Page 136 of The Echo of Forever

How long would it take for her to admit she’d fallen in love with me again? The words were there, dancing behind her eyes whenever she looked at me, lingering in the space between our bodies when we touched. She didn’t even realize how clingy she’d become. How she gravitated toward me in sleep, how hereyes searched for me whenever we were in a room together. But I did. I noticed everything about my wife.

Like now…

Forever shifted on the couch, her brow furrowing slightly. I sat perfectly still, not wanting to wake her but picking up on her discomfort. She needed rest, needed to heal. To be taken care of by someone who gave a fuck.

Her entire family had dropped the ball, including Kai.

Including me.

Letting eleven months pass had been a mistake.

“No…” she murmured, her voice so soft I almost missed it.

I tensed, recognizing the beginning signs of a nightmare. Her fingers twitched against the couch as she shifted again.

“I won’t tell,” she whispered, more urgent now. “Don’t hurt her…”

Her body jerked back violently, as if trying to escape somethingorsomeone.

“Please.”

That single word had me out of my chair before I could blink. I’d never heard Forever sound like that, not even when death was on the table.

Suddenly, her eyes flew open and she sat up with a gasp, looking around until her gaze finally settled on me as I crossed the room to reach her.

Tears welled in her eyes, just before a sob tore from her throat and startled the fuck out of me. It was nothing like the soft cries she let loose when we were fucking. This was something else entirely, something I felt deeply.

I pulled her against my chest, and she clung to me, body trembling as I moved us to the end of the couch.

“Can’t be true,” she murmured into my shirt. “Can’t be true. Can’t be.”

I tightened my hold on her, cradling the back of her head with one hand while stroking her back with the other. I didn’t know what the fuck to say; there weren’t any promises that could ease whatever demons had found her in her sleep. All I could do was hold her, let her feel my heartbeat against her cheek. The heart that beat for her and no one else.

“I got you,” I whispered into her hair. “I’m right here, baby.”

She cried for a long time, or at least, it felt like a lifetime had passed. I found myself blinking rapidly at one point, surprised to feel my own eyes burning. Her pain resonated within me, echoing in places only she occupied.

Gradually, her cries subsided and breathing evened out.

She slumped against me, and I carefully adjusted our position so she could lie more comfortably. Within minutes, she was asleep again but still clinging to me as if I’d disappear.

I stayed perfectly still, my mind working through different scenarios. What had she seen in her dream? The little she’d spoken gave nothing to work with, but combined with her mother’s fixation on protecting Forever from some unnamed threat, it really weighed on me now.

The door to my office swung open at some point, breaking my trance.

Solei stepped in with Kai right behind her. I reacted at the sight of him before I could stop myself, wanting to be very clear about who mattered to me the most. About how far I’d go to end anybody who meant her harm.

I dropped my hand off the side of the couch, fingers gripping the handle of the gun holstered to the frame.

“Why does Quinn think she’s protecting Forever from something?” I asked calmly, pointing the pistol at his head. “And do you know what that something is?”

Kai’s eyes drifted to Forever before meeting mine again.

“You really love my sister, huh?”

Solei had gone completely still beside him, her own hand drifting toward the gun I knew she kept tucked at all times. She wouldn’t interfere unless I asked, but she was ready.

“I don’t know shit about shit,” Kai said, tipping his head. “Don’t mind dying either to prove it.”