Freedom.

Real freedom.

That’s what they were offering us. I listened intently as Riot went over my options. Once I’d explained that Alex and I had no family ties to consider and that I’d not seen, nor heard from, my mother again after Disneyland, he’d laid out several scenarios for me to choose from.

Seattle, Boston or Reno.

My choices were rain, funny accents and very cold weather, or a rundown town full of aging casinos.

I chose Seattle.

And when the little voice in my head started telling me that I was choosing it because it was the closest location to home, I agreed with it. The fact that it was the closest location to Jason was not lost on me, but I didn’t harp on that. I loved the Pacific Northwest, and despite the bad memories, it would always feel like home to me.

My body was buzzing from making love to Jason all night. I’d woken up to him cooking breakfast in the kitchen, Alex already changed and dressed and happily playing on a nearby blanket. If my skin wasn’t still vibrating from his touch, reminding me of the realness of our night, I would have thought for a moment that I was still dreaming.

How could he be so perfect?

How was it possible that our bodies fit together like they were made for each other?

How was I now supposed to walk through the day knowing what I know now? The way the weight of his body feels on top of me, the strength and skill of his hardness, the way my entire body lit up like an American sky on the fourth of July when he slid inside of me…

I’d shattered through something last night.

A piece of my wall had broken into pieces, a little light shown brightly into a place in my heart that had never seen the light before. And now? I was expected to go through my day, this day of all days — the day I’m supposed to choose a completely new life — void of everything I’d ever known before, with that light still shining through the hole inside of me, just like nothing had ever happened?

As if I’d not be irreparably changed?

Impossible.

First of all, I was completely unable to wipe the smile from my face.

Second, keeping my hands off of him had proven to be just as impossible.

Once Jason and I finally mustered the strength to untangle ourselves from our morning embrace and the longest kiss of the century, we stepped outside into the sunlight and walked back to the clubhouse after breakfast. Once we were in the company of everyone else, I couldn’t bring myself to look his way, for fear of melting into the floor into a big puddle of lust, or that the butterflies going crazy in my stomach would find a way to escape from my throat.

If they could make it past the huge lump forming there…

I was undone.

To my core…

He’d shaken me with his love-making.

I shuddered every single time I thought about it, amazed at how completely blissful it had felt.

This was love, I thought.

This was joy…

This was life.

Next to the life-affirming love I’d felt after giving birth to Alex, this was the second-most groundbreaking revelation of all.

And yet here I was, about to walk away from it all.

The only thing keeping me together was the fact that Jason promised we’d still see each other. That, and the fact that Riot had taken me into his office alone, so I wasn’t tempted to look at, or rather be distracted by, the most handsome face I’d ever seen in my life.

It was so interesting being around all these very large, very alpha men here. Ryder was a huge, intimidating presence and stunningly handsome in a rugged, quiet way. Riot was all beard and dark, probing eyes that I was convinced had seen right through me a few times already. He was incredibly attractive. And Slade and Wreck were sexy, in a scarred, beaten-up kind of way.

And yet, with all of that surrounding me, the only man I had eyes for was Jason. Jason with his, for all intents and purposes, straight-edge, doctor appearance. Sure, he had the beard, but it was the eyes that told you he meant business. He was focused and intelligent, and you felt that about him right away. Maybe it was his calm, confident self-assurance, the demeanor that this was a man that could handle anything thrown his way…

Maybe it was his hands, a surgeon’s hands, graceful and strong and smooth.

Whatever it was, he wasn’t even in the room with me anymore and I’d drifted off thinking about him. His pull was that powerful.

“I’m sorry, Riot,” I mumbled. “This is a lot to take in.”

“It sure is,” he said. “But rest assured that once you arrive, we have an entire support system in place for you. You’ll have a job waiting for you, whenever you’re ready to go back to work, of course. No rush. We have daycare set up for Alex, with a wonderful nanny who can assist you with anything you might need, day or night. A home, of course, fully furnished and stocked. All identification papers and bank accounts set up in your new name already, so you can hit the ground running with your new life and get settled right away. We even have a couple of other survivors you can socialize with, so you’ve got built-in friends, as well.”

“Wow,” I said. “Is there anything you haven’t thought of?”

“There are some holes, but we’ve left those for you to fill in yourself.”

I thought of the hole inside of me, the one that Jason had created, the break, bathing in light. What would happen after I left? Would it close back up? Or would I have to walk around with it, constantly protecting it like an open wound?

