Page 34 of Demon

The blouse hits the floor, followed quickly by my jeans. His clothes disappear just as fast, all efficient movement and barely controlled hunger. When he lifts me, I wrap my legs around his waist automatically, letting him carry me to our bed.

He settles me on the mattress with a gentleness that contrasts beautifully with the raw need in his eyes. "You're so fucking beautiful, Cami. Every day I wake up and can't believe you're mine."

"Always yours," I whisper, pulling him down for another kiss.

He takes his time with me, like he did that first night but with the confidence that comes from three years of learning every inch of my body. His hands and mouth worship me until I'm gasping his name, arching beneath him, desperate for more.

When he finally slides into me, we both groan at the sensation.

"I love you," I breathe against his ear as he begins to move.

"Love you too, angel."

Afterward, we lie tangled together in the lamplight, my head on his chest, his fingers trailing lazy patterns on my bare shoulder.

"Think Lizzie would be okay watching the kids tomorrow too?" he asks, his voice already rough with renewed interest.

I laugh, pressing a kiss to his collarbone. "Probably. She's already plotting to teach Isabella how to play poker."

"Christ. We're gonna have to hide our money."

I trace the tattoo over his heart—my name in elegant script, added after Mason was born. "Rhett?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"I'm happy. Really, truly happy." I prop myself up to look at him. "You gave me everything I never knew I wanted. Family. Safety. Love. Purpose."

"You gave me the same thing," he says quietly. "Made me believe I deserved something good in this life."

I kiss him softly, pouring all my love into it. When we break apart, he's watching me with that intense focus that still makes my heart race.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask.

A slow smile spreads across his face. "Just wondering if maybe we should start working on giving Mason and Isabella a little brother or sister."

Heat floods through me at the suggestion. "Is that so?"

"Mmhmm." His hands are already moving, sliding down my body with renewed purpose. "What do you think, angel? Ready to add another little one to our chaos?"

I think about our beautiful, complicated, loud, loving family. About Mason's infectious laughter and Isabella's determined spirit. About Bulldog reading bedtime stories and Lizzie teaching card games and Trix sneaking them extra treats when she thinks I'm not looking.

"I think," I say, already breathless as his mouth finds my skin again, "that sounds perfect."

Outside our door, the clubhouse settles into evening quiet. But in here, in our sanctuary, Rhett makes love to me with the passion and tenderness that first captured my heart. And as I fall apart in his arms once again, I think about how far I’ve come since I stumbled into this compound during a thunderstorm.

I’m no longer a broken girl. I’m a woman—loved, cherished, protected, and completely whole.

***