The candle that I found next to the bed flickered and cast shadows of light on the white walls. I watched the prisms dance while I waited for Grace. She went from the kitchen to the bathroom where she turned the water on and off no less than a dozen times.

Stripped naked and lying beneath the floral bedspread that smelled like her, I waited. She was sweet and flowery and feminine. A nice change from the sweat and funk I’d faced each day in the desert.

My hands glided across the soft sheets. The queen bed pleased me. You could lose track of your lover in a king-sized bed, and you could smother each other to death in a twin or a full. This was perfect. Every moment I spent with her was perfect.

“Grace, you okay?” I called out.

“Yes, I’ll be right there.” Her voice quivered, and I knew she was on the verge of locking herself in the bathroom and not coming out.

“Come out here. You don’t have to be afraid.”

She mumbled something I couldn’t hear and then appeared in the doorway. Her dress was gone. In its place was a little pink robe held together by a tightly pulled sash.

“What’s wrong, Grace?”

“Nothing.” She tugged at the tie until I knew it cinched her waist uncomfortably.

I tapped the bed beside me. “Come here.” The bedspread sat at my waist, and her eyes didn’t leave my bare chest.

“You have a tattoo.”

My hand went to the ink on my chest. “I got it on my eighteenth birthday.”

“A clock?” She leaned against the doorjamb and stared at the ink. “Why a clock?”

“Just a reminder that we only have the moment we’re in. What do you want in this minute, Grace?” It was odd for her to be standing in the doorway while I was tucked in her bed.

“I want you.” The sexy purr of her voice made me want to jump out of bed and toss her over my shoulder.

“I’m here.” I spread my arms and hoped she’d climb into them.

“Silas, I’m not … I just had a baby.” She rubbed her hands over her hips and then her stomach.

“Oh, my God, Grace. Really? I thought the stork dropped him off on your porch.”

“Don’t make fun of me, Silas. I’m having a moment here—an insecure moment—and you’re not helping.”

“Sweetheart, let’s get this out of the way.”

“What?”

“Tell me everything you think is wrong with you, but come here first.” I rubbed the spot on the mattress beside me.

She looked at me and looked at the bed. She warred within herself, and I felt like I was on the losing edge. At this point, I didn’t give a shit if we slept together; all I wanted was to hold her and be close to her.

There was a fifty-fifty chance she’d bolt. To my surprise, she didn’t. Instead, she made her way to the side of the bed, and when she was within arm’s length, I tugged the belt of her robe and pulled her to me.

“Tell me.”

She pulled her beautiful plump lower lip between her teeth and gnawed. “My breasts—”

“Are perfect.” I pulled the edge of her robe open until her breasts fell free. My hands cupped them, and my thumbs brushed over her nipples, which pebbled on contact.

She hissed through her teeth. A sexy fucking sound that meant my touch excited her. When my lips hit her rosy pink nipples, she let out a moan that made my dick stand at attention. I pulled away, letting her nipple pop from my mouth.

“Poor Blue. He’s stuck with that rubber shit, and I’ve got these.” I kissed the top of each breast and sat back. “What else?”

She looked down at her silk-covered stomach. “Well … I have stretch marks.”

I tugged the tie and let the soft silky robe fall open. My hand went to her tummy. “These aren’t stretch marks. They’re battle scars.” I leaned forward and showed her the burn scar on my shoulder and the knife wound on my back. “Do you like me less because of these?”

“No, but you earned those in battle.”

I laughed, not at her, but at the silliness of her concerns. “Honey, I’d say that you battled your way through pregnancy. Did you have morning sickness?”

She nodded.

“Swollen feet?”

“Yes.” Her smile proved that she knew what I was getting at.

“Back pains? Leg cramps?”

“Yes.”

“How long were you in labor?” I knew enough about pregnancy to know it wasn’t a walk in the park. Many of my soldiers had wives and kids, and their stories were enough to keep a man celibate.

“Fourteen hours.”

“Okay, so I’ve been shot and knifed and burned, but I’ve never pushed a six-pound baby out of my dick, and sweetheart, I never want to. The medal of valor goes to you.” My hands caressed her thighs until my thumbs reached her lacy underwear. I skimmed under the elastic and watched her eyes close as my roughened fingertips brushed against her velvet skin.

