Page 24

EPILOGUE

2 Months Later

KNOX

I’ll never get tired of counting her freckles.

Lark told me she used to hate them as a kid. How frustrated she’d get when her friends would tan in the sun and all she’d do was freckle. That she wished for smooth, golden skin like mine.

But I disagree. I think her freckles are perfect. Just like she is.

And there’s nothing I like better than trying to kiss all of them. In bed, in the shower, or on the kitchen island, with Lark spread out like the most precious offering, gazing up at me with so much desire and love in her eyes.

I love waking up in the morning and looking over at my gorgeous girlfriend, her delicate features relaxed as she sleeps, her fiery hair spilling across the pillow, one small hand resting just above my heart. Often, she’s making that little snuffly sound, the one she insists is embarrassing but I think is adorable.

As she wakes up, she always snuggles into my side, draping one leg over mine and nuzzling my neck. Her soft lips move along my jaw, leaving a trail of feather-soft kisses behind. Then her hand moves from from my chest to my stomach, tracing the lines of my muscles before dipping lower.

Some mornings, Lark will climb on top of me, and we’ll make love like that. Which I love, because there’s nothing sexier than watching her take control. Watching her peel off whichever T-shirt of mine she decided to wear the night before, revealing her perfect breasts and rosy-tipped nipples and that little heart constellation I can’t resist.

But on other mornings, like this one, she lets me take the lead.

Stretched out across the crisp white sheets, Lark is a glorious splash of color. Her hair is a shimmering curtain of copper and cherry and gold. Those incredible freckles are dusted all over her body. Emerald-colored lace covers the apex of her thighs, turning dark with her growing arousal.

And her eyes.

An ever-shifting kaleidoscope of golds and greens, they change with her mood. Right now they’re a deep green touched with glittering gold, dark with desire as she gazes up at me.

Her lips curve up, revealing a teasing smile. “Are you going to do anything? Or are you just going to keep staring at me?”

I lower my head to kiss that little heart-shaped pattern of freckles. “I can’t help it. How can I not look at how gorgeous you are?”

A hint of pink touches her cheeks, another thing about Lark I love. No matter how many times I tell her she’s beautiful, she still blushes a little.

And then there are the times she thinks about us making love. When we’re out at a restaurant or walking in downtown Bliss or sitting at home having breakfast, her face will suddenly go red and I just know what she’s thinking.

It makes me feel good that she’s still excited to make love. To try out another of our fantasies.

“You’re pretty handsome, too, you know.” Lark touches my stomach, trailing her fingers across it, sending zips of heat and electricity through my body. Already hard, I feel myself straining toward her, now slick and throbbing with need. “And have I mentioned how much I love your abs? How sexy they are?”

I suck in a breath as her fingers wrap around me, softly stroking. “You may have mentioned it once or twice.”

And even if I didn’t need to keep in shape for my job with the Guardians, I would to keep the muscles she loves to touch.

“Not that I love you for your body,” she adds with a smile. “I’ll still love you when we’re both all old and gray and out of shape.”

“Never.” Leaning over her, I start kissing the freckles dusted across her breasts. “I’ll still be working out when I’m seventy. How else can I stay strong enough to carry you to the bedroom?”

As my lips close around Lark’s nipple, she gasps. “ Well.” She arches toward me, her eyes fluttering closed for a moment. “I do like it when you do that. So I wouldn’t”—another small gasp as I flick her nipple with my tongue—“complain.”

Taking her other nipple in my mouth and sucking lightly, I let my hand wander down, caressing the satiny soft skin of her belly. Then I move lower, my fingers slipping under the lacy fabric and stroking the silky curls beneath.

“Knox—” Her hips jerk as I find her sensitive bud and work it with my fingers. Legs falling open, she’s flushed and wet and ready for me. I swirl my tongue across her little tattoo and she moans, her stomach muscles tightening at the sensation.

Plunging one finger inside her slick heat, I pump it in and out slowly. I kiss a delectable freckle just below her hip, then glance up to meet her heated gaze. “I think I’ve counted one-thousand and forty-two.”

“What?” Her eyes are half-lidded, her chest rising and falling in rapid breaths. “One-thousand?”

