Page 186 of Broken
“Ouch,” she said playfully. “What about you? What’s in your future?”
“I’ve been thinking about adopting Ethan,” he said. “I was going to talk to my dad about it, since he adopted me.”
“That’s wonderful. I’m sure Ethan would love that.”
He could stop talking, and the conversation would end… or he could tell her how he wasreallyfeeling.
As he stared into her eyes, he needed her to know. “I found my person.”
“Congrats,” she said. “My condolences to your woman.”
He laughed. “Why’s that?”
“You’re a handful, mister.”
“She’s amazing. I think you’d like her.”
“What’s she like?”
“Smart, gorgeous. She’s funny and patient, and she’s great with dogs and kids. She’s fantastic in bed, and she’s hard working. There’s just one thing.”
“What?”
“She’s very hard on herself. She’s been through something that left her scarred, but she never cuts herself any slack. She deserves to be happy and to have a fulfilling life. She deserves to be loved and to find her person. She deserves to have children, if she wants them. But she won’t let herself be truly happy. Now, don’t get me wrong. She’s grateful, but she’s holding back. I’m hoping that my love and support will help her to realize what anamazingperson she is.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered, “for loving me the way I am.”
“Always.” He pulled her into his lap and kissed her.
A single tear rolled down her cheek. “I found my person too.”
* * *
Jacqueline
Jacqueline was floatingon a fluffy cloud of love. She didn’t want to think about the Campus Killer, or how she was going to ID the ALPHA Killer. She didn’t want to go back to California and never see Prescott or Ethan ever again.
Life was perfect in Prescott’s arms. She was safe and she felt deeply loved.
But, she’d been summoned home to do a job, so as much as she didn’t want to leave his protective grip, she knew sleep wouldn’t come with the case hanging over her head.
After withdrawing her foot, she kissed him, his moan streaking through her. But she ended it before she couldn’t stop herself from more.
“I’m going to work.”
“Now?” he murmured.
“Yeah.” She kissed him again. “It’s the right thing to do.”
“It’s the absolute wrong thing to do, but I give you props.”
She retrieved her laptop, set up at the kitchen table. Seconds later, he set down his laptop and sat beside her.
“What are you working on?” she asked.
“I want to check out your sister’s company,” he said.
“I doubt you’ll find one.” His phone vibrated with an incoming call. “It’s Stryker.” He put the call on speaker. “Hey, bro, what’s going on?”
