Page 36 of Echoes and Oaths (Guardian Security Dynasty #4)
T he wind rolled low over the open prairie, tugging at the edge of Jinx’s shirt as he stepped out of the black SUV and looked across the land he barely knew as home.
His boots crunched the gravel driveway, and the scent of sage and cattle hung heavy in the air.
The ranch stretched around him, framed by distant hills and endless sky.
He’d bought the place as a sanctuary for lost and mistreated animals, but it had become his sanctuary, too.
The peacefulness and separation from the horrors of the world he protected covered him each time he stepped foot on his property.
The small house sat on a rise just past the barn.
It was ancient by American standards. Painted white with a wraparound porch that the Macys cared for from where they lived just down the road in a house Jinx had built for them when he’d bought their land.
A swing hung from one corner and creaked in the breeze.
The sight of it, so ordinary, so untouched by violence and death, made his throat tighten.
His heart was here. His family, the land, and the animals.
The simplicity of what made him happy had escaped him for most of his life.
Not any longer. He turned to the house and made his way to the door.
Jinx hadn’t known what to expect. He’d sent Eira and Teo almost three months ago with nothing but a promise and an escort.
The Macys were the quiet, salt-of-the-earth people he liked.
They had no tolerance for laziness or cruelty.
That was why when he’d purchased their land and home, he’d asked them to stay on and manage the place while he wasn’t around.
The house he’d built for them was Mrs. Macy’s dream.
A house with new floors and insulated windows.
It was a small price to pay for the peace of mind that having them on the property gave him.
He paid Mrs. Macy a generous monthly allowance to maintain the house, but she hardly touched it.
He chuckled as he remembered the current state of the account.
A major dent for women’s clothes and all things Teo.
His only regret was that he wasn’t helping select what to buy for his woman and son.
His little boy. He was a father. The thought made him smile as he passed the porch steps and pushed open the front door.
Warmth met him. A soft, floral scent lingered in the air.
A woven blanket of Teo’s he remembered from Venezuela lay folded across the arm of the couch.
A few toys were scattered across the floor near a colorful rug he hadn’t bought.
And on the mantel … was a photo. He and Eira.
The one she’d taken of them together back at the farm in Venezuela after they’d first met.
They were sunburned and smiling, and the camera angle was crooked, but it was a good picture. He stared at it, stunned.
Footsteps padded lightly behind him.
He turned.
Eira stood just inside the kitchen archway, one hand over her heart.
Her dark hair curled softly around her shoulders.
Her blue jeans were new and clung to her soft curves.
She wore one of his old flannel shirts. It hung loose on her frame, sleeves rolled halfway up her forearms and tied at the waist. Her eyes shimmered.
He wasn’t sure if it was hope or disbelief, but he prayed her love was mixed somewhere within the visible emotion.
He didn’t speak. He couldn’t. His ability to say everything he wanted to say slipped away as the emotion of the moment throat punched him. She was beautiful and his.
Eira broke first, rushing into his arms, burying her face into his chest as she sobbed against him. Jinx held her, swearing he’d never let go again. His arms curled tightly around her, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other flat against her spine, memorizing the feel of her against him.
“I didn’t know when I’d see you again,” she whispered, her voice trembling.
“I promised I’d come back,” he said, his voice gravel rough. “I’ll always come back to you.”
She pulled back just far enough to look at him, her fingertips brushing his jaw. His stubble was three days old and thick. “You look tired.”
“I am,” he admitted. “But seeing you, God, Eira…you are the reason I breathe.”
Her lips parted, but a small, delighted shriek broke through the moment.
“Papi!”
Jinx turned, heart skipping .
Teo ran in barefoot from the mudroom door, jeans dusty, cheeks flushed from playing. Behind him, Mr. Macy called out an apology, holding the door open and waving once before vanishing with a knowing smile.
Jinx dropped to one knee just in time for Teo to launch himself forward, small arms flinging around his father’s neck.
“Hey, pequeno caballero , ” Jinx choked out, holding him tight, burying his face in the boy’s dark curls. “Did you take care of Momma? Did you take care of the cows?”
