Epilogue
Three Months Later
Ryker leaned back against the porch railing of Emma’s house, their house now, watching the sun set in streaks of fire over the Texas hills.
Inside, he could hear the faint hum of music she’d put on earlier, something bluesy and low. She was probably barefoot, hair still damp from her shower, pacing the living room while pretending she wasn’t looking for him.
He grinned to himself.
She could track him down faster than any criminal, but sometimes, she let him hide a little longer. Maybe because she knew he liked it when she hunted him.
The screen door creaked behind him. Soft steps. A warmth at his back. Then Emma’s arms slipped around his waist, her body pressing into his.
“You hiding from me, Deputy Caldwell?” she asked, voice a soft taunt against his shoulder.
Ryker caught her wrists and turned, backing her against the railing. The glow in her eyes made something hot and familiar stir low in his gut.
“Maybe,” he said, grinning. “Maybe I was waiting for you to come find me.”
Her smile curved slow, wicked. “Lucky for you, I’m pretty damn persistent.”
He kissed her, slow and deep, until she melted against him.
“Rule one,” he murmured against her mouth, sliding his hands beneath her shirt, “you find me… you’re stuck with me.”
Emma caught his belt loop and gave a tug that made his blood roar. “Good thing I like trouble.”
He scooped her up, laughing low, and carried her inside, kicking the door shut behind them.
And as he laid her down on the living room rug, the Texas twilight fading to night outside the windows, Ryker figured one thing for damn sure, justice had been served.
But this? This was his reward.
And he had every intention of earning it all over again.