Chapter 38 Harper
Harper
His kiss still burned on my lips, every nerve alive, every fear silenced by the way he’d said it—you’re mine.
For once, I didn’t want to think about the danger waiting outside these walls. I didn’t want to replay chains rattling in the dark or hear that voice whispering threats in my head. I wanted this. Him. Us.
Carter’s hands framed my face, rough and trembling, like he couldn’t believe I was real. I covered them with my own, holding him there. “I’m not going anywhere,” I whispered, the words breaking but true.
Something broke in his eyes then, the soldier’s steel giving way to raw need. His mouth claimed mine again, slower this time, deeper, his thumb brushing tears from my cheek as if he could erase everything that had come before.
The blanket slipped away, and I didn’t reach for it. His arms pulled me in, solid and unyielding, and the world beyond his embrace simply ceased to exist.
I felt the strength in him, the tension in every muscle, but beneath it all was something softer, something he didn’t let anyone else see. Vulnerability. Devotion. Love, even if he hadn’t said the word yet.
When he finally lifted me, carrying me toward the bedroom, my breath caught. Not from fear. Not even from surprise. But because in his arms, I finally understood what it meant to be safe—not untouchable, not without scars, but safe because he would never stop holding me up.
He laid me down with a reverence that stole my breath, his body hovering above mine, his gaze searching, asking without words.
“Yes,” I whispered, cupping his jaw. “I need you, Carter. All of you.”
The sound he made was rough, almost a growl, before his mouth was on mine again, before his body pressed against mine in a way that promised he wasn’t just protecting me anymore—he was claiming me, heart and soul.
And as the night bled into morning, the terror that had gripped me for days finally loosened its hold. Because in his arms, I wasn’t marked. I wasn’t broken.
I was his.