Page 34

Riley

I was always one to focus on the facts. Use the information before me and respond within reason. Although things were falling into place, things appeared rather bleak for the foreseeable future. Even if everything went according to plan, people would still die, and I could only hope those people weren’t the ones I cared for. Amaia would be front and center of it all. I knew better than to try to convince her otherwise.

Pulling her from danger would be like removing food from a reactive dog. You just didn’t do that shit unless you were okay with getting bit. The energy was heavy everywhere but home. With Amaia granting us an evening of rest, my feet could not carry me there any faster unless I took off in a full sprint.

There was a source of light awaiting me if only I could get there. I gathered my thoughts, then unlocked the door and stepped inside. Yasmin sat on the couch in front of the window overlooking The Pit. We were still adjusting and moving things around to make this place more ours. A home. Amaia had an … eclectic sense of taste. We needed more plants, more decor, and according to Yasmin, a pop of color. Which was easy to fulfill given I was lucky enough to be in love with an artist. Her paintings were beautiful, full hues and shadows I swore my eyes had never seen before.

I locked the door behind me and she glanced up with a small smile. The most beautiful one. Her long, silky brown hair was tinted red in the candle light from the sconces on the wall. She closed the book she was reading and tucked it in between her body and the cushion to her left. The only thing I could think about was showing her how much I missed her throughout the day. Our relationship didn’t have the luxury as some of the others, not that Moe’s was an example of what I wanted to be, but even so, Alexiares and Amaia were able to spend time together via work. While I was rather glad Yasmin wasn’t mixed up in our mess, I still envied the fact that it was easier for them to steal moments to themselves. I had to wait until I got home. If I made it home at a decent time before Yasmin had fallen asleep—something she was doing a lot more of these days.

She was strict about her sleeping schedule. Routine brought her comfort. It was something we struggled to fall into once moving in together. Structure was a part of my everyday life and I always had to be on when I was outside these four walls. I had little interest in bringing that home with me. But for her, I would try. Cupping her face, I squeezed her cheeks then offered her a gentle, lingering kiss. Yasmin kissed me back, but it lacked the usual passion. My keys fell from my pocket, she caught it with her magic, using the air to place it on the shelf next to me with a smug grin.

“You okay?” I asked, settling into the couch at her side and pulling her close. “How were the kids today? I know you said Lilia was still having a hard time.”

She peered up, her hand brushing with a whisper of softness as she traced my jawline. “Yes, my love. Everything is okay.”

“It’s not,” I said, and tucked her hair behind her ear. I lifted her chin gently and offered her some silent encouragement.

We sat in silence for minutes that dragged on far longer than I’d have preferred. Patience was key with Yasmin. She would talk when she was ready to. Pushing her would get the words out, yes, but it wasn’t worth how upset it would make her. And I never wanted to be the reason for her pain.

“I’m pregnant.”

“We’re…” I trailed off, my brain doing its damn best to catch up to my heart, which was already sprinting ahead. “We’re having a baby?” The words felt foreign in my mouth. Too big and too small all at once.

A laugh bubbled up before I could stop it, shaky and raw. “I get to be a dad?” They were words I never thought I’d have the joy of muttering but always hoped to own. I pressed a hand to my face, dragging it down as a grin broke free. “Holy shit, I get to be a dad.”

It wasn’t just joy; it was everything all at once—fear, hope, love, and the kind of happiness that burned, all tangled up together.

Yasmin’s somber expression cracked, then gave way to that brilliant smile of hers. “You get to be the best Baba.” Her voice carried a soft certainty, not a mere fact but a promise.

I kissed her. Once. Twice. Three times. She laughed, trying to pull away, but I wasn’t letting go. Not yet.

“Man, this might be the best day of my life,” I muttered, the weight of it all settling in my chest.

But then she paused, her brow pulling tight, doubt creeping in where happiness had been. “Is this … wrong? In theory, this was a good idea. I mean we talked about the ‘what if’ for months now. That was just a daydream … I didn’t think … What I’m trying to get across is that, now that it’s real, it feels a little crazy. Doesn’t it?”

“No,” I said, dragging the word out. A flicker of doubt flashed in her eyes. My lips twitched, but I didn’t fully let the smirk take over. Instead, I tipped my head and shifted on the couch, watching her, needing to lock this moment in place.

I traced my thumb along her lower lip, my voice low. “With a face like that, you really shouldn’t say things that make me want to lose control.”

I kissed her again, slower this time, daring her to say something back. Her body tensed, and I felt a wave of heat shoot through me. Rolling to my feet, I bent down, running my hands up her waist and finding a good grip. I picked her up, one hand on the curve of her ass. “Do I need to remind you of the very words that kept me from even considering pulling out?” I whispered into her ear.

Throwing the bedroom door open, Yasmin was lost to a flurry of soft giggles. The sound music to my ears.

“You mean, I love you ?” Yasmin asked, that playful sarcasm I loved coupled with my favorite words made me feral for her.

I set her on the edge of the bed then dropped to my knees. The soft give of her hips beneath my palms was a promise of happiness. I let my thumbs skim the curve of her thighs, savoring every inch. Her breath hitched as I reached for the hem of her shirt, lifting it with deliberate care. The way she fit so perfectly, so fully, against my hands and lips—it was everything.

“Yep,” I murmured, now too occupied by desire to speak coherently. “Those are the ones.”

“So, we’re doing this?” Yasmin said, propping herself up on her elbows.

