The first thing I feel when I see her is gratitude.

I never thought I’d see Kennedy’s beautiful face again and now that she’s in front of me, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude.

My heart feels so full that it hurts as we stare at each other in disbelief.

It’s been six years that we’ve been apart, but it’s felt like a lifetime.

The gratitude fades and is replaced by a crushing guilt as my eyes roam over her face. I hate myself for not protecting her. For letting that happen to her.

She was in the hospital the last time I saw her and the cuts were still fresh. This is the first time I’ve seen her new face with the long pink scars and the glass eye, but I swear on everything I’ve ever loved that she’s never looked more beautiful then she does at this moment.

The orange glow of the campfire beside her is lighting up her light brown hair with a reddish tint and casting shadows onto her gorgeous face. Her amber eye seems to be gripping my core because I can’t move as I stare at her.

The scars do nothing to her beauty. This is Kennedy I’m staring at. She’ll always be the most beautiful woman in the world to me.

I step forward and catch a whiff of her scent in the air. My bear reacts immediately, jumping to attention as he catches her scent too. I feel him pacing inside, wanting to get closer, wanting to protect her. I’m feeling the same thing.

Her luscious lips part as I walk up to her, but she doesn’t say a thing. She just stares like I’m doing.

Neither of us knows what to say and it’s a bit awkward with everyone watching us.

“Well, I’m tired,” Nora suddenly says as she jumps up.

Kneecap looks at her with a confused look on his face. “But it’s only 8:30.”

She grabs his big arm and struggles to pull him up. “Yes, but I’m really tired,” she says, motioning to us with her eyes. “Everyone is really tired. Right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Caleb says, yawning as he stands up with his arms outstretched. “Super tired.”

One by one they jump up, all announcing how exhausted they are. The sun has just barely set, but they’re all rushing to their cabins to give us some privacy.

Lachlan glances back at me as he closes the door to his cabin and suddenly, we’re all alone.

Kennedy drops her eye to the fire as she nervously shifts in her chair. Her hair is down and covering most of her face like she’s hiding behind it. “I’m sorry to show up like this Max,” she says with a tremble in her voice. “I didn’t know where else to go.”

I grab a chair and pull it in front of her. “You’re always welcome here,” I say as I sit down. Her delicious scent is so overpowering up close. It’s getting my body reacting in a way that it hasn’t in years.

“It was Bledsoe,” she says, swallowing hard as she looks up at me. “I was at work and he was looking for me. It was terrifying.”

I close my eyes and take deep breaths as I squeeze my hand into a fist. He’ll never stop. Kennedy won’t be safe until he’s dead.

And it’s my fault. She’s only in this dangerous situation because of me.

“I’m sorry,” I say, knowing that the words aren’t enough, but it’s all I can offer right now.

Her eye meets mine through her hair. “Sorry for what?”

“For failing to protect you.” She closes her eyes and sucks in a breath as I reach up and tuck her hair behind her ear, revealing her beautiful face. The scars don’t bother me at all. She’s still pure perfection to me.

She jerks her head back from my hand and her hair falls back down, covering the sides of her face.

“That wasn’t your fault,” she says in a cold voice. “You did what you could.”

“But you’re upset?”

“That’s not what you owe me an apology for.”

A coldness hits my core as she stands up with her chin quivering.

“What?” I ask, feeling like my stomach is sinking.

“You abandoned me without a word!” She throws the words at me like they’ve been simmering for years. “I woke up and you were gone!”

My chest tightens as she glares at me.

“You never called. You never came to see me. It was hard enough losing my eye and my face, but losing you… that was the hardest part.”

A thickness settles in my throat as I watch her wrap her arms around herself.

“It was hard to let you go,” I whisper. “The hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I had to. It was for the best.”

“For the best?” she asks, looking at me with a look of disbelief. “How could that have possibly been for the best?”

“Your parents asked me to leave you alone.”

“We were supposed to be together forever!” she shouts. All of the hurt and pain comes pouring out of her and seeing it breaks my heart. “Nothing could have kept me from you. Nothing. But I guess you didn’t feel the same.”

Her shoulders slump as she fights to hold in her tears. I want to go to her, to reach for her and take her in my arms, but I just stand there as the guilt eats away at me.

“I thought I meant the world to you,” she says as she stares at the ground. “But I guess I didn’t if a word from my parents and some ugly scars would be enough for you to forget all about me.”

