Brothers of Paradise Series

“I remember. I didn’t… wow.” He laughs, suddenly, and it’s entirely unexpected. “Seeing it now, I realize how off the mark I was.”

I lean back, offended for his former self. “Why? It’s lovely.”

“You should be in diamonds, Lils.”

“I should be in things that have sentimental value. Plus, I happen to really like it.”

He returns to his study of the charms. The brief amusement has faded, and his eyes look lost in thought. “Did you wear it sometimes? When we were apart?”

“Sometimes,” I admit. “Though the first couple of years I buried it in my jewelry box. I couldn’t look at it.”

“I deserved that.”

“And then, when I got older, it felt like something from my childhood. Something that connected me with you.”

He nods, his finger still playing with one of the charms. “The cone shell you gave me? I brought that with me on each of my postings.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It was from the ocean, from this place… from you.”

I stand up and gently push the glass away from him. “You weren’t planning on drinking that, were you?”

He’s quiet for a beat. I can tell there’s a decision being made, and I don’t want to rush him.

“No,” he says finally. “I wasn’t.”

“It’s late. Come home with me?”

Hayden nods and stands, too. He leaves enough bills on the bar to settle his tab and then we walk out, side by side. He holds the door open for me and stops on the sidewalk, looking sheepish.

“I don’t have my car,” he says. “I walked here.”

“Really? Your house isn’t that close.”

“I didn’t want to have to drive later in case I decided to have that drink.”

I can’t stop myself from smiling. “You’re so far from your father, Hay. Light years.”

He gives me an uncertain smile back. “I suppose I am.”

We drive back to mine in comfortable silence. He’s deep in thought, but the tension that radiated off him is gone. I don’t know if there’s an easy solution to his emotions-losing a parent, even if it’s an estranged one, isn’t something you can work through with a manual. Everyone’s experience is different.

Hayden pulls me close as soon as we shut my front door behind us. He puts his lips against my temple, his arm strong around my waist. For the first time in days I let myself fully relax.

He’s here. He didn’t leave.

“Thanks, Lils.”

“Anytime.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer when you texted. I was…” He shakes his head, the silkiness of his hair soft against my forehead. “I can’t explain it.”

“Because it would become real the minute you told me?”

He shakes his head. “I didn’t want to burden you with all that stuff. But it doesn’t make it right.”

“It’s all right,” I say, breathing in the salty, masculine scent of him. He’s here, he’s here, he’s here.

“If you thought I’d left again, I’m sorry. I never would. Not again.”

“I know.” I take his hand and pull him toward my bedroom. “It’s late, Hay.”

We get undressed in soft, smooth caresses, both watching each other as we get into bed. He holds me tucked close to his body, silent and still. When he whispers in my ear that he needs me, I almost don’t know what he means until I feel his hot arousal against my thigh.

I slide my hands around his neck and pull his face down to mine. We kiss in the dark for what feels like an eternity, heat slowly unfurling in my stomach.

“Lily…” he murmurs against my lips, my jaw, my neck. He leans down on his elbows, his body covering me entirely. His chest hair tickles against my breasts and I press myself closer still, wanting to fuse us into one.

The fiery, ecstatic passion we’ve shared for the past week is replaced by something much softer. But there’s salvation in this too-in loving and being loved. I stretch out beneath him and keep my hands on his shoulders as he enters me. He starts to move, slowly, a shudder passing through his body.

Release finds me sooner than I expect. Hayden follows soon after, groaning my name as his body shakes in my arms.

He moves to my side and holds me close, cradling me against the strong lines of his body. I close my eyes and rest against his chest. There’s a faint tickle of hair against my cheek.

Hayden runs a calloused hand over my hair and down the soft skin of my back.

“I haven’t decided if I’ll go the funeral yet,” he whispers. “But if I do, will you come with me?”

I put my hand over his heart. “Always.”

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I look down at Lily, lying in my arms. Sunlight streams in through her bedroom window. It sets her auburn hair on fire, draped across my chest. She’s always gorgeous, so beautiful it hurts, but when she’s sleeping… she looks like an angel.

My head hurts, despite the hours of sleep. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out why. The conversation we had last night was a long time coming.

She knows everything now. Just how bad it had gotten, before I came to Paradise Shores. And she hadn’t turned away in disgust or looked at me like a charity case. There had been none of her parents’ kind patronization in her gaze.

My arms tighten automatically around her at the thought. I’m a lucky bastard, gaining a second chance with her.

Lily blinks her eyes open. Clear, green eyes meet mine. They warm when she sees my expression. “Good morning,” she whispers.

“Morning.”

“It’s late, I think.”

I nod, glancing over at her alarm clock. “It’s past ten.”