"You can close your eyes. I'll still be here when you open them." He promised.
She was tired. Drained from all of her emotions. Drained from their lovemaking, but she refused to shut her eyes.
Shaking her head, she watched him. One hand holding on to his tightly, her other hand caressing his chest. Her mind on his blood coating her hand as she tried to stop him from bleeding.
He had no scar, yet she knew exactly where he'd been hit.
The hand he reached out to touch her with shook. To be back in her arms again left him shaken to the core. "I'm not going anywhere."
"I don't know if I'll ever be able to believe that."
Even after everything, her love for him still amazed him.
The fear that he's been carrying around with him for weeks vanished as her love healed him in ways nothing else could, and he wrapped her in all of his love for her so she could begin healing too.
His arms tighten around her. The way she'd been without him had been dangerous and terrifying. Reckless. Without his command she wouldn't have been strong enough for the hole he'd left in her but with his command, he'd left her only half a person. Okay could never be good enough for his Paisley.
Leaving me with no memories of you would have been even worse. I would have hurt, and I wouldn't have even known why.
He kissed her. "I know. I'm sorry, baby. I never meant to leave you trapped like that."
"The only answer is for you to never leave me again."
"I think I've proven that you can't get rid of me."
"You spend so much time trying to protect me, so much time trying to keep me safe, yet you haven't realized that I am none of those things without you. Promise me you'll remember that the next time you're willing to take a bullet for me."
"I promise."
Her eyes narrowed. "But you'd do the same thing all over again?"
"Yes." He kissed her softly.
She offered him a gentle smile. "I can break your commands now. It's only a matter of time before they don't work on me at all. Now I can protect you too."
He kissed her again. "You found my brother."
"I think in a way you always knew where he was. That's why Florida was calling to you. That's why I kept seeing him. As soon as I was close enough, I could feel him."
"Thank you, Paisley. It's been a very long time since we've felt complete. He could feel you too."
"I think he's had a lot of pain and sadness in his life."
"He has, but they are together now. They are helping him. I'm very thankful you found him but I'm not too happy about how you did it. Babe, kidnapping? Do you have any idea who's looking for him right now? What if someone saw you? What if someone saw the van?" His eyes widen. "What in the hell were you thinking driving around the world in that piece of crap? I've been more than clear on how I feel about you driving that death trap."
Feeling her happiness with him almost made him forget about his unhappiness. Almost. "You confronted a killer!"
"In my defense, I didn't know he was a killer at the time. I just knew he wasn't very nice."
"Do you know Seth is kind of old fashion? He would never say a harsh word to you or be a smart ass like me, but it's crossed his mind to turn you over his knee before."
Her eyes widen. "You're lying!"
"Nope. I might try it."
Feeling her spark of excitement, sparked his own. "God, I love you."
"I love you too. So much, Jay. Let's stay in this room for the next year or two and never leave it. Just you and me and no one else."