Chapter 50
CHAPTER FIFTY
ROWAN
“Good girl. Drink a little more for us.” Asher holds the straw to her lips, and she takes another long pull.
I’m fucking spent. The feel of Hannah’s throat squeezing my cock as she fell over the edge was pure bliss, and I just about passed out by the time my release was covering her perfect body.
Once I’ve regained the use of my legs, I climb onto the bed beside them, brushing my fingers down her cheek, in awe of how perfectly she fits between us.
Our perfect match in every way.
Asher pulls the glass away and places it down on the bedside table, half the contents gone. He wraps both arms around her and holds her tightly against him.
“You’re perfect,” I say softly, brushing my thumb along her bottom lip.
Hannah blinks up at me, her eyes full of affection despite being glazed over.
“You did so good, Little Doe,” Asher adds, pressing a sweet kiss to the temple.
One of the things I regret most about his upbringing is the lack of softness he received.
I tried my best, but I wouldn’t consider myself nurturing, and that rubbed off on him. I made a point of teaching him how to be a good man—how to treat people with respect, how to be kind to strangers, and how to navigate complicated emotions.
A welcome consequence of raising him as a single father is that he never grew up thinking any roles within the home were gender specific, and when he reached high school and all his friends started taking an interest in girls, consent and respect for women were drilled into him.
But despite all of that, he was raised without a gentle hand, and I worried that all those values I’d cultivated wouldn’t be enough.
And yet here he is, an ex-MMA fighter who looks every bit as menacing as that career required, with blood on his hands, both legal and illegal. But when it comes to Hannah? There’s nothing but love and affection, and I know with absolute certainty that there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for her.
There’s a part of me that has always considered that I should just let them have one another. I have twenty years on Hannah. What kind of future can I offer her? Is it fair of me to let her love me the way I do her, knowing my time will be up long before hers?
But in the same breath, all our days are numbered. My age doesn’t mean with certainty that I’ll be the first one to meet my untimely end.
I’m pulled from the somber thought when Hannah leans into my hand. Her eyes are brighter now. The haze has lifted, and I can’t help but lean down and brush my lips over hers.
“I’m sorry you lost,” she whispers.
I bark out a laugh, because this fucking woman.
She’s the perfect blend of smart and sassy. Submissive and bratty.
Asher buries his face into her neck to stifle his own laugh, and for a moment, I allow myself to pretend the threat is gone and this is the rest of our lives.
Because it will be. There is nothing I won’t do to give Hannah the life she deserves, and that includes wiping out Jeffrey Malone and anyone else who threatens our future.
“I’m never a loser when you’re in my arms, Hannah.”