted the breathtaking promise of his love…and a wild, wonderful forever.