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I threaded my fingers up into her hair—soft, silky, and smelling like floral shampoo instead of my soap.
“I’m fine. Kingpin suggested I get some shut eye while I have the chance.”
Liss hummed as she gently climbed over me, straddling my hips. I skimmed my hand along her thigh, curving over her hip. My thoughts flew through a dozen dirty things all at once.
“I’ve been thinking,” Liss said.
“That’s dangerous,” I replied.
She wrinkled her nose and poked me in the ribs. I chuckled and caught her hand.
“What’s on your mind, baby?”
Liss hesitated, tracing the patches on my cut.
“Can I be honest with you?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“Always.”
She tried to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear and gave up, scratching at her earlobe instead while she deliberated.
“Is there…a future for us?”
“I hope so,” I replied. “If you’re looking for a white picket fence life in the suburbs though, I’m not the man for the job.”
She shook her head.
“I never wanted that.”
I waited for a moment, expecting her to continue. When she remained silent, I reached out and grasped her chin lightly. That gesture never failed to sharpen her focus, calm her scattered thoughts, and get her gaze to lock on me.
“Tell me what you want, Liss,” I said.
She considered for nearly a full minute before she sucked in a breath to speak.
“Would you…marry me someday?”
I raised my eyebrows.
Oh, sweetheart, I thought. If only you knew how ready I am to make you mine forever…
“I haven’t really—” Liss broke off and swallowed. “I never thought about that with anyone else. My parents hated being married. My dad ranted about how awful it was to be saddled with a family he didn’t even want.”
I frowned, squeezing Liss’s hip. I couldn’t imagine how terrifying it must be to open up the way she did now. To hope for happiness that she never witnessed in her family before.
“I think…” Liss continued. “I’d like to have a kid, too. Maybe. I haven’t decided yet. I always swore I wouldn’t bring a daughter into this world. She’d end up like me and I couldn’t live with myself if that happened.”
A tear glistened on her cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb.
“You’re a brave woman, Liss,” I said. “Strong, intelligent, gorgeous. You should be proud to have a daughter like you.”
She made a small strangled noise in the back of her throat.
“But what if I build a great life with you and then I lose it all and I end up right back where I started, under my brother’s thumb? I can breathe when I’m around you, Gideon. I had no idea that I’ve been drowning all this time until you hold me and kiss me. And then my lungs finally don’t hurt anymore.”
I pushed myself up into a sitting position, swinging my legs over the bed. Hooking an arm around Liss’s waist, I kept her body locked tight against me.
“I won’t let that happen, Liss,” I said. “I promise.”