“I never forgot about you,” I say, stepping forward. “I think about you every day. Every moment. I didn’t want to let you leave.”

“Then why did you?”

I take a deep breath and look up at the stars. “You’re better off without me. A shifter who can’t even protect his girl? What good is that?”

“I wanted a lover, not a bodyguard,” she says, shaking her head. “I just wanted you.”

She stands up and all I can do is watch as she steps away from the fire.

“I shouldn’t have come back here,” she says with her back to me. “I know my scars changed everything and I don’t blame you. I don’t blame you that it happened, and I don’t blame you for not wanting to be with someone as ugly as me.”

“You’re beautiful,” I say. How can she not see it?

“I’m going to get my stuff and go,” she says as she tries to keep it together.

My heart breaks as she starts walking away. I can’t lose her again.

“Kennedy!” I call out.

She stops but doesn’t turn around.

“I’m sorry.”

She takes a deep breath and looks back at me over her shoulder.

“I’m sorry I let you leave. I felt worthless when I saw you lying in the hospital bed with your face all bandaged up. I knew it was all my fault and in that moment I knew that I didn’t deserve your love. It was shitty of me to let you go without so much as a word, but I thought that it would be better in the long run. You would move on and fall in love with someone else. Someone who deserved you.”

“You thought wrong, Max.”

She looks at me for a long moment and then starts walking to the cabin to get her things.

“Kennedy,” I say as I step into my cabin. “Please don’t go.”

She’s already finished packing her things. She must have left her home in a hurry and bought some new clothes on the way over here because everything is in plastic bags with the tags still on them.

“I didn’t come to start a fight or to make you feel guilty or to rekindle anything. I was afraid of Bledsoe and I didn’t know where else to go.”

“Then stay,” I say with a desperate edge to my voice. “I want you here. I want you to stay.”

“Why?” she says, not looking me in the eyes. “Because you pity me? Because you feel bad?”

I may not deserve her love, but I failed to protect her once and I won’t fail to protect her again.

“No.” I move closer to her and her breath quickens. “Because I can’t bear to lose you again.”

My inner grizzly starts grumbling inside, urging me to take her in my arms. He always had a soft spot for Kennedy.

She smiles when she hears the familiar rumble. “He’s still in there?”

Her sexy lips curl up into a big smile and she walks up to me, staring at my chest. “Hey, Grizz,” she says, giggling as she says her old nickname for him. “Did you miss me?”

My bear groans in response and she laughs out loud, loving every moment of this.

“I think he missed you,” I say softly.

She looks up at me and smiles, and the sight nearly kills me. God, I’ve missed that smile.

“I missed you too, Grizz,” she says as she reaches up and touches my chest.

Her palm is resting on my heart that’s beating at a hummingbird’s pace. Her beautiful amber eye slowly travels up from my chest until she meets my eyes. “I missed you too, Max.”

I gently wrap my arms around her and hold her a little closer to me. “I missed you too, Kennedy.”

Holding her in my arms feels like everything is right with the world. It’s like living for years under water and then sticking your head out and taking a breath.

Our lips know what to do when close to each other, even if we don’t. They slowly come together like magnets until we’re kissing in my living room.

She opens her mouth and I gently slide my tongue past her lips, exploring her mouth as I hold her tight against my body.

The tension just melts from her muscles as she moans and leans into the kiss. Her mouth is intoxicating, drowning me with the need and desire for more.

Her hands slide up my chest and cup my cheeks, holding me in place as she slides her tongue along mine. I wish this kiss could last forever, but unfortunately, it comes to an end.

She slowly pulls away and licks her lips as she looks up at me. Her hair is covering her face once again and I gently pull it back and tuck it behind her ears.

“You don’t have to hide your face around me,” I say as my eyes roam over every beautiful inch. “You’re still the most beautiful girl in the world to me and you always will be.”

She squeezes her eyes shut as she drops her head. I touch the bottom of her chin with two fingers and gently raise her head back up.

“No one has called me beautiful in six years,” she says with a deep sadness in her voice. “Not since you.”

She sucks in a nervous breath as I lean forward and lay gentle kisses on her beautiful scarred face. “You are beautiful, Kennedy. You’re pure perfection.”

While I lean back and admire her beauty, she grabs her shirt and pulls it over her head. My cock aches as I stare at her in her bra and jeans. Her big breasts are pouring out of her bra, driving me crazy.

I know I don’t deserve her love, but I can’t stop myself from having her body. I don’t want to stop myself.

