Chapter Ten
DEE
As I hobble into the kitchen, two voices carry through the air—one is Colt’s, the other sounds like Hux.
When did he get here?
I round the corner and freeze.
Colt sits at the table, elbows on his knees, head hanging in his hands. Hux stands beside him, a hand resting on Colt’s shoulder in a rare show of comfort. The sight alone guts me. It’s like the air is sucked straight from my lungs.
Hux notices me first. His glare could peel paint. I bite my lip, guilt already flooding in because I know that look—it’s all fury, disappointment, and barely restrained disgust.
Our relationship has always been rocky, but this? This feels final.
Colt slowly lifts his head, eyes rimmed red, jaw locked tight. He doesn’t speak, doesn’t look at me—just turns his face toward the window, refusing to let me in.
My chest constricts.
“I’m gonna leave you two to talk,” Hux says, giving Colt a firm pat on the back. His voice is stern. “But if you need me, bro, call me.”
“Thanks,” Colt mutters, not moving his stare from the glass.
The tension is a living thing in the room—sharp and unforgiving.
Hux scrapes his chair back like he wants me to feel every ounce of his contempt. As he passes, his glare cuts me clean. “Colt loves you,” he growls, stopping beside me. “God knows why, with the way you turn everything into a goddamn mess.”
“I—”
“No. Shut up and listen.” His voice is razor-sharp. “If you ever make him feel like he’s a burden again, I swear to God—”
“He’s not a burden, I swear.”
He spins on his heel. “Then maybe say it to him. Because right now? He thinks he’s not enough for you. That he broke you, that using again is his only out. That shit’s on you, Dee.”
“Hux, enough,” Colt says, voice low but firm.
“No, she needs to hear it. You’re spiraling, Colt, and I’m not letting her be the reason. You worship her, man. And she turns around and makes you feel like you’ve ruined her life? She is spoiled and obnoxious.” His eyes flash with fury. “I’d be gone so damn fast if I were you.”
“I said, that’s enough,” Colt snaps, rising from the table with a force that silences the room.
Hux backs down, barely. He stares me down one last time, venom in every word.
“Pick up your act, or let him go. Could you be any more of a bitch. Fuck! If he fails again, I swear, Dee… I’ll make sure you’re never near him.
” He spins on his heel, muscles tight beneath his shirt, and storms out, the slam of the door—a finality—echoing through the silence he leaves behind.
I stand, trembling, tears threatening to spill.
Colt doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t move, just watches me with that guarded stillness I’ve never seen in him before. “If you want me to go,” he finally says, voice low but even. “Say the word, and I’ll be gone before you can blink.”
The breath I’m holding shatters. “What? No. God, no. Colt, I’m so sorry. Did I really make you wanna use again?”
He doesn’t answer right away. Just closes his eyes for a long moment, his face drawn with pain. Then, a single nod.
“Colt…” I reach out, my fingers grazing his arm. He lets me touch him, doesn’t pull away, and it gives me hope, the tiniest sliver.
“I’m not the man you need, Dee,” he murmurs, his voice rough. “I let go of your hand when you needed me most. I let my shit bleed into yours. And now I’m standing here, watching the woman I love break because of me.”
I shake my head, frantic. “No. Colt, no. That’s not true.
God, I didn’t mean any of the things I said.
I lashed out. Anna had her baby, and you didn’t tell me.
The hysterectomy… everything hit me at once, and I broke.
But that’s not on you. That’s on me! Hux is right, I am a bitch, and a spoiled one at that.
” Tears run freely down my face, messy and loud.
“I love you, Colter Slade. I love you so damn much it terrifies me. You make me better. You give me something to live for. You are not the reason for my pain. You’re the one who pulls me out of it. Please, baby, don’t go. Don’t believe I don’t want you. You’re everything.”
He doesn’t speak, but his hand lifts, brushing a tear from my cheek.
It’s not forgiveness.
But it’s a start.
