His hand went to my thigh, and he turned to look at me, his thumb brushing over my skin.

“Are you okay?”

The stare lasted a long time before he gave a nod. “He knew the protocol. He knew to stay in the safe room with the rest of the staff. He chose to go after you, something I never would have asked him to do. You’re my responsibility—and I would have gotten you back on my own. I can’t carry the guilt of his decision.” His eyes flicked away for a moment. “But the loss does hurt. He didn’t deserve that. I got the revenge he was owed, but it’ll never be enough.”

With his arms behind my knees and his heavy body on top of mine, he rocked into me, his gaze on mine, his dark eyes filled with a deeper level of commitment than before. His lips would kiss me between moans. His eyes would saturate me with a look of love. His hips would drive him farther inside when he needed more. He made me his every night, made me feel like there had never been anyone else but him.

It made me forget the life I’d had before this.

It had always been this way.

He already loved me with everything that he had, but now he loved me much deeper than before. He loved me every night like it was our last night on this earth. He loved me like he could lose me any moment.

We lay together once it was over, and despite the heat of our bodies, he held me close. His arm was draped over my stomach as he lay beside me, his face close to my cheek on the same pillow. His large body was a wall beside me, blocking the window from my view.

My arm rested on his as I turned to look at him, to see this handsome man protecting me with his massive body. Every night, I was wrapped in his protection, wrapped in his scent, his possessiveness.

He opened his eyes and met my look.

I stared, my fingers drifting over the endless muscles of his arms. “Je t’aime.”

He stared for a few seconds before he pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “Je t’aime, chérie.”

I loved my new home in this very spot—right next to him. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you.”

A new look entered his eyes, a gaze I hadn’t seen before. Windows opened to his soul, and the softness underneath was truly visible for the first time. “You never have to worry about that.”

“Why?”

“Because if I die, there’s no one to protect you. So, I can never die.”

A week later, Fender held a party at the house.