We lock eyes, and all I see is love reflected back at me. Even though this is far from lovemaking, this is how Cami and I love—love is messy; it leaves you breathless. It isn’t a choice. It chooses you.
But is it worth it?
Fuck yes.
“I love you,” she cries, slamming her mouth over mine.
We kiss like we’re one another’s life supply, and when she rocks against me in just the right way, I come so fucking hard, I almost blackout. We don’t stop kissing. She swallows my pleasure, and I swallow hers.
We are one. Now and forever. And I wouldn’t change a fucking thing.
A soft knock on the door jars me awake. My brain takes a moment to remember where I am.
Peering over at Babydoll’s bare back, I smile, thankful she wasn’t a dream. I think that every morning I wake.
When the knock sounds again, I quietly peel back the blanket on the sofa bed and cover Babydoll. Searching for some jeans, I slip into them. I also reach for my gun.
When I open the door and see a young woman I don’t know standing in front of me, I don’t know whether to be relieved or not. “Can I help ye?”
Her eyes nervously drift to the gun I’m holding. But until I know who she is, it’s not going anywhere.
“I’ve wanted to call on ye for so long. To introduce myself,” she adds quickly.
“Well, now’s yer chance, love,” I bluntly say, wishing she’d hurry up.
“My name is Julia…Julia Foster. Yer ma, Cara, she was my father’s sister. I’m yer cousin.”
I take a moment to process what she just shared because what the fuck? I know I have an uncle, one I haven’t given any thought to since he had no issues living in the house my ma was slain in. Also, the fact that I burned his gaff to the ground would make any Christmas dinner uncomfortable.
I steered clear for a reason—the Fosters abandoned my ma when she needed them. She was her own woman, but they did wrong by her, and I’ll never forgive them for it.
But here stands Julia Foster—my cousin.
“No offense, Julia, but why are ye here?”
She pales as this clearly isn’t the family reunion she anticipated. “For as long as I can remember, our family has been full of secrets. My parents never told me what happened to Auntie Cara. Kids at school told me.
“How messed up is that?”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
“Our grandparents, they’re gettin’ on in age, and I know all they want is for all of us to be together as a family.”
“Is that why ye’re here?” I snicker, shaking my head. “Did the aul’ doll send ye?”
Julia has taken offense it appears when she curls her lip. “No one sent me,” she reveals, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder. “I’m here ’cause I thought if yer uncle can—”
But her sentence will forever remain unfinished.
“What? What uncle?” I question, every sense heightened.
Julia appears confused and clarifies, “Yer Uncle Sean.”
Of course, she is confused. She has no fucking idea what’s going on. None of them do. I never told my grandparents who Sean really is. Or that when I offered them protection, it was because Sean was hunting them.
I never thought he’d go after them because I’m sure he knows they mean nothing to me. Yes, I protected them because it was the right thing to do. But that doesn’t mean I’m interested in rekindling something that was never there.
However, I have no idea what game he’s playing because Julia hasn’t mentioned that he’s hurt them. Or that they’re in danger.
This means he’s waiting…but waiting for what?
“What’s going on?” Babydoll sleepily asks from behind me.
Julia smiles, but it’s strained.
“Cami, this is Julia. My cousin.”
I move aside so Babydoll can stand by me. She’s wearing my hoodie, which is about three sizes too big for her. Julia joins the dots to who she is to me.
“I’m sorry for comin’ over unannounced. I’ll leave ye be.”
She goes to turn, but I reach out, snaring her wrist. When she peers down, I loosen my hold.
“Where’s my uncle now?” I try my best to sound casual.
“He asked if he could stay with us, seein’ as it’s yer mum’s birthday and all. He’s lost everyone, and I think he’s awful lonely. My dad said he always preferred him over yer da. Oh,” she adds as an afterthought. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me to say.”
“It is?” The question was never supposed to be spoken aloud, but my brain and mouth aren’t connected right now because it’s her birthday? Why don’t I know this?
I don’t know anything because the man who has the answers is holding them as ransom. But what I do know is…is that Sean wants me to find him.
“Yer right,” I say, slipping into the role Julia wanted. “It would be nice to get the family together. If ya give me yer address, I can come by later. To celebrate my ma’s birthday…like a family.”
Her green eyes narrow, and she has every right to be suspicious, but it seems her need to play make-believe overrides good sense. “Really? Oh, Grandma is goin’ to be so happy.”
“How ’bout we keep this to ourselves?” I gently suggest. “I’d like to surprise them.”
She nods eagerly, appearing to believe me as she rattles off her address and mobile number. Babydoll doesn’t say a word, but she doesn’t have to. I know what she’s thinking. Sean is there for a reason. And the fact it’s my mum’s birthday is no coincidence either.
This is definitely a trap…one I’ll be walking into willingly.
“All right, phone me when yer on the way,” Julia says, smiling broadly.
She waves goodbye, and we watch in silence as she gets in her car and drives away.
“This is a trap,” Babydoll says, her panic clear. “We need to call on everyone to surround that house so we can take Sean out. How do we even know she is who she claims to be? This could be another one of Sean’s tricks.”
I don’t reply.
Instead, I pull her into my arms and spin her so her back is nestled against my front. “Have you thought about what month ye’d like us to marry in?”
“Puck,” she says, trying to turn around. But I hold her tightly, kissing her temple.
“And what about the venue? If it’s okay with you, I’d like to have it here. In the castle. Once it’s finished, of course. I think Connor and my ma would have liked that.”
“We need to talk to Ron and—”
“Cami, it’s all right. It’ll be all right.”
“How?” She sighs, shaking her head. “Yer father is no doubt planning something horrible, and yer talking about our wedding. Why?”
“’Cause I need this,” I explain, calmly staring into the clear morning sky. “I need this sense of normal because nothing about what we’re walkin’ into is. A new day means hope, and I hope come nightfall, y’ll tell me what date yer goin’ to be my wife. That’s all I care about.”
She sighs, leaning into me. “I’m sorry.”