He held her tightly, running his hands up and down her body, kissing her hair, her face, whispering his love for her, telling her he’d always love her and protect her with his last breath.
After a moment, she quieted and he relaxed, curling himself completely around her so that no part of her wasn’t surrounded by him. He had nearly drifted off in the heaven of her body when the nightmares began again, and this time she began weeping softly in her sleep.
His heart breaking, he kissed away every tear as soon as it slid from her eyes. Then he began talking to her, telling her all over again of his love for her and that he’d never allow her to hurt again.
Each time he soothed her, she immediately settled, but it wasn’t long before she became lost in the throes of another nightmare, convinced she was still in hell. She called out his name, over and over, and he was in agony that nothing he seemed to do could rouse her from the horrible things happening to her in her dreams. He finally broke down and cried with her, because it tore his heart apart to think she was so desperately calling for him and thought he wasn’t there or that he wasn’t coming for her.
“Please, baby, come back to me. Wake up and see me. I will never let you go again. I’ll love you more than any woman has ever been loved before. I’ll never let anyone or anything hurt you again. I’ll wrap you in the finest cotton and never let you so much as stub your toe without going insane. Just imagine, angel, you could already be carrying my baby,” he whispered. “And I’m going to love you both so much that I’ll spend every day taking such good care of you and all our children, that you’ll never want for anything.”
Once more, she settled, burrowing more tightly into his embrace, clutching at him even in her sleep as if she’d never let go. He’d never allow her to let him go, he vowed with such fierceness that he shook.
He didn’t sleep the rest of the night, instead keeping watch over his sleeping angel, soothing her when she began to whimper and become agitated as dreams held her in their tenacious grip. He kept swearing his love for her and making her every promise under the moon, until he was nearly hoarse from the constant reassurance he offered.
When the first faint rays of dawn entered the room, lending their soft light and warmth to the couple so tightly entwined in the bed, Jenna stirred, and at first, Isaac assumed that she was once more in the grip of the terrible dreams that had preyed upon her all night. He was so immersed in the urgency to silence the demons attacking her that he didn’t realize that her eyes had lazily fluttered open until he saw her staring back at him, her expression so very warm with love that it took his breath away.
“Isaac, I don’t need you to promise me the sun, the moon, the stars and the world,” she said, her lips curving upward into a soft, inviting smile. “All I’ll ever want or need is you. Your love. It’s all I’ll ever ask of you.”
“First, you never have to ask me for something that is already yours, will always be yours and has always been yours since the day you fought death for me and healed more than just my physical body,” he said, his tone utterly serious. “And secondly, I’ll spoil you ridiculously as is my right, and there’s not a damn thing you can say or do that will ever change my mind, so if you won’t ask me for anything you want or need, then it’s my duty to provide for you as I see fit.”
Her delighted laughter warmed him all the way through, melting away the regions of ice and darkness that had re-formed in the time she’d been taken from him.
“We’re getting married as soon as possible,” he said with utter gravity, staring into her eyes so there was no possible way she could misunderstand his intention.
She arched one eyebrow and stared challengingly at him. “Granted I may be ignorant of how things work in a world I was denied nearly my entire life, but I’m pretty sure that you’re supposed to ask me to marry you.”
She pursed her lips as if in great thought and pretended to ponder the matter further.
“And I’m also fairly certain there’s something about you being on one knee, and I definitely know a gorgeous ring is involved.”
She sniffed and glanced around. “Funny, but I don’t see any of that. Do you?”
Isaac narrowed his eyes and then groaned, knowing he’d been had. “You’ve been talking to the other wives,” he muttered.
She grinned back at him, even as her hand cupped his face in the gentlest of caresses. “Of course I have! How else am I going to know when you’re not doing things the correct way and taking advantage of my lack of knowledge? They all showed me their rings, and wow. And then they told me about how romantic their proposals were and I have to admit, I totally cried over Gracie’s story.” She emitted a sniffle, her eyes glistening in remembrance. “Such a beautiful love story,” she said with a deep sigh.
He echoed her sigh and then leaned forward and kissed her, unable to resist those perfect, pouty lips. God, but this woman had the ability to twist him into absolute knots. This didn’t bode well for his future, not that he minded one damn bit. And God, if their daughters were anything like their mother? He was so fucked. He needed to have a conversation with God. One last request to give him sons. Lots of sons. Well, and then lots of daughters, but he needed sons first so he’d have plenty of help protecting his beautiful daughters, not to mention needing to teach his sons all about the snot-nosed teenage boys they needed to ensure never came around their precious baby sisters.
“I’ll show you gorgeous and romantic,” he murmured into her mouth.
“Oh good, because I’ve decided I really do love those parts the best,” she said impishly.
He couldn’t help but be affected by her happiness and amazed at how she could rebound so quickly, seeming to have put aside all the torment she’d been subjected to the other night and focus only on their future. Together.
Then, realizing she was likely distracting him from the terror he’d endured, which would be so typical of her generous, loving soul, he just as quickly decided he was having none of that, and if any distracting was going to be done, it would be done by him, and he would give her the most romantic proposal and the most gorgeous ring she’d ever seen in her life.
He may have studied the other wives’ rings long and hard so he could ensure his bride would have bragging rights where engagement rings were concerned. But wait, they were getting fucking engaged? Oh hell no. There’d be none of this waiting shit. He’d give her the ring and then he’d haul her before a preacher before it could ever be considered an engagement ring.