Page 124 of The Promise Of Rain

He lifted his head and met my eyes.“And I fucking will, baby.I’ll burn the whole fucking world to the ground if that’s what I need to do, but you are going to live soft.”He pinched my chin between his thumb and his forefinger.

His eyes filled and his voice broke.“You’re going to live soft.You hear me?”

I nodded, unable to speak.

He exhaled, his breath shuddering as he took both my hands in his and pressed his forehead to mine.

He pressed my hands to his chest and bowed his head.“You’re going to live soft.”

24

Dirty

Jenny

Fate put his promise to the test not forty-eight hours later.

The night I told Deacon about the baby, I slept in his t-shirt, splayed over his chest the whole night, as if I needed to pin him down to keep him.Sometime between throwing up in the snowbank and slipping into my bed with him, I’d come to terms with what happened with Adam.

And Deacon seemed to have processed and accepted what he left behind.Other than holding me a little tighter than usual and a complete disinterest in having sex, he seemed to be back to himself.

He’d changed a lot over the past decade, perhaps I had too, but at his core, Deacon was the same.

And I loved him.

This morning, he rolled me over onto my back and crushed me under his weight.

“Oof,” I huffed.

“I’m keeping you,” he muttered into my hair.

I wrapped my arms around his wide back and wheezed, “There’ll be nothing left if you squish me to death.”

“I don’t care,” he muttered.

I laughed but no sound came out.“Hairy Larry on the ceiling,” I managed.

He rolled to the side so fast I didn’t even realize he’d taken me with him until my bare feet hit the floor.

I backed away, preparing to run, but wanting to see his face first.

He looked up at the ceiling, a deep frown on his face, before lowering his dark gaze to meet mine.“That was mean.”

I shrugged and pointed my finger at his naked chest.“Brawn.”

His head tilted in warning.

I smiled and backed further away, then touched my temple.“Brain.”

He growled and lurched for me.

Screaming, I turned and ran for the bathroom.Right before I crossed the threshold, his strong arm shot out and wrapped around my waist.

Turning me around, he threw me over his shoulder and smacked my bottom, hard enough to make me gasp.

“What—” I sputtered.

“Your punishment is coming,” he stated cheerfully as he loped back to my bedroom.“And you’re going to love every minute of it.”