My Lost Hero (Angels of War Series #1) REWRITING 2024

Chapter Twenty-one*

"Love you to the universe and back, sis. You were brave today, baby," she whispered, placing several kisses on the side of my head.

I absorbed every bit of her affection. "Take care of you and the little one, won't you?"

Her hand swept over her middle when she edged back into her seat. "With my heart. Promise me you'll come visit."

"I promise. See you soon," I replied.

Hanna waved when we reached the flat compound door and then kept calling as I turned to make sure the shutter closed across. Bruce wrapped an arm around my shoulder, taking a step at a time. I was silent, but he didn't seem to mind until we reached the top and he was telling me goodbye. The flat was warm and oh so quiet when I switched all the lights on and turned on the kettle with the day flashing in my head in scenes.

I was putting the tea bag in my mug when the flat door closed, and the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway. Swallowing hard, I poured in the boiling water, jumping when two muscled arms came to settle around my waist. I could smell him, and it ignited every sense in me.

Joshua buried his nose in my hair at the nape of my neck and pulled my body to rest against his chest.

"Worst day of my life," he whispered, nuzzling deeper. "How are you holding up, sweetheart? I'm sorry for being so distant. My head has been so screwed up lately, but thank you for being here. Just seeing your face ... it helped a lot."

I stroked his hands resting on my stomach, feeling needy for his touch suddenly, unsure if I should trust so quickly. "I'll always be here." Admitting my feelings out loud was so unpleasant that it sent a spike to my stomach. "And if I'm being honest, I feel numb. I haven't had the best few days."

He hummed, reaching out to grab my hand, placing it on his chest before kissing the side of my head. "It hasn't quite sunk in yet for you either?"

Oh, I thought seeing the coffin on the table in the crematorium would wake me up to the reality of the situation, but the agony of that seemed to make it easier to want to run away from those heady emotions. It was strange. I couldn't quite put into words how utterly lost I felt.

My breathing was shaky when I spoke to him. "It's more like I don't want to admit it's real."

"Yeah." His chuckle sounded dead when he shuffled forward to tug me so my head was on his chest. "Know that feeling as well. I'm sorry, Tabby, that you've been suffering alone while I feel like I'm losing my mind."

My mouth had felt dry for days, but suddenly started to moisten up, especially when he tilted his head to brush his lips across mine. "I let you down, and I'm sorry," he repeated, taking in a huge breath of air through his nose when he buried it into the side of my face.

All I wanted for the past however many days was him close.

Up on my toes, I balanced myself by resting my hands on his shoulders to plant a soft kiss on his waiting mouth. It was gentle at first with me sliding my fingers up the back of his head to mess up his combed back hairstyle until he deepened it with his tongue licking into my mouth.

"You're so precious that it scares me," he whispered, his firm fingers reaching between us to grab my hand so he could push my palm over his heart. "You feel that pounding? It's yours. Just being this close to you sets it off."

I flexed my hand over his shirt, enjoying the way his mouth pressed over my top lip. "Mine is beating really fast too."

"Yeah," he said, fingers stroking up and down my neck. "I can feel your pulse here."