Our lips lock once again as we stumble to the bedroom, kissing and undressing each other along the way.

She lays down on my bed, wearing nothing but her bra and panties as I slide out of my jeans. My shirt is somewhere back in the hallway and her heated amber eye is running up and down my naked stomach and chest.

She bites her lip and groans when she sees how hard I am. My cock is raging against the inside of my boxer briefs.

I haven’t been with another girl since her and I don’t plan to be with another one ever again. Kennedy has always been the only one I’ve ever wanted. She’s the only one for me.

Her back arches as I climb over her, pinning her to my bed with my huge body. She writhes under me, looking sexy as hell with all of her womanly curves.

I slide my hand behind her back and unclasp her bra with a flick of my finger. She quickly takes it off and throws it on the floor as I stare at her beautiful breasts. I take one in each hand and coat them with my tongue as she moans and runs her fingers through my hair.

My dick is aching as I press it against her spread pussy, making her gasp out loud. I love having her here, pinned under me where I know she’s safe. If I could keep her here, chained to the bed, I would.

“Oh, Maximus,” she moans into my ear as I grind my erection against her. “I’ve missed your body so much.”

“Tell me how you missed it,” I growl against her nipple.

She moans as she rocks her hips against me. “I missed your strong hands on my body. I missed your tongue on my breasts. I missed your weight crushing down on me. I missed everything about you.”

I slide my hand down her stomach and into her panties. She jerks her body and lets out a whimper as my fingers slide over her wet mound.

“I missed how wet you get whenever you’re around me,” I say as I slide a finger inside. She’s so tight that it makes me crazy.

I can’t go slow anymore. I can’t take my time.

I’ve waited too long to claim my girl again and suddenly a fierce urgency fills the air.

With a grunt, I yank her panties down and toss them behind me. Her eyes are thick with lust as I stand up and pull my boxers down then climb back between her legs.

She opens her willing legs for me as I slide my cock up her soaking folds.

“Did you miss this?” I ask as I press the head of my thick cock right against her opening, making her shiver.

“Yes,” she moans as she writhes under me. “I missed your beautiful cock most of all.”

I kiss her mouth hard as I thrust all the way in, filling her with my thick cock.

Once I’m inside her, surrounded by her warmth, I just hold it there and savor the moment. I never thought I’d see Kennedy again and now I’m making love to her just like the good old days before everything fell apart.

She stares into my eyes as she runs her hand through my hair. There’s still love between us, even if I don’t deserve it.

That’s what is going to make this so much harder. This was probably a mistake, but one that I’ll never regret. I can’t regret making love to this perfect woman. Not now. Not ever.

I start rocking my hips back and forth, sliding in and out of her with a steady rhythm.

My eyes are locked on her as she reacts to every stroke. Her eyes squeezed shut. Her sexy mouth open and gasping for breath. Her hands gripping the bed sheets. Her breasts bouncing back and forth with every thrust.

Her sexy little whimpers start to come out at a louder, faster pace and I can tell she’s close. Her whole body is tense and on the verge of coming.

“Yes,” she moans. “Just like that, Maximus.”

Hearing my name on her sexy lips is enough to get me close to coming too. I feel it coursing through my cock, demanding to be released.

I amp up the pace, hitting her with hard, long strokes until we’re gripping each other tight and screaming out as our heated orgasms consume us.

She cries out my name as I hold her in my arms, moaning into her ear as I come deep inside her.

It’s the perfect moment and I don’t want it to end.

She lets out a whimper as I slide out of her.

“It’s okay,” I say as I curl up beside her, holding her close. We’re both breathing heavily as we stare into each other’s eyes. “It’s okay.”

But it’s not okay. I shouldn’t be doing this.

It’s hard to control myself around Kennedy, but I have to try harder. She deserves better than me. I have to be strong for the both of us.

I can protect her from Bledsoe but that’s it.

No more of this.

If it’s not Bledsoe then it’s the Hell’s Howlers, or the Clayton Rock Bounty Hunters, or the Chicago mafia, or the dragons. There’s always danger around me no matter how hard I try to stay away from it.

She’s not safe with me. I can’t protect her all of the time.

I learned that lesson the hard way, so why is it so hard to remember?

Well, starting tomorrow it won’t be. We’ll be nothing more than friends.

I inhale a lungful of her delicious scent and hold her even tighter.

I’ll start first thing tomorrow morning.

But tonight is another story.