“When do we leave?” I asked.

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” I repeated, dazed. “So soon.”

“It is soon,” he said. “We’ve streamlined our procedures to work as quickly as possible to get you to safety.”

“How do you know Luke won’t find me?”

“Great question,” he said, his eyes lighting up with excitement as he turned to his computer and started pressing the keys. “It’s a tech guy’s dream, actually. There are several layers of protection we place between your old identity and your new one.”

He rambled on about something about firewalls and operating systems and online identity trackers that I didn’t understand and I was starting to drift off again, when I heard him say something that caught my ear.

“You’ll be given new birth certificates, new social security cards, and we even create a fake credit history for you. Nobody, outside of me, will know which identity or location you’ve chosen to relocate to. Not Grace or Ryder, none of the Gods. The fewer people who know, the easier it is to guarantee your secured, successful transition to a new life.”

“Wait. What? Only you?”

“Yes, and I swear to take your secret to my grave,” he said, holding up two fingers.

“But,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t understand. I mean, that’s my choice, right?”

“I’m not sure what you’re asking, Daisy.”

“It’s up to me who I tell, right?”

“We highly recommend you don’t tell another soul. Not even Alex later, should he begin asking questions. He’s young enough that he likely won’t remember any of this. It’s best to give him a completely clean slate to work with.”

“Right. Of course,” I said. “But I can tell Jason, right? So he can visit?”

“Oh, no, Daisy, I’m afraid not. Jason won’t be aware of your location.”

“But that can’t be,” I protested. “I mean, we talked about it and he promised we’d see each other after.”

“I’m sorry, Daisy,” he said, shaking his head, his eyes somber. “Jason knows the rules. He should have explained that to you.”

“But you have Lacey here, and she was in the program, right?”

“Yes, but every situation is different, Daisy,” he said. “When everything was said and done, she didn’t have any one looking for her. She didn’t need to relocate.”

I nodded, reality slowly dawning on me.

“If Jason visits you, Sullivan could have him tracked. And it’s extremely likely he’d do that. It’s not safe, Daisy, I’m so sorry.”

“I see,” I said, my heart sinking. Riot stared back at me, his eyes full of kindness and pity. “I need to check on Alex.”

“Of course,” he said. “We’re pretty much done here. I’ll have everything ready for you as soon as possible.”

“Thank you,” I said, forcing a smile before I walked out of his office and back into the clubhouse. Cherry and Jason were playing with Alex on the porch and I walked out into the sunshine, my heart pounding in my chest.

“What’s wrong?” Jason said, as soon as he saw my face.

“Nothing,” I said, shaking my head.

He squinted his eyes at me and stood up, walking over to me.

“Doesn’t look like nothing,” he replied, pulling me into his arms. I tried to hold it together, I really did, but as soon as his arms wrapped around me and I realized it was likely one of the last times I’d ever see him, I lost it completely. I burst into tears, heavy sobs ricocheting through me.

“Oh, babe,” he whispered, holding me as I cried into his chest.

“Let’s go get a snack, Alex,” I heard Cherry say. I shot her a grateful glance and leaned into Jason as she carried Alex inside.

“What happened, babe?”

I opened my mouth to tell him, looking up at him, my eyes searching his, but instead of words, I sobbed again.

“Shh,” he said, pulling me close and stroking my hair. “Whatever it is, we’ll work through it together…”

His words only made everything worse and I cried harder. He stood still, quietly murmuring and holding me until I could breath again.

“Let’s go for a walk,” he said, when I finally looked up at him again. I nodded and let him lead me off the porch and down the walkway and towards a different trailhead than we’d gone down the day before.

This one was a little more narrow, with dense, lush vegetation growing right up to the sides of the trail as we slowly walked down. The trees were hanging low, creating a canopy that blocked out the sunlight, leaving the forest damp and dim around us. After a few minutes the trail opened up to a small clearing next to the same rushing creek we’d visited before, with a few large boulders scattered next to it. We sat down on the biggest boulder, our thighs touching, watching the creek flow by, its current swift and strong, it’s rushing song filling our ears.

“So, do you want to tell me what happened?” he asked, reaching over and grabbing my hand. I took a deep breath, pondering his question.

“You told me we’d still see each other after I left.”

“Yes.”

