Singe (Guardian Protection #1)

She stopped, and I heard the brush land on the table and then the sounds of her digging through a drawer.

“You know, if this were a romance novel, this is when I’d give you an inspirational speech that would magically take away years of hurt and then cut your hair off.”

My pulse quickened as I shot to my feet. “Don’t you dare!”

She winked at me and motioned for me to sit back down.

I cautiously lowered myself back to the stool while warning, “I’m serious. Don’t fucking cut my hair.”

“Relax. I’m not. As you so often like to remind me, life is not a romance novel. Now, close your eyes and hush.”

Her reassurance did nothing to slow my heart or make me trust that she wasn’t up to some type of Rhion Park craziness that would more than likely cause me to lose my mind.

“I’ll keep my eyes open,” I stated.

She glowered at me for several seconds but relented to my caveat with a roll of her eyes.

Using my shoulders, she urged me to face the mirror. “As I was saying, seeing as how I know nothing about cutting hair and I’m also quite fond of yours, we are going to have to make do.” She lifted a black hair tie up in my direction.

My body sagged in relief as she went to work picking my hair up into a small ponytail and looping the end to make more of a bun type of thingy.

“I look like a douchebag,” I said when she finished.

She giggled and tugged her dress up so she could straddle my lap. Encircling my neck with her arms, she replied. “You don’t look like a douchebag. You look sexy. Though you might have to buy a pair of skinny jeans and a bow tie to complete the look.”

I chuckled and leaned in for a kiss, but she denied me by swaying away.

“I don’t have any inspirational words that can fix years’ worth of hurt. But what I do have is time, Jude. And I’m never going to stop trying to make you see your burns for the beautiful masterpieces they are. Maybe it will happen after I trick you into marrying me, because I couldn’t think of a more perfect husband—scars and all.

“Or maybe it will happen after I convince you to give me a baby who won’t ever see your burns as a flaw, but rather a testament to the fact that you saved his or her mother from an impossible situation.”

“Jesus,” I breathed as the idea of starting a family with her sang in my veins.

She dodged another kiss. “Maybe it will happen when we have gray hair and you’re holding my hand in the rocking chair next to me and it finally hits you that, without those scars, I wouldn’t have been able to live the amazing life I know we’ll have had together.” Her voice caught at the end.

And I felt that same emotion in the marrow of my bones.

God. I wanted that with her.

The life. The family. The future.

The perspective. The forgiveness. The pride.

“But, for now, let’s make a deal. You wear your hair up tonight and I’ll wear a different dress. We can be beautifully flawed together.”

And that’s when it hit me.

That’s all I ever wanted to be with her.

I didn’t have to be perfect.

I didn’t have to be the hero who did everything right.

I didn’t have to carry the guilt and shame of my actions that night.

I didn’t have to own any of it.

With Rhion, I was free.

To her, I was perfect.

I was the hero who did everything right.

I didn’t have a reason to carry guilt or shame. My actions had been successful in saving her life.

And there was nothing to own.

To Rhion, I’d always been free.

She’d even written over a dozen books showing it. I had just been too damn consumed to accept it.

“Jesus,” I cursed, burying my face in her neck.

“Is that a yes?” she asked.

It was.

A yes to the hair.

A yes to getting married one day.

A yes to making babies.

A yes to raising a family.

A yes to growing old with her.

A yes to an amazing life.

But, most of all, a yes to being beautifully flawed together.

Tipping her to the side, I kissed her with my entire being.

Lips. Tongue. Heart. Soul.

Scars and all.





True to his word, Jude wore his hair up that night. True to mine, I wore a strapless, black cocktail dress when Pete took us to dinner. As I’d expected, Pete stared, but every time I started to squirm, Jude was there with a reassuring touch to set me at ease.

Surprisingly enough, Pete didn’t take us to an ostentatious restaurant, but rather a chain steakhouse. I thought he did it for Jude’s benefit, to make him feel more comfortable. Though, judging by the glares they exchanged for most of the meal, I wasn’t sure it was all that effective.

Dinner. Was. Awkward.

Jude was polite and tried starting innocent conversation with Pete. Pete, however, threw snide insults disguised as jokes back at Jude every chance he got. Meanwhile, I nervously slid my mother’s diamond across the chain so fast that it was a wonder I didn’t cause sparks.

By the time we finished our salads, Pete was already making up excuses about why he needed to get back to his hotel as quickly as possible. Normally, I would have been hurt, considering I hadn’t seen him in over six months, but I was so relieved when he stood to leave, still chewing his last bite of steak.

Though my disappointment rang loudly.

My heart broke as I watched Pete so obviously shun Jude. They were two of the most important men in my life. I wasn’t na?ve. Pete had more than made his feelings on Jude clear on the phone weeks earlier. It wasn’t like I’d expected him to change overnight and immediately accept him into our little makeshift family. I had, however, hoped that it would happen that way.

There was a myriad of reasons why I loved Jude. But the way he guided me back to our apartment without saying a single negative word about Pete was one of the biggest reasons. He recognized that I was hurting and took it upon himself to make it better even though he was the one who had been wronged. Another one of the reasons I loved Jude because he took his time making love to me as though he knew I needed the connection between us. A reminder that he would always there for me, no matter what the situation. Or at least that was what I took from his whispered promises that it would be okay. I wasn’t sure it would, but with Jude’s loving, green gaze staring down at me, I knew unequivocally that I would be.

We eventually fell asleep. Sweaty, sated, and, for me, closer than ever before.

The next morning, I pried my eyes open and found Jude sitting on the corner of the bed, fully dressed in one of his work suits, his hair still damp from a shower.

“Wake up, beautiful.”

“What time is it?” I asked, stretching out like a cat.

“Seven. But Zach just called to tell me Pete was at the elevator. You might want to throw on some cloth—” He was cut off by a knock on the door.

I groaned. “I really don’t have anything to say to him after last night.”