“Freckles. I told you I’m counting them.”

I add another finger, feeling her inner walls clutching at them, the tiny muscles already rippling in anticipation.

“You’ll never be able to keep track,” Lark breathes. “There are too many.”

A corner of my mouth quirks up. “Then I guess I’ll just have to keep trying, won’t I?”

“Well—” A little moan slips out. “If you insist.”

My fingers still inside her, I brace myself on my other arm and capture her lips. “I do. Because I will never get tired of kissing you. ”

Her hand moves faster around me, drawing the slickness from root to tip. “I’ll never get tired of any of this. Touching you. Feeling you get bigger and harder in my hand, knowing just how good you’ll feel inside me.”

Fuck.

How am I supposed to keep up a slow seduction when Lark can bring me close to the brink with only her words?

“Songbird.”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

Her eyes burn into mine. “I love you to the end of the universe and back.” Then she smiles, that breath-stealing, dragon-slaying smile. “Now. I really, really want to feel all of you. Please.”

“But I was going to make you come at least?—”

“Knox. Not that I don’t love it when you do that. But right now? I can’t wait.”

Oh.

“Well.” I let my voice go all growly. “If that’s what you want.”

Desire heats her gaze. Her breath catches. “It is.”

Removing my fingers, I notch myself at her center. “Anything you want, sweetheart. Always.”

Her hand tunnels through my hair, dragging me to her lips. “I want you .”

And like everything else Lark asks for, I oblige. Very, very willingly.

In one smooth move, I sink deep, filling her. The pleasure is so intense it brings me right to the edge, and I have to hold still not to finish already.

“Shit. ”

Her eyes widen. “What’s wrong?”

“You feel so damn good. How is it possible?”

A soft smile lifts her lips. “Maybe because we’re meant for each other.”

I pull out until we’re barely joined, then plunge deep again. “I know we are.”

There’s no question Lark is a perfect fit.

Moving inside her, first slowly, then in a frenzy of passion. Every glide of her silken walls against me is an exquisite pleasure. With each thrust, I grow harder and thicker. More desperate to be joined in every way possible with this incredible woman.

Lark clutches my arms, her nails digging in as she moans, a primal sound that’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard. “Knox. Oh. I’m so?—”

But I reach between us and flick that sensitive bundle of nerves, and she swallows her words. Whimpers. Gasps. And then she explodes, convulsing around me.

And that’s all it takes.

I let myself go.

Bursts of light fill my vision as I go impossibly hard, the pleasure—no, ecstasy—taking over. Pulsing hot and intense. Filling her.

Still joined, I roll us over so Lark’s on top of me, and I wrap my arms around her as I press my lips to her head. Then I just breathe. Catch my breath. Absorb Lark’s scent and the feel of her skin and the way her soft curves fit so perfectly against me.

She snuggles into me with a little sigh. Her hand covers my heart. “I love you.”

Warmth blossoms inside me. My heart fills .

And all at once, I know I can’t wait any longer.

Lifting Lark off me, I carefully set her to the side. “I’ll be right back to clean up. Don’t move.”

As I walk into the bathroom to grab a washcloth, Lark calls after me, “We should probably hurry. Breakfast will be over if we don’t get downstairs soon.”

“We have some time. I don’t think anyone is expecting us up early since we got in so late last night.” On my way back into the bedroom, I take a quick detour past my luggage, waiting until Lark isn’t looking to snag the little box tucked in an inside pocket.

“True.” She turns on her side and smiles at me. “But I’m excited to actually get to talk to everyone. I was so tired last night, I probably looked like a zombie. And sounded like one, too.”

“Hardly.” I climb back into bed and lean against the padded headboard, pulling Lark into my lap. “You looked beautiful. And definitely not like a zombie.”

Our flight to Colorado Springs didn’t get in until after eleven last night, and by the time we made it to the ranch that serves as headquarters for the Brotherhood Protector’s Colorado branch, it was well past midnight. So we didn’t spend much time talking with RJ and Jake, who live here and help run the place—RJ having grown up here with her father, and her husband, Jake, who’s a part of the Brotherhood Protectors himself.