“Riot said that’s impossible. That you wouldn’t even know where we’d relocated to.”

“That may be one of the rules, but it’s a rule I intend on breaking.”

“He said if you visited me, it would put the whole thing at risk. That Luke could find us if he tracked you.”

“I see.”

“He said you knew all of this. And yet you said…”

“I know what I said, Daisy,” he replied, his eyes serious and warm. “And I meant every word. I still do. Maybe some time will pass before it’s safe, but if you think I’m giving you up so quickly after finding you, then you’re wrong.”

I nodded, thinking about his words.

Time changes everything, I’d learned that. And, after whatever time was necessary before we could see each other again had passed, maybe things would have changed by then.

I looked over at him, wondering how time would change us.

Suddenly, I was filled with gratitude that we’d been able to share last night. When I’d walked into his room naked and vulnerable, I’d taken a huge risk. But now, I’m so glad I’d done it.

“Daisy, I know what you’re thinking,” he said.

“You do? What?”

“That after a while, things won’t be the same. That we won’t feel the same once we can see each other again. Perhaps that I’ll forget you…”

“So, you’re a mind reader now, in addition to a sexy biker-doctor?”

“You think I’m sexy?” he asked, with a sly grin and a raised eyebrow.

“I do,” I nodded, laughing. It felt good to laugh, to let the weight lift a little.

He pulled me close, brushing his warm lips against mine.

“I couldn’t forget you if I tried, Daisy. You’ve ignited a fire in me that I’ve not felt in a long time, if ever, and every time I look at you, touch you, and think about you, you stoke that fire inside of me. It’s grown to a massive wildfire that’s so out of control at this point, I can’t contain it. I don’t want to. I want it to burn every inch of me to the ground so I can regrow everything anew with you. I won’t forget you, Daisy. I’ll never give up. I don’t care how long I have to wait.”

“How can you be so sure? What if you meet someone else?”

He laughed, shook his head and scoffed.

“As if anyone could enchant me more than you.”

His kisses were tender and sweet and when he laid me back on the rock, they grew urgent and demanding. Our hands ran over each other, pulling and pressing, searching for the connection we’d felt last night. His lips broke away from mine, trailing kisses down my jaw towards my neck and sliding down to my collarbone. I shuddered with desire, wrapping my legs around him and pressing into him.

“Please, can we…” my words trailed off as I felt him push my shirt away in answer, the brisk cold air hitting my bare nipples. “Yes,” I whispered. “Please don’t stop.”

And he didn’t.

With gentle, skillful hands, he had us both naked in moments. Wasting not a second, his tongue slid between my lips at the same moment his hardness slipped inside of me. I arched my back, pressing my breasts to his bare chest, his mouth searching mine as our bodies rocked together, waves of pleasure washing over us, the strength of our passion matching that of the rushing creek beside us.

Jason peered down at me, his stormy gaze piercing my heart. Full of love and wrenching emotion, our souls melted together in a way our bodies couldn’t. We didn’t need words. We didn’t need to struggle to find words that didn’t exist to describe the force that bound us together.

It just was.

It was meant to be.

It didn’t need a name, or even a mission.

It was pure.

I wrapped around him — my arms, my thighs, my lips searching his again, melting into him as he sank himself deeper inside of me, moving against me with skillful precision, pulling every ounce of pleasure from my writhing limbs. With quickened, passionate strokes, he crashed over the edge, crashing into me, his throbbing hardness sending me exploding over the edge with him.

We clung to each other, the music of the forest singing out overhead, the rushing water slowly reminding us that we were back here on Earth, not floating above it in our blissful bubble.

I began to untangle myself from his warmth but he stopped me, his large hands cradling my cheeks as he peered into my eyes.

“Nothing’s going to keep me away from you and Alex, baby. I don’t care how long I have to wait. I don’t want you to worry. I’ll come to you as soon as I can. Don’t think for a second I’m not thinking of you.”

I melted under his gaze, his words breaking my heart into a million pieces and putting it all back together again. Oh, how I wanted to believe him…

I smiled, fighting back tears as I nodded. Reaching up, I put my hands over his and leaned forward, kissing his lips firmly.

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

“You do that, babe,” he whispered. “I’m good for it. You’ll see.”

I kissed him again, a little harder this time, a little firmer.

A promise, sealed with a kiss.

It was as good as I was going to get.

But it was the best I’d ever had…