“It’s an easy question, sunshine.” Gripping her shirt, I drag her motionless body back into mine, catching her before she falls. “Be my wife. Be their mom. Be the mother of all my future babies. But mostly, Scotlyn, be mine.”
“It can’t be that easy,” she whispers up at me.
“Or it can.” That seems to blow the air out of her sails because she stares at me in shock, the confusion dissipating.
“Can it?” I affirm. “I can say yes?” I nod my head more.
“You should say yes.” Bethy tugs at her shirt as she whispers the answer she wants.
“We’d really like it if you said yes. More than if there was a Frozen 3.” Bellamy grins from beside her sister.
“That’s a pretty big deal.” They agree. “Are you sure?” Scotlyn asks me, meeting my stare.
“I’ve never been surer of anything in my whole damn life.”
She is quiet, and the girls hold their breath before she finally answers. “Yes.”
Scooping her up in my arms, I seal our mouths together while the girls cheer and dance around us. Devouring Scotlyn, neither of us comes up for air for a prolonged few minutes, and if not for the girls' hard work on breakfast, I’d be taking my future bride back to bed.
All I must do now is convince her father and brother that I’m good enough for her. A task to be worked on after we eat. It takes almost an hour for everything to be ready because the twins' excitement is so great that they can’t stay still for a second or two. And I can’t keep my hands off Scotlyn. The need to be touching her at all times consumes me.
Chapter 10
Carver
It fucking eats at me.
The desire to be the one to slay my only daughter's dragons. To ensure her safety. I failed her once, so spectacularly, that I’ve been unable to forgive myself. Meadow tells me all the time that we have to let her live. Nobody realizes how often I’ve sent my son up here to check on Scotty without her knowledge. I’m sure they’d be pissed. Between the two of my girls, they’d make me feel guilty for my desire to protect the only other person who could break me.
But I won’t stop.
I’ll never stop protecting her.
And now that I’ve seen her with this man, his daughters, I understand… She’s found the heaven I discovered when I met her mother.
She’s also given me two other precious girls to look after.
I know the Slades can protect them just fine. Their reputation is stellar, but those little babies broke through my barrier the first time my Scotty smiled at them. They stole her heart then, and in turn, they got mine as well.
It’s because of that, that I know I must let her remain here. I must leave my baby girl again and hope she comes home far more often than she has in the past.
“Dad.” Saint's gravelly voice breaks through my thoughts as I stare up at the loft where I know my daughter and her new family are. “You know she’s in good hands.” I nod. Saint and Easton did a military-grade background check on the entire family before we arrived. I realize they’ll be good for her. Take care of her. But she's still my baby girl.
“I know, son. I’m just not ready.” Glancing at him, I see he has something on his mind. “You found something?”
“Jax forwarded an email to East. He’s got something.” Following my son back to the porch where Easton has taken up residence, I watch the video, and I’m taken back in time to when something similar happened to my own Meadow.
My rage nearly boils over, and I vow that no matter what happens next, Sergei Tumarov will not live once I’m finished with him. Neither will his men. Because they’ve threatened to do the same thing to not only Scotlyn but those precious girls that I know will one day call my daughter Mommy.
It’s time for the boogeyman to make an appearance once again.
Scotlyn
There is a shift inside the main house as we enter after a very messy breakfast. The girls and I used the rest of the fruit and whipped cream to make a fruit surprise for their Papa and Nana.But as soon as we walk inside, I know from the dangerous expressions on my dad, brother, and cousin's faces that someone is going to die.
“What is this?” Dee, Gracin, and Evie gush over what the girls have in their hands and immediately take them out of the room, distracting them from the morose tone of the house.
“What happened?” Gripping Jaxson’s hand tightly, I attempt to maintain my control, but I know I’m close to the edge of losing it. He doesn’t miss a beat and wraps both arms around me.