Page 105 of Cruel Possession

Her smile is beautiful as tears slip down her cheeks. “I love you too. It’s ridiculous. I never thought that I would. You were supposed to be my enemy, and now look at the two of us. We’re engaged and crying in a hospital room with matching bullet wounds.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say they’re matching.” I lean back to pull up the hem of my shirt, showing off the wound. “Now, if you want us to match, we could either have matching tattoos or go fire off some shots at each other in our new backyard.”

Her eyebrows pull together. “New backyard?”

“Yeah. I thought a lot about what you said. Not much else to do while you’re waiting for the woman you love to regain consciousness. And I want us to have a fresh start. One where we’re free to live our lives without constant interruptions.”

“A fresh start?” She gives me a small smile and shuffles over in the bed, patting the space beside her. “I like the sound of that.”

“And I like the sound of spending the rest of my life with you.” I slide into the bed beside her, trying not to jostle her too much. “Marry me.”

“You know, that’s still not asking.”

I laugh and kiss her temple. “I know, but do I really need to ask when I know that the answer is going to be yes?”

Zoe laughs and, groaning, leans into me, kissing the side of my neck since it’s all she can reach without stretching herself too far. “I’d marry you over and over again. Just let me pick my own dress this time.”

“Deal.”

What I’m sure she already knows is that I’d give her anything she ever thinks to ask for. I’m going to spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to make her happy. To make our lives what we want them to be.

And when the time comes, I’m sure we’ll be protecting our family together too.

But for now, I’m going to enjoy the fact that she’s alive and in my arms, right where she belongs.

Chapter Thirty-One

ZOE

This is it.The start of forever. There’s no more looking back.

Until Noah comes back to kill me.

A warm hand settles over mine, squeezing it as the car comes to a stop at the top of the long driveway.

Aiden leans closer to me, the scent of his cologne swirling around, chasing the last of my worries away.

For now.

I would be an idiot to think that Noah isn’t going to come back with a vengeance, but for the last couple of weeks, everything has been quiet.

I got out of the hospital, went home to a chaotic household with far too many people doting over me, and I found that I enjoyed it.

And now here I am, sitting in a car and staring up at our new house made of stunning white stone and windows that span multiple floors at the front. The sleek black roof and the solar panels lining the top.

Not to mention the menacing gate at the bottom of the driveway that requires a retinal scan and a fingerprint to get in.

Aiden lifts my hand to his mouth, kissing the back of it. “You don’t need to worry. This house is going to be safe for us, and I made my family promise to call before they come over unless they’re coming over for the Saturday night dinners.”

The corner of my mouth twitches as I look at him. “You know, I think I might be starting to like having them around. They add a certain level of chaos that I might miss now that we’re gone.”

“You just liked seeing the twins give me a hell of a time.” His eyes twinkle, wrinkles forming at the corners. “You and I both know they’re all going to show up unannounced whenever they feel like it. That’s why there are going to be people stationed in an apartment about a block away, to give me warning.”

I laugh and get out of the car, waiting for him to join me. “I thought that was going to be protection against Noah and whatever the hell he’s planning next.”

Aiden rounds the car and puts his hands on my hips, pulling me in. “You know as well as I do he’s going to be lurking around again soon. He’ll go low for a little bit, as he has for the last few weeks, but sooner or later, he’s going to come back out, and he’s going to die.”

“He might come after me.”