But today we’ll have a chance to talk to everyone. RJ and Jake, of course, plus Devin and Mal, Tayo, who’s good friends with Enzo, and his wife Kayla, and any of the other Brotherhood members who happen to be around. We’ll be here for a week, and then we’re heading to San Antonio to meet up with everyone at the Blade and Arrow branch there, and finally to New York to visit with the original B and A team.

It’s the first actual vacation I’ve taken in, well, ever. And I’m beyond excited about it. Getting to see my old Army buddies, seeing what they’re up to, and getting to do it all with Lark. After everything she went through before Christmas, and then the weeks of adjusting to normal life again, this is a break she definitely deserves.

Everything is good back at home, though. Even better than I could have hoped, actually. Lark and I have gotten comfortable at her cabin—at first, I wasn’t sure if she’d want to stay there, but during a conversation soon after the New Year, she said, “I love this cabin, Knox. I’m not letting Ed ruin it for me. If you want to move to your house, I’m okay with it. But it won’t be because I’m getting chased out of here.”

So we’re living at Lark’s cabin, which is our cabin, now, I guess. Tom’s house— my house—is vacant for now, but we’re brainstorming ideas for it. Maybe a safehouse, or someplace for one of our friends to land if they’re looking for some peace and quiet.

Fortunately for us, things have been quiet, too. Ed’s in prison after pleading guilty, and he probably won’t be out in his lifetime. After a lengthy investigation by the police, Alec, and some of our other techie friends, no other accomplices have been found. And Mrs. Vinnetti is still in treatment at a facility in Burlington, but she seems to be doing really well.

Lark says she forgives her. Me? Not so much. And although I don’t believe Mrs. Vinnetti is a threat anymore, me and Alec are keeping tabs on her. Just to be safe .

Everything is pretty much perfect, really. Except for one thing I’ve been waiting to do.

“Should we get up and take a shower?” Lark asks. “Not a sexy shower this time,” she adds with a smile. “Just a regular one.”

“We will. But first, there’s something I want to ask you.”

“Oh?”

My heart speeds up, tripping over itself.

My stomach flips.

Shit.

I’ve thought about this a thousand times. Imagined the exact words I would say.

Now I’m terrified.

“Knox?” Lark touches my cheek. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” Except my throat feels like the Sahara. And I’m lightheaded with nerves. “I… You know I love you. Right?”

She shoots me a duh look. “Yes. Of course.”

“I’m… crap. I’m messing this up.”

“Messing up what?”

Reaching behind me, I pull out the small velvet box. “I told you months ago that I wanted to marry you one day.”

“Knox.”

“I’ve been wanting to ask. But I wanted to give you time, after everything. Time to recover. Time to do your counseling and get a chance to feel safe again. It didn’t seem right to spring such a big question on you yet.”

“I do feel safe,” she whispers. “I always feel safe with you.”

“Maybe I should have asked sooner. But… I don’t kn ow, Lark. I’ve never done this before. Falling in love. Proposing?—”

Lark’s lips lift. “ Are you proposing?”

My ears go hot. “Well, I’m trying to. But I’m not doing a very good job of it.” Taking a deep breath, I flip open the box, revealing the ring I’ve been holding onto for months. “I love you, Lark. I’ve tried to think of the perfect words to tell you how much, but they don’t exist. This feeling is so much more than words. It’s in my heart. My hopes. My dreams. I want a life with you, songbird. Decades of waking up by your side. Of watching those Hallmark movies with you. Of making every holiday special for us?—”

My voice cracks. “And our kids. I know it’s important to you, and it is to me, too. However we want to do it. Whenever you want. Fostering. Adopting. If you want to find a surrogate, we’ll make it happen. And if you change your mind and only want dogs or cats, or no kids at all, I’m fine with that, too. As long as I’m with you, I’ll be forever happy.”

“Knox.” Tears brim in Lark’s eyes.

I pluck the ring from the box and hold it out to her with trembling fingers. “Will you marry me, Lark Weber? Be my wife? Spend a lifetime with me?”

In the moment before she answers, I stop breathing.

Please.

