Page 72 of Marvelous

Not my Cassie. Not my Cupcake.

“By the time I really started to get sick, my teacher saw it, panicked, and called 911. He didn’t even come to the hospital because he was passed out drunk. A social worker was called in. And because they couldn’t reach my father, they did the only thing they could do. They removed my ovaries, where the infection had settled.”

Fuck. Now I feel like a dick.

And for the first time since I met her, I allowed her to open her own door.

But in a second, I was vaulting out of my truck, slamming the door, rounding the hood, and in three long strides I wrapped my arms around her waist and twisted her, so she was facing me.

Then I placed my hands on either side of her face, “Don’t give a fuck. You want to adopt? Okay. You want to use a surrogate? Okay. You want a herd of cats? Okay. Long as I have you, I’m golden.”

And when she opened her mouth to protest, I silenced her by slamming my mouth down atop hers.

She gasped into my mouth, but quickly, her body melted into mine.

Moments later, when we pulled apart, she headed to her place. I shook my head and tightened my hold on her, “No.”

She lifted a brow, “What do you mean, no?”

“Haven’t slept apart since we got together, I ain’t starting now. You're my woman. But Cupcake, I’m your man. Where you go, I go. Where I go, you go. And I’ll be damned if you go inside your place and let your thoughts take off.”

She opened her mouth, but I shook my head, “No. You’ve been wondering your whole life where you fit. Looking for a safeplace to land. I’m your safe place, Cupcake. I’ll be your anchor. Trust in me.”

Cassie

We were tangled up in a blanket on his back porch the next night as rain came down in sheets.

And he was telling me things that I couldn’t believe.

“So, the girl and her mother?” I asked.

He shook his head, “Not true.”

I gasped.

“Yeah, I’ve treated women like they were fuck toys, but half the shit I told my family, the rumors I purposefully spread, all lies.”

“But why? Why would you let them think that about you? Why would you let everyone think that?”

He winked, “Needed a cover for when I wasn’t around. That just seemed like the best way to do it.”

“And none of them knew?”

He shook his head. “No. At least I didn’t think so.”

Then he shook his head, “I didn’t find out that Garrick somewhat knew about what I did about a week after Sage was born.”

“So, what can I know, exactly?”

He sighed, then ran his hand through his hair, “I can’t tell you much.”

I nodded, “I get that.”

Then he sighed, “Went in to be a ranger. Got selected. I’m now a part of a secret high-level organization. I’m a Delta operative.”

I leaned further into his side, “How is that different?”

He took a pull from his beer, “We’re sent in when the public can’t know things. Like Seals. But we’re the Army’s special forces brand.”