“I can’t believe you’re gonna make me live with a fuckin’ guinea pig,” I grumble.

“He’ll grow on you,” Brooke says cheerfully, handing me a box. “Now take this down to the truck, and I’ll go get Walter.”

I grab it from her, surprised at how heavy it is. You wouldn’t think Brooke could lift it, from looking at her. But she’s as tough as they come. It’s one of the things I love best about her.

We’ve almost finished loading all the stuff from her place in Cleveland. We’re driving back to Tanner Springs tonight, and officially moving into our new house. It’s a rental, with the option to buy later. The place is in rough shape and needs a lot of work, but Brooke says she likes the idea of making it ours. And the landlord is more than willing to let us do the repairs. Free labor for him, after all.

When I get back upstairs from putting the last box in the truck, Brooke is just walking out of an apartment a few doors down, a medium-sized cage in her arms. She calls me over and introduces me to Lily, the little girl who took care of Walter the guinea pig for the past few months. Her mom, whose name is Gretchen, eyes me a little suspiciously, but tries not to look like she’s checking me out. Lily openly stares at me, wide-eyed.

“You’re like, a giant!” she breathes, and then snaps her mouth shut in alarm.

“Lily!” Gretchen hisses.

“It’s okay,” I chuckle. “That’s one of the nicer things I’ve been called.”

Brooke says her goodbyes, and promises to keep in touch. Downstairs, we load the guinea pig into the backseat of the truck and head out, leaving Cleveland in our rear view mirror. On the way out of the city, I glance over at Brooke. She’s looking pensive, and a little sad.

“You gonna miss this place?” I ask.

“What? Oh, no. God, no,” she laughs softly. “I was just thinking about Lily. How young she is, and how innocent still. I was just wondering if the other girls were like that. Before.”

I don’t need to ask who she means by the other girls. I know Brooke is still processing everything that happened with the trafficking ring. All of those girls are back with their families now. They’re safe. But that can’t erase what happened to them. Not completely. And I know that weighs on Brooke’s mind.

“It could be, Brooke,” I say gently. “But you had some bad shit that happened to you, too. It didn’t destroy you, though. And it won’t destroy those kids. They’ll pull through, too.”

“If they have people around them, to give them strength. And hope.” Brooke looks over at me with her fuckin’ gorgeous green eyes.

“You’ll be doin’ that soon, babe.” I reach for her hand, and she slips it into mine. “You’re gonna be raising generations of girls to be tough and strong and independent.”

After Brooke resigned at the agency, she took a couple months to recover from her injuries and think about what she wanted to do next. I gave her time and space, and listened to her as she talked about wanting to help girls that might otherwise fall through the cracks. One day, I came home from the clubhouse and she was practically bouncing out of her skin with excitement. When I finally managed to calm her down, she told me she’d decided she wanted to open up a gym and fitness center for girls, specializing in martial arts and self-defense. With her FBI training, it was a perfect way to use those skills and teach girls empowerment and confidence in their physical abilities. She had this whole idea about opening a non-profit to offer scholarships to the ones who couldn’t afford to be members. She wants it to be a place where any girl can go to feel safe, and strong, and wanted.

Ever since that day, she’s been going full-speed ahead on getting this place up and running. The past couple weeks, she’s been scouting out locations for rent that would be a good fit for what she had in mind. She’s excited as hell, and I know she’s gonna make this thing work.

I’m so fuckin’ proud of her.

* * *

For someone who left Tanner Springs as soon as she was legally able, Brooke really takes to bein’ back in town. Especially once we get Walter and the rest of her stuff moved in, it’s almost like she never left. Of course, with the club women, she has a ready-made group of friends. She even starts going to Sydney’s coffee shop a couple times a week, to hang out and work on her business plan.

As for me, I plan to make damn sure nothing ever makes her want to leave again.

And that included tracking down the last ugly remnant from her past.

I had Tweak trace the whereabouts of one Arlo Bonner for me. Turned out, Arlo and Renee Bonner moved out of Tanner Springs to a place a couple towns over, about five years after Brooke left. Mrs. Bonner passed away from lung cancer a couple years later, leaving Mr. Bonner a widower. The Bonners never had kids of their own, and Arlo was on disability and in poor health.

Brooke will never know what I did to Arlo Bonner. She doesn’t need to know. The only important thing is, he’s paid for what he did.

The law might never have caught him, but justice sure as fuck did.

* * *

I pull my bike into the garage after a long day at Twisted Pipes to hear music blaring at top decibel from inside the house. Opening the door, I see Brooke up on a ladder in the living room, painting the walls one of those weird muted blue-green colors that chicks always seem to have a precise name for. I go over to the stereo and turn down the volume, and she twists toward me in surprise.

“Oh! I didn’t hear you come in!” she cries, setting her brush down on the top step of the ladder.

“You weren’t gonna hear a damn thing, with the music so loud,” I tease her. “Shit, I hope Walter likes Beyonce.”

Brooke rolls her eyes. “That’s not Beyonce. That’s Alicia Keys.”

I snort. “Whatever.”

Back on the ground, Brooke comes up to me with a wide smile. “Do you like it?” she asks nodding toward the wall.

“It’s good, babe. Whatever you want. Just don’t make me put up with pink or some shit.”

“So noted.” Her mouth quirks up.