“Yes. Of course.” Lark frames my face with her hands as tears spill down her cheeks. “There’s nothing that would make me happier. You are everything to me, Knox. Everything. I thought I knew what it meant to feel joy. To feel complete. But I had no idea. Not until I met you. ”

Her lips meet mine, tasting slightly of salt. “You showed up that day when I was cleaning my gutters, and I was all dirty and aggravated. The last thing I wanted was company. But then you looked at me, and my heart just stopped for a second. The frustration fell away. And when you talked to me? Offered to help? Even though I kept telling myself I didn’t want a relationship, a part of me knew from the start. Kate used to bug me about meeting someone. But I couldn’t imagine being with anyone but you.”

“Songbird.” I slide the ring on her finger, marveling at how perfect it looks. “So you’ll marry me? Make me the happiest and luckiest man in the world?”

“Yes.” Beaming, she kisses me again. “Absolutely. I can’t wait.”

Hugging her to me, I pepper kisses all over Lark’s face. “I can’t wait, either. How about next week?”

Lark laughs. “Maybe not next week. I want to make sure Kate can come. And Tom should be there. Plus, we want to invite all your old teammates.”

“True. So. Should we celebrate by making love again? Or should we go down to breakfast and share the news, eat something for energy, and then make love?”

“Hmm.” She taps her lips. “I like both ideas. But since we are guests here, let’s do breakfast first.” A beat, and then, “I can’t wait to tell everyone .”

“Same.” I jump out of bed and scoop her into my arms. “Let’s take a shower. And eat quickly. Then we’ll come back here so I can make love to my fiancée.”

“ My fiancé.” She nuzzles my neck. “I can’t wait to make love to my future husband. ”

Fifteen minutes later, we rush into the kitchen downstairs, still damp and flushed from the shower.

Well. And the very quick sex we couldn’t resist. Despite my best intentions not to, once I saw Lark all wet in the shower, wearing my ring, and she called herself the future Mrs. Buchanan… How could I not make love to her again?

Devin and Mal are at the kitchen counter, dishing up plates of eggs. At the stove, RJ is frying bacon, while Jake tries unsuccessfully to steal a piece. And RJ’s father, Gunny, is sitting at the kitchen table, flipping through the newspaper and muttering at it.

Everyone’s heads turn toward us, smiles of welcome on their faces.

Then Devin smirks. “ Now I know why you’re late to breakfast.”

Mal smacks his arm. “Shush. Maybe they were just sleeping in. And anyway, it’s none of your business.”

Jake glances at me, and he breaks into a broad smile. “Well. Glad you had a good morning.” His hand slides around RJ’s waist. “I can’t say anything. RJ and I have had plenty of mornings like that.”

Gunny lifts his chin at me. “Ignore these guys. Grab some breakfast. And if you’re interested, I can show you around the ranch after.”

Mal comes over to us and gives me a quick hug, then Lark. “I’m so glad you guys are here. We have a party planned at the bar tonight, and then—” Her mouth drops open. Then she grabs Lark’s hand. “Is that what I think it is?”

Lark beams. “Yes. Knox just proposed. And obviously, I said yes. ”

“Are you sure she’s feeling okay?” Devin asks. “Not jet lagged? Still too tired to think clearly?”

RJ tosses a fork at him. “Shush! This is exciting!”

He grins. “It is. I’m just kidding. Congrats to both of you.”

“Congrats,” Jake echoes with a smile.

“So it’s an engagement party tonight,” Mal announces. “Even better!”

Lark turns to me, joy bright in her eyes. “I can’t believe it. We’re engaged.”

“I know.” I brush a kiss across her lips. “I never knew I could be this happy.”

As Lark looks up at me, she asks, “Do you remember when you told me that people come into our lives for a reason? That some people are just meant to meet?”

I take both her hands in mine. “Yes. And I believe it.”

“I do, too.” Her gaze holds mine. “I think everything in my life led me to you. Even the bad things were worth it because they brought us together.”

“Lark.”

“I wouldn’t change a thing, Knox. Not one. Because now I get to marry the love of my life. It couldn’t get any better.”

“Songbird.” My nose prickles. “I feel the same way.”

And she’s right.

I’d face every struggle again. Every fear. Each hurt.

Because in the end, I found what I thought never existed.

Lark.

My miracle.