He looks up at me, his hand rising to gently cup my cheek, wiping away my tears with his thumb. He swallows hard, throat working through whatever lump is caught there, and when his eyes meet mine, they’re glassy too. “I love you,” he says, voice low and rough with emotion.
A soft sob breaks free from my chest, my shoulders slumping in relief as I fall into him. Colt wraps his arms around me tight, holding me like he’s anchoring both of us. His heartbeat thrashes beneath my cheek, and I melt into him as his hand strokes through my hair in slow, calming sweeps.
“I love you more than anything, Colt. I really am so, so sorry,” I whisper against his chest.
“I know,” he murmurs, pressing his lips to the top of my head.
“And I am too. I should’ve told you about Anna.
Should’ve let you decide who to tell about the surgery.
I thought I was protecting you, but all I did was hurt you.
That’s on me.” He pulls back, his hands firm on my arms, eyes locked on mine.
“I hate that I made you feel like you aren’t enough,” I say quietly, shame tightening my chest. “I’ll never forgive myself for that.”
Colt doesn’t sugarcoat it. “It wasn’t okay,” he says. “But I get it. You lashed out. Doesn’t mean it didn’t cut deep…” His gaze softens just slightly. “But I know you didn’t mean it. I know you love me. I just… forget sometimes. I get in my head.”
Before I can respond, he scoops me into his arms like I weigh nothing. I gasp as my crutches clatter to the floor, Princess darting out of the way with a yelp.
“Colt!”
“You’re not walking right now,” he says, already carrying me toward the stairs.
“I’m not broken.”
“No,” he agrees, glancing down with a faint smirk.
“You’re mine.” He kisses me softly before taking the stairs one careful step at a time.
Once in our room, he sets me gently on the bed, then slides in beside me, tucking himself close to my side like he’s trying to hold all the broken pieces together.
“Let’s just stay like this,” I murmur, curling into him. “Just the two of us, nothing else.”
He nods.
No words are needed.
The silence stretches.
The heat hums low in the room, but it’s his body that’s warming me—his presence, his strength. And suddenly, the weight of everything fades just enough for me to remember what we are.
“We should get married,” I say suddenly, breaking the stillness.
He lifts his head, a brow raised. “Pretty sure that’s the plan, baby. Ring. Proposal. Vows. All the usual stuff.”
I swat his arm lightly. “I mean, soon. A few weeks. Once I’m out of this cast and can walk down the aisle without looking like a drunk penguin.”
His grin widens, eyes glinting with something that hasn’t been there in days. “Now that I can get behind. Can’t wait to make you mine for real.” He leans in, kissing me slow, then deeper until the heat that always simmers between us sparks into something dangerous and undeniable.
I thread my fingers through his hair, pulling him closer, kissing him with all the urgency I feel in my soul. My mouth parts, and his tongue claims mine, hot and hungry. A low groan rumbles in his chest, and I feel it echo through me. I press into him, desperate for more.
My hand finds his, and I guide it between my thighs. His breath hitches, and he stills.
“Dee…”
“Please,” I whisper, needy and aching. “You won’t hurt me. I promise.”
For a moment, he debates it, but then I pull him back into a kiss, and whatever hesitation he had disappears.
His fingers slide under my panties, finding me soaked.
His groan is raw, his lips crashing to mine as he begins to move against me, slow circles that have my hips twitching, my body strung tight with need.
I moan into his mouth. He pauses, checking if it’s pain or pleasure. I smirk against his lips and tug him closer.
The circles quicken. The pressure deepens. My body climbs with every movement, every touch, a spark that ignites the next. I moan his name, my body tense and trembling.
But then—
Pain.
It tears through my side, sharp and sudden, like a blade carving into me.
“Ahhh,” I groan, my body twisting.
Colt immediately rips his hand away, eyes wide. “Shit, baby! What is it? Are you okay?”
I clutch my stomach, the pain radiating from the exact place where that damn pole impaled me. It feels like something’s tearing open inside me.