“Start a life together?” My gaze locked onto hers. “I can think of nothing I’ve wanted more in this life.”

She scoffed dismissively. “We’re in the middle of a silent war in a zombie apocalypse, I can’t think of a more dangerous situation.”

My lips curled into a quiet smile. “I’d cut my way through a thousand Pansies to get to you,” I pressed another kiss to her stomach, lingering there. “To get to both of you.”

“I love you,” Yasmin said, a sultry smirk tugging at her lips. A smile that had a habit of driving me out of my damn mind.

I closed the distance between us and pulled her into a kiss that was anything but gentle. She wrapped her arms around my neck, drawing me closer as the world blurred to nothing but her. The warmth of her skin. The taste of her tongue intertwined with mine. And the best yet, the way Yasmin held me, as if she couldn’t fathom ever letting go.

I deepened the kiss, my hands roaming, memorizing. When I pulled away, it was only to dip my head, lips brushing her jaw before trailing lower, teasing the spot where her pulse pounded beneath soft skin. A teasing claim. I trailed to the side and down the valley between her breasts. They fell free at the pinch of my fingers warring with the clasp of her bra. I tossed it off the bed, desperate to see her clearly. She was a work of art. A piece I wanted to take my time studying. I could take a hundred years carving a sculpture of her and it still wouldn’t be enough time to showcase her beauty. Her perfection.

Yasmin’s body responded, a soft moan escaped her plump lips, the sound sending a rush of blood to my dick. Urging me to lose control. The encouragement drove me to her voluptuous breasts, my mouth desperate to explore. I traced a circle with my tongue and sucked with each arch of her back.

“God, I’m lucky.” I mumbled against the spot on her chest directly over her heart. My hands fell to the zipper of her jeans and I held her stare as I tugged them down. “Lift up for me, baby.”

Eyes lined with coal darkened at my command. And like the good girl she was, she did as she was told.

Yasmin gasped at the soft touch of my fingers drawing circles over her clit. I grew frustrated at the fabric preventing me from drowning in her wetness. But this wasn’t about me, her pleasure would bring me my own, and I wanted to drag every moment of that pleasure out. Lifting her legs, I placed them over my shoulders, using my hands to pull her panties off in the same motion.

“You don’t even realize what you do to me,” I whispered, gaze lingering on her as though committing her to memory. Kissing down the side of her legs, I lowered myself, settling at her core. I dipped my fingers in her arousal and sucked them into my mouth. “The way you respond to me, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

I couldn’t resist. The whimpers she released made me crave her. I kissed her again, slow and deep, tasting the sweetness of her coconut ChapStick lingering on her lips. My hands moved on their own, tracing every curve and hollow of her body. God, she was everything—my future, my peace, my home.

Trailing back down her body, I made sure to take my time. She shivered beneath me at the sensation of my lips on the soft curve of her stomach. I settled back between her thighs and allowed myself to feast. She bucked against me, her gasps and soft moans filled the room. Pulling back, I nibbled on the skin between her pussy and her inner thigh right before she found release, taunting her, driving her mad with need. I smiled against her skin knowing I was the one who could make her fall apart this way.

“Riley,” she whined.

Fuck, I loved hearing my name like that.

Yasmin shoved my shoulders back, and I didn’t hesitate as I moved, finding her entrance and joining us in one seamless motion. Her eyes rolled heavenward, mouth fixated in a silent scream. For a second, it was just us—no chaos, no danger, no war. Just her. Just this.

She felt like heaven. The way she clenched around me—tight, warm, pulling me in deeper. Yasmin’s fingers dug into my back, and her face pressed against my chest, muffling those soft, desperate sounds. Every whimper, every gasp, it fueled me. I couldn’t get enough.

I pulled out slow and teasing, finding joy in the way her body trembled at the loss. Flipping her over, my hand slid under her stomach, arching her how I wanted. She let me guide her. Pliant. Eager.

She shivered as I traced a finger down her spine, my lips following until I found her waist. I gripped both sides firmly, grounding myself as her pussy clenched against my dick as I slid back in.

“You’re so beautiful,” I said, my voice rough with a mix of awe and urgency.

She didn’t answer. Yasmin shifted beneath me as I squeezed her again and pulled her back enough for the base of my shaft to press against her wetness.

“Say it,” I murmured, leaning forward until my lips brushed her ear. “Make me happy. I want to hear you say it.”

Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m beautiful.”

“Yes,” I groaned with pleasure, sliding into her again, the word a promise. “You are.”

Her body responded in perfect rhythm with mine, her movements matching my intensity, and I knew I was a goner. “I love you,” she gasped, her voice full of everything I ever wanted to hear.

“I love you too,” I managed, the words breaking free as I lost myself in her completely.

The bathing room was quiet save for the soft crackle of fire we’d ignited before getting in. Its glow danced along the stone walls and cast shadows that stretched across the wall. Maybe it was Jax’s ghost or my own damn haunting thoughts, but this room always seemed to carry a chill despite the warmth throughout these quarters.

Yasmin nestled against my chest. Her breaths were even as she slept, completely at ease, fingers intertwined with mine. I tilted my head, studying her. The peace on her face right now was rare, hard-earned, and I’d fight to keep it for her.

So many lives depended on me now. Not just hers. Not just Amaia and my family. And somehow, it no longer felt impossible. This was the family I’d dreamed of having since I was a kid. Something real. Something to fight for—not just survive.

“I will not fail,” I whispered, letting the words settle in the air with promise.