“He’d never hurt Raini.”
“You can be so positive of that?”
“Would you ever hurt Teague?”
“Never. But I accept him as my anchor. I formed the bond with him.” She hoped that Keenan might one day find his own anchor. Until then, she’d do her best to keep his demon on its best behavior.
“Just because Maddox hasn’t embraced the bond doesn’t mean he wants nothing to do with Raini or that she won’t matter to him,” said Keenan. “I am surprised he didn’t capitalize on the situation by demanding that either me or Jolene agrees to owe him a favor in exchange for healing you.”
“Going by how strong and lethal he is, I really don’t think he needs favors from other people, no matter what he might say.” Khloé lifted her hand to scratch at a spot just behind her ear. He caught her hand in his and stared at the black diamond ring he’d given her. “No regrets?” she asked.
“Only that we spent so long dancing around each other. The best decision I ever made was to stop that shit and take a chance.” He dabbed a kiss on her mouth. “I love you.”
“And I love you.”
“Never stop.”
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”
“Same here. But I’ll never want to stop. My world would be a dark place without you. I know that, because I felt it creeping up on me when you were dying right in front of me. I got a taste of what my life would be like if you weren’t in it. Empty. Meaningless. Lonely.” Just thinking about it made Keenan’s stomach harden. “Don’t ever make me go there again.”
“I can’t promise I’ll live forever—no one can promise that. But I’d never leave you on purpose.”
“I wouldn’t let you. I claimed you, and I’m keeping you.”
“But not in, like, a dungeon or anything, right?”
He frowned. “Why would I ever keep you in a dungeon?”
“Why would you ever deny you have a mammoth-size cock?”
Keenan ground his teeth. God, she was off her fucking rocker.
She snickered. “Your blood pressure just shot up, didn’t it? Will it improve your mood if we play Park the Porpoise again?”
“Park the Porpoise?”
“You know … getting a hole in one, having a hot beef injection, burying the sausage, parting the red sea, going to the boneyard, mining with the meat shaft—”
“Enough, enough.” He sighed and looked up at the wall. “So this will be my life.”
“You’re excited, I can tell.”
His mouth hitched up. The thing was … she was right.