Chapter 6
Nya
The room is quiet now.
Not silent. The fan hums low above us, the breeze flutters the curtains, but everything feels still in a way that seems sacred.
Like if we speak too loud, we’ll break whatever magic held us together through the last hour.
I’m curled against Ghost’s chest, bare skin to bare skin. His hand is on my back, fingers tracing slow, lazy circles.
My legs are tangled with his, and I feel everything. The steady thrum of his heart. The warmth of his skin. The deep, satisfied way he breathes when he exhales against my hair.
He feels like safety.
And I don’t want to break the moment. But curiosity gets the better of me.
“You really never did this before?”
His hand stills on my back. Then he gives a low chuckle, the kind that rumbles through his chest and into mine, warm and a little disbelieving.
“No. Never,” he murmurs, voice rough around the edges but steady.
I lift my head just enough to meet his eyes, searching. “How? Why?”
His gaze doesn’t flinch. It’s calm. Steady. Wide open.
“I meant what I said, Sunshine. I’ve never been with anyone.”
My brows lift, eyes narrowing slightly. “But… you were very good at it.”
His lips twitch like he’s trying not to smile.
“Guess when you’ve been holding something back that long, it comes out strong when it finally breaks loose.”
I blink, trying to absorb it. “But you’re…” I gesture vaguely at all of him, flushed and still gloriously naked beside me. “You.”
His expression shifts slightly, something shadowed passing through it.
“Yeah, well. I’ve been a lot of things in my life. A soldier. A brother. A shield. A monster, some would say. But never a lover. Not until you.”
Heat floods my cheeks. I roll my eyes but press closer.
“Seriously, though. Never?”
He shakes his head, eyes drifting toward the ceiling.
“Had a rough life. There wasn’t time for softness. Wasn’t room for it.”
I stay quiet, waiting. Not pushing. Just letting the silence say it’s okay to share.
He takes a breath.
“My mom left when I was young. My sister, Cassie, is fifteen years younger. I had to raise her.”
His voice is steady, but I can feel the tightness beneath the words.
“My dad was a drunk. Mean when he was sober. Worse when he wasn’t. He racked up debts with all the wrong people. I figured out the only way out was to join up.”
“The Navy?”
“Yeah. SEALs. Got through training on pure rage. The discipline helped. Kept me from turning into him.”
I rest my chin on his chest, fingers trailing over the old scars that cross his ribs.
“What about Cassie?”
A softness replaces the steel in his expression.
“She stayed behind in Jackson Ridge. She’s the reason I kept going. I paid off the debts, sent money when I could. She had to take care of herself. Grow up fast.”
I smile. “She lives there still?”
“Yeah. Married now. Has a kid. Her husband’s Reaper. Part of the Savage Kings. A SEAL buddy of mine.”
“Reaper’s got a name?”
He grins. “Holt. Big guy. Covered in tats. Looks terrifying. But Cassie’s got him wrapped around her pinky.”
My heart aches at the affection in his voice. The protectiveness. The pride.
“She’s happy?”
“Yeah. She’s got her peace.”
I nod and lie back down, resting my head on his shoulder.
For a while, we just breathe.
Then it’s my turn.
“My parents didn’t leave,” I say softly. “But sometimes I think it might have hurt less if they had.”
He doesn’t respond, but I feel his hand tighten slightly against my back. A silent go on.
“Jessica was always the favorite. The golden child. I was the quiet one. The weird one. The chubby one.”
He lets out a low growl at that, and I smile against his chest.
“They poured everything into her. Money. Time. Praise. And she took everything that was mine.”
I swallow. “Even Steven. Not that I miss him. But she didn’t even want him until he wanted me. And then she made sure I lost him. Like she always did.”
His hand cups the back of my head, grounding me. I feel his breath at my temple.
“You didn’t lose anything. You were never meant for him.”
I nod. “Still stings, though.”
“She won’t take anything else from you. Not while I’m breathing.”
That should sound like a threat. But from him, it feels like a vow.
I shift, angling my body so I can see him again. My hand moves across his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his breathing.
“I’m glad you came for me.”
His gaze darkens. “I’d do it again. A thousand times.”
I lift my face to his. Our lips meet again.
Slow. Soft.
But it doesn’t stay soft.
He rolls us until I’m beneath him. His weight presses into me, warm and heavy and safe. I spread my legs instinctively, wrapping them around his hips.
“You sure?” he asks again, voice gravel and thunder. “Wanna go again?”
“I’m yours,” I whisper.
His kiss steals the air from my lungs.
He moves slower this time. Worshipful. Every kiss, every touch, feels like a promise. His hands roam my curves like he’s learning them by heart. Like every inch of me is something sacred.
He kisses my throat. My collarbone. The curve of my breast. I arch into him, desperate for more.
His fingers slide between us, finding me already wet, already aching.
“So ready for me,” he growls.
“Always,” I pant.
He slides his big cock inside me with reverence.
Slow. Deep.
Claiming every part of me.
I gasp, clutching his back, nails digging in.
He moves like he has all the time in the world. Like he wants to make me feel everything.
His mouth finds mine again. Our tongues slide together. Our hips move in perfect rhythm. I’m losing myself in him. In this.
My climax builds slow and hot, a simmering fire growing with every thrust, every stroke of his fingers, every sound he makes against my skin.
“Come for me, Sunshine,” he whispers. “Let go. I’ve got you.”
And I do.
I cry out, trembling around him. He follows with a deep groan, burying himself to the hilt, holding me tight as he spills inside me.
When we finally settle, our bodies tangled and breathless, he kisses my forehead.
“You wreck me,” he murmurs.
“Right back at you.”
He pulls me close, and I curl into his chest.
I never thought I’d feel this. Wanted. Safe. Loved.
But I do now.
With him.