Colt’s already pulling my tank top up, his face tight with worry. “Let me see.” He scans the area. No blood. No visible damage. Just angry red welts where healing scar tissue stretches under strain.
“There’s nothing there,” I whisper. “I think it was just the muscles… maybe the incision tugged a little.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Just a second of pain. The rest…” I lean in to kiss him, needing that connection again. “It was amazing.”
But he pulls back, jaw tight. “Fuck, Dee. I said I’d be careful, and I still hurt you,” he mutters, dropping to his back, one hand dragging through his hair. “I should’ve stopped the moment I felt that hesitation. But no, I had to let my dick steer the ship. Again. I’m such a fuckwit.”
“Colter,” I say, rolling toward him. “You are not a fuckwit. I begged you not to stop, remember?”
He exhales hard, turning onto his side to face me. Slowly, reverently, he lifts my tank again and lowers his head, kissing along the scar. One kiss. Then another. His lips whisper apologies his voice doesn’t say. His fingers gently stroke the area, grounding me with his touch.
“I’m not doing that again,” he murmurs, voice low and firm. “No more chances to mess this up. Kissing only, for now. No exceptions.” He kisses my forehead, sealing the vow.
I nod, lips pressed into a thin line. Truth is, I’m throbbing between my legs, every nerve singing for him—but I know he’s right. The ache in my abdomen says so too.
Maybe I wasn’t ready.
Maybe I wanted to be.
Still, I can’t help wanting him.
“Okay. New subject,” he says, voice softening. “Wedding. Who do you want standing with you?”
Just like that, my heart sinks.
Anna.
“I always thought Anna would be my maid of honor,” I admit quietly. “But I’ve probably blown that to hell.”
“You haven’t,” Colt says gently. “You miss her, even if it’s hard right now.”
I stare at the ceiling, the weight of it all pressing on me. “I’m struggling, Colt. She has everything I thought I’d have. I know it’s not fair to resent her, but… for some reason, I do.”
“Do you want a baby now?” he asks, no judgment in his tone.
Do I? I’m not sure. Is it grief? Envy? Hope?
“I don’t know,” I say. “Maybe not now. But maybe after the wedding, we can start thinking about it?”
“Then we’ll do that. Whenever you’re ready, we’ll make it happen.” There’s a light in his eyes now, something pure and full of hope. “I can’t wait to have a baby with you, Dee, even if it’s through a surrogate, even if we have to fight for it. I want that. Half me. Half you.”
I laugh through a watery smile. “You really want to jump into it?”
He grins. “Hell, yes. You’d be the best mum. And I’d get to knock dad jokes out of the park.” He leans over, kisses me, and murmurs, “Mwah,” dramatically into my mouth.
I giggle, and the heaviness in my chest lifts a little.
Colt’s mood has shifted entirely. He’s lighter now, grounded. He feels like mine again.
“Do you think maybe we could visit Anna tomorrow?” I ask.
His brows pull together, eyes narrowing just a little. “Are you sure? Maybe it’s better if I take Aston out with Johnny, and you talk to her one-on-one.”
“No. I want to see her. I miss her. She’s my best friend, and she’s just had her first child. That’s huge. I need to show up, even if it does hurt.”
He studies me for a beat. Then nods. “I’m proud of you.”
“Don’t be yet,” I mutter. “Let me actually follow through first. I still might bolt.”
“No, you won’t. You’re stronger than you think, Dee.”
I curl into him, his arms a safe harbor around me. He rests his hand over my stomach again like he’s shielding the wound from the world.
For hours, we lie like this—his hand never leaving me, like he’s anchoring me, holding my heart together from the outside.
And maybe he is.
I didn’t see it before, but now I do.
Even when Colt held back truths, even when we hurt each other, Colt was always trying to protect me. I nearly lost him today, and instead, we’re here, talking about marriage, babies, and a life that stretches wide in front of us.
Colter Slade surprises me every damn day.
And I can’t wait to be his wife.