“That’s the other thing. I had a six-pound baby come out of me, and I’m not sure …”

That was enough of her insecurities. “Grace, lie down.” I didn’t give her much option but to do what I said. I flipped her over my lap and pressed her to the mattress. “You are a damn beautiful woman, and I plan on enjoying every inch of your body.”

She lay on her back, and I straddled her hips. My throbbing cock bounced against her belly. I traced the two lines she worried about. They angled like a V with one line on each side of her stomach. “It’s like an arrow pointing me to your treasure.” I traced the fading red lines until I hit the edge of her panties. “These have to go, Grace.” I lifted and tugged them down her long sexy legs.

She was neat and trimmed, and only the lightest patch of soft red hair covered her sex. I leaned down and slid my tongue along the slit. Her tense legs fell open as I settled between her thighs.

She tasted sweet and savory. Sugary and salty. She was perfect. “God, I love this.”

Her hands tried to grip my short hair, but there wasn’t much to grab on to, so she palmed my head and pulled my lips tight against her sex. I probed the seam of her slick heat until she moaned, and then I pulled her tight bundle of nerves into my mouth and rolled my tongue across it. Her hips bucked while I sucked and nipped at her. And when her muscles tensed, I moved away.

She rose to her elbows and gave me a look that could pierce my skin. “Don’t stop. What’s wrong with you?”

The best thing about her irritation was she was no longer thinking about her perceived deficiencies. All she was thinking about was her pleasure. It was about time we were on the same page.

“Lie back and enjoy, Grace. I’m going to love on you like you’ve never been loved on before.”

I climbed up her body and let my heavy cock rest between her legs. There was nothing I wanted more than to press into her, but Grace needed to understand that tonight was about more than sex. I was opening a door that I intended to keep open. This was a big deal for me. This wasn’t a one-and-done. This was more. It should have scared the hell out of me, but it didn’t. I had come to terms with my life. I’d lost my job and gained a companion. I had no idea where this would go, but I knew I’d give her nothing less than my best.

What started with a kiss quickly turned into me moving down her body. After I teased her nipples and tasted her skin, my lips went back to the place she wanted them—on her clit. I sucked and savored her. She was hot and slick, and when her knees shook, I didn’t have the heart to pull away even though I wanted to prolong our first experience.

One finger pressed into the hot velvet of her sex while I pulled her swollen button between my lips. She moaned and groaned and ground her sex into my face.

“God, Silas. Sooo good.” Her words made my cock throb.

I probed her tight channel with a single finger. If I didn’t know better, I would have called her a liar about the six-pound baby.

“You’re so damn tight.”

“You’re such a good liar,” she panted.

I pressed a second finger inside, and her body quaked. My fingers stroked her insides as my tongue stroked her outside. Her hands gripped the sheets as her thighs pressed against my head.

“Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God,” she cried out as her body shuddered and her insides fluttered around my fingers. I drew every last quiver from her body before I pulled away.

When I looked up at her, she was sprawled out on the bed. Gone was the worry that had furrowed her brow. Gone was the frown that pulled her smile down. In its place was a glowing, beaming woman, and she was looking at my dick. We weren’t done.

As much as I wanted to ride her bare, I’d never do that to her. I grabbed the condom I’d set on the nightstand and rolled it onto my length.

“That’s quite a rooster,” she teased.

I lined up to her entrance. “I’m the Rooster, baby, and this is my cock.” I pressed inside her, and my entire world went silent. My brain, heart, and body were all in sync for one perfect moment, and the only thought that came to mind was that Grace Faraday was mine.

She pulled her legs up and wrapped them around my waist. “Damn perfection,” I groaned.

I didn’t fuck her hard, although I had every intention of doing that later. This time it was slow and loving because that’s what we both needed. Grace needed to know that she was more than a quick fuck. I needed to know that she wasn’t going anywhere. Each time I sank myself inside her, I screamed the word mine in my head. Life hadn’t been fair to me. It had taken everything from my parents to my innocence. Surely the universe would allow me to keep Grace as a gift for having survived.