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She nods, but I know only time will prove my words. Diamond is right. We aren’t running anymore. This will only end when we face him, so let him come. That doesn’t mean I’ll let our girl be terrified and living on edge though. He stole her life for years. He doesn’t get to now.
I want her to be happy again. I crave her laughter and unweighted smile.
I direct a look at Diamond, who nods and glances at Spade and Club. “Tighten security. Put out the warning. If he comes here, I want him alive. He’s ours to deal with.”
Holding my girl tighter, I tug her after me.
“Wait, I should help. Where are we going?” she asks as I lift her and throw her over my shoulder. She yelps but lets me, and when I set her on her feet at the back of the tent, she watches as I swiftly set up what I have in mind.
“Here.” I hand her some of the paints we use for posters and point at the wooden board. “Throw it. Take some of your anger out. Scream, snarl, do what you need to.”
She looks confused and hesitant, so I grin.
“Just trust me. Try it.”
Shrugging, she tests the weight of a small pot of paint and then swings her arm back and throws. It hits the wood, splattering bright red across the surface, and she grins before choosing another and throwing that too. This time, she giggles as it splatters, and without sparing me another look, she grabs another and another. She launches them at the wood, and they make a satisfying splatter.
Grabbing my own, I throw it and watch the different colored paints mix on the board as she starts to smile, even if she doesn’t realize it. She tosses one after another until she stands back, panting hard, her fear gone.
I don’t like her terror unless it’s aimed at me.
She spares me a quick look before heading over to the board to check it out. “What a mess,” she murmurs as I step behind her.
“No, this is a mess.” Dunking my hands into the paint, I swipe it across her cheeks before she can stop me. She yelps as she whirls, bright blue handprints on her face. Her eyes are wide, and she points at me.
“Heart, don’t you dare?—”
I step closer, twining our hands until hers are covered too. She groans at the feeling as I grin at her, tilting my head.
“I like it when you’re messy,” I whisper hungrily, dropping my eyes to her lips. “I like it when you’re angry. I also like it when you’re crazy, but I don’t like it when you’re scared. Do you understand?”
She nods, swallowing as I watch the movement with a groan. I search her eyes, seeing the spark of desperation in her gaze as her lips part in desire. She looks at me like she wants to devour me, and I can’t take it.
“Fuck it,” I snap.
Pressing her against the board, I press my lips to hers. My paint-covered hands slide across her arms, up to her cheeks, and tilt her face, smearing paint on her skin as we kiss hungrily. Her hands slide up my back, taking my shirt with her, her nails digging into my skin as I moan into the kiss.
I lose myself in her, our greedy hands sliding over each other, staining our skin, but neither of us care as we fight to be as close as possible.
Most call me insane, and they’d be right, but for her, I’d let go of my last shreds of sanity to see her smile again.
I’d crawl through fire for her.
I’d cut every inch of me with glass just to keep her safe.
I never thought I was capable of loving another person, not after everything I lost, but Ember possesses my soul, my heart, and my body. I won’t live without her, and the thought of almost losing her today makes our kiss turn brutal, until she whimpers as she tugs me closer. Neither of us want to break apart, even as our lungs scream at us.
Pulling back, she meets my eyes. “What if this didn’t work? What if this didn’t cheer me up?” she asks roughly.
“Then I would have set up some shit for you to smash with hammers.”
Her smile grows, but with it, the sun dawns again. “I love you,” she murmurs.
“Good, then you understand a fragment of just how much I adore you,” I reply as I nip her lip. “I’m going to frame this art we made, and instead of smashing shit, I’m going to smash you.” Throwing her over my shoulder, I set off toward her tent while she laughs and smacks my ass.
Her laughter rings through the cirque, bringing joy only our queen can create, lighting up our homes and lives.
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