“New cow,” Teo announced proudly, but it sounded like nude dow .
Jinx looked up at Eira, who was smiling through tears.
“We bought a cow. For the raw milk. The thing you buy in the stores isn’t milk.
” She shivered and rubbed her arms. “We got her from a dairy north of here. The Macy’s son arranged it.
She was very expensive. I told Mr. Macy it was too much, but he just laughed and said you could well afford it. ”
“I don’t doubt it.” Jinx picked up Teo and hugged him before draping an arm around Eira. “And it doesn’t matter. If you or Teo need anything, it is yours.”
“We don’t need much.” She put her hand on his chest. “Just you. ”
“Dow!” Teo said and pointed out the door. “See?” He looked at Jinx like he’d hung the moon and the stars. Teo tugged his hand. “See!”
“In a bit, hijo . I need to talk to Momma first.”
Teo wiggled to be released and ran through the house toward the back hallway, yelling something about the nude dow .
When they were alone again, Jinx stood and reached into his pocket, while Eira watched him warily.
He took out the ring and dropped to his knee.
The ring wasn’t large. It wasn’t flashy.
It was simple and solid . The stone was pale, almost translucent blue, set into a band shaped like three braided threads.
One for each of them. “I know I don’t deserve you.
But if you let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make up for our lost time.
I want the rest of my sunrises, sunsets, and every damn star in the sky shared with you and Teo. Eira Isaacson, will you marry me?”
Her knees buckled. She grabbed his shirt and kissed him, fierce and trembling. He framed her ribs with his hands and held the woman as she gasped. “Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, Mateo.”
Jinx stood behind Eira as they opened the door and peeked into Teo’s bedroom.
A nightlight illuminated the small boy in his bed.
A stuffed donkey that had been washed too many times was clutched in his hand.
Eira slowly closed the door and took his hand, leading him to the bedroom, and he shut the door behind her.
She backed up, taking off her shirt as she stared at him.
He lifted his shirt over his head and moved closer.
He mimicked her actions, removing his jeans when she did and taking off his underwear when she slipped out of hers.
He covered the few feet between them and drew her into his arms. The feel of her skin against his was incendiary, burning marks of possession into his skin with every touch.
This woman owned him. He backed her to the bed and lowered them onto the mattress.
He trailed kisses from her jaw, down her throat to her shoulder. Her fingers trailed down his back, leaving gooseflesh in their wake. The feel of her hands against him was addictive and as necessary as oxygen. She made him feel alive and needed in ways he’d been afraid to imagine he could be.
When he rose over her, she placed one of his hands on her heart. “All I have is this. My heart. I don’t have anything else to give you, Mateo. But what I have, I give to you, freely and with love. ”
He lifted their hands to place hers over his heart. “My heart, my life, and my love belong to you. I was insane to think I could stay away from you.”
An eyebrow lifted, and she smirked. “Remember that,” she teased.
He stared down at her, completely serious. “I will never forget it or the fact that you gave me a second chance.” He lowered his lips. “You are my soul. You guide my life with your love. I’m lost without you. I love you.”
He dropped down and kissed her long and deep. His tongue danced with hers as their hands traveled over skin that lay exposed to each other. Her legs curled around his as he centered over her. The need to be as close to his woman as humanly possible overwhelmed the want to be slow in the union.
Eira’s nails along his back told him she wanted him inside her.
He entered her and dropped his head to her shoulder, fighting back the urge to move faster.
Instead, he withdrew and slid back in, going deeper.
The feel of her body taking him in, moving against him, and pulling him back as he moved his hips was unquestionably destructive in the absolute best way.
Rolls of electric pulses migrated from his limbs to the base of his spine.
He moved with barely restrained control, keeping the build slow, which annihilated any possibility of coherent thought.
But he felt . Emotions he’d bottled up for years, the love he assumed would fade, the woman he believed would forget him … he felt it all.
When Eira shattered under him, he dropped his head to her shoulder, and the guttural moan that erupted from him as he crashed over the edge cleansed that torture from his body. Love had won. It had made him whole and provided a way back to a life he thought he couldn’t have.