“You’ve got paint on your boob,” I point out.

Brooke looks down at her black tank top. “Oh, you’re right. Well, comes with the territory.”

“You sure you didn’t do that on purpose, to get me to look at your tits?”

She flashes me a saucy look. “Do I need paint to do that?”

“Hell no.” I reach for the hem of her shirt.

“Excuse me, sir, what are you doing?” Brooke says in a coy voice.

“You’re gonna get paint all over me,” I complain, pulling the tank up and off her. “I have no choice.”

Brooke pretends to protest, but she raises her arms up so the shirt comes off with no effort. Then she’s standing there in front of me, naked to the waist and sexy as hell. My cock springs to attention.

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about,” I growl. “Fuck, I’m starving for you, B. Have been all day.”

“How can you be starving for me when it’s only been about ten hours?” I pull her to me and she gasps as my mouth closes over one taut nipple. I don’t bother to answer, because she should know by now. It’s been this way ever since she stumbled back into my life. It’ll always be this way. I can’t get enough of her. It’s like our bodies are making up for twelve years of lost time.

My tongue finds her pink bud, teasing it to hardness as she starts to moan. Her hands thread into my hair, gripping my scalp. “Oh, god, Travis,” she whispers. “You’re going to drive me crazy like that.”

I know she’s already wet for me. I know her body better than she does at this point. Sliding my hand under the fabric of her cut-off shorts, I find her slick folds with my fingers. She’s soaked, just like I expected. My cock gets even harder. I was gonna take her upstairs to the bedroom, but I ain’t got time for that. Instead, I reach up with my other hand and unbutton the shorts, yanking them and her panties off her in one motion. She’s naked now, and ready for me.

Pulling her down on the carpet, I get my shirt off and flip her legs over my shoulders. Then, spreading her thighs wide, I move down between them and feast. Brooke’s cries fill the house as I lick and suck. She’s already swollen and needy, and I’m in no mood to draw this out right now. I slide one finger inside her pussy, working her body and finding that spot inside her that drives her wild. Brooke tenses, her body ready to snap like a rubber band, and then explodes. Her orgasm rolls over her in waves as she bucks against my tongue. Jesus Christ, it’s so fucking hot.

I pull her onto my cock as she’s still coming, feeling the contractions of her pussy all around me. I pull out and then jackhammer into her, taking her hard like I know she loves. She calls my name, over and over, and I don’t hold back. I shoot deep inside her, giving her everything I’ve got. God damn, it feels good to come inside her. I could do this every day for the rest of my life.

And I goddamn well intend to.

A few minutes later, we’re lying back on the carpet, catching our breath. “That was quite a homecoming, Mister Carr,” Brooke says, still breathing heavily.

“No shit. Like I said, I’ve been thinkin’ about doin’ that most of the day.”

“I didn’t manage to start anything for dinner,” she tells me. “I wanted to get this room painted and I kind of lost track of the time.”

“We’ll order a pizza or something. You want to grab a shower with me first?”

“I’ll shower later, after I’m done with this room. I should be able to get the rest painted in half an hour or so. Oh! By the way, I wanted to ask you about the third bedroom.”

“Seriously?” I groan. “We’re gonna talk about home decorating right now?”

“Come on, humor me,” she laughs. “We still have to figure out what we’re going to do with it. I’ve already decided I’m going to put a desk in the guest room, so that can be my office as well. But I don’t know what to do with the other one. I don’t do crafts, so that’s out. And all your hobbies are too greasy to do inside.”

I wait for a beat, considering.

“I got an idea,” I murmur.

“Yeah?”

“You remember how I asked you if you’d ever thought about havin’ kids?”

“M-hmm.” She snuggles into my chest. “I said no. And if I remember correctly, so did you.”

“Yeah. Well. It was true. I hadn’t ever thought about it. Then.”

“And now?”

“Now, I think puttin’ a baby inside you would be hot as hell.” I put my hand on her flat stomach, lovin’ how her body instantly responds to me.

“You do, do you?” she breathes. “You don’t think when I’m a big pregnant lady you’ll lose interest?”

The idea is so fuckin’ ludicrous I burst into loud laughter. “B, you have got to be fuckin’ kiddin’ me. I’ve carried a torch for you for my entire adult life. You havin’ my baby is just gonna make you sexier to me. Hell, bring on the wrinkles and gray hair.” I lift my hand to her face and tilt her chin up so she’s looking at me. “Every single thing that ever happens to your body from here on out is just gonna be a reminder to me of all the years that you’ve been mine. When we’re eighty, seein’ all those years on your face is just gonna make you more beautiful to me.”

Brooke’s eyes start to shine. She swallows and gives me a tremulous smile. “Why Travis Carr. Listen to you being all romantic.”

“Damn straight,” I growl. “Now about that baby. You in?”

She laughs, and a happy tear rolls down her cheek. “So, what you’re saying is you want to make the third bedroom a nursery?”

“Well, yeah,” I nod, shifting toward her. “But what I’m really sayin’ is, if we’re gonna have a baby, let’s get to work.”

I slip my hand back to her stomach, and then slide it further south. Brooke’s breath catches in her throat when I find the spot I know she likes.

“You’re insatiable, you know that?” she pants.

“With you, babe?” I growl as I move over her. “Always.”