I smiled. I reached up and traced the skin under his eyes. “And I have always liked your eyes.” Flame expelled a quick breath through his nose. Stepping closer still, I said, “And now I love them… just like I love you.”

Flame’s hand stilled in my hair and his eyes closed, like he was desperate to hear that confession from my lips. Heart melting, I reached up and took his hand in mine. Flame’s eyes opened and I led him to the now full bath, and turned off the faucet.

Guiding him round me, I gestured for Flame to get into the tub first. He climbed in, dwarfing the large tub, then held out his hand for me to follow. I did not hesitate. Placing my hand within his, I climbed in. Flame immediately pulled me into his arms and sighed heavily, in happiness.

We sat in silence for minutes, relishing the soothing water, then I reached for the soap and lathered it in my hands. Turning round, I asked, “May I care for you?”

Flame nodded his head, and placing my hands on his scarred tattooed skin, I began to wash him, showing with my touch how much he meant to me. I soaped over his arms and across his chest. The entire time I did so, his eyes never moved from mine. Then as my hands moved down his hard stomach, he caught my wrist. I looked up in panic, but the soft expression on his face quickly assuaged any worry. I waited for him to speak, then he finally rasped, “No one has ever cared for me like this before.”

My heart cracked, because as much as my life had been difficult, and as much as I had shunned their affection, I had my sisters. But for Flame… there was no one.

Leaning in, until my breasts pressed against his hard chest, I said, “That is in the past. Because I will care for you every day for the rest of our lives. You are my Flame. I will treasure you always. More than you will ever know.”

Flame’s eyes flared, and with firm hands in my hair, he brought my mouth down to his. The kiss started off sweet and shy, but it was not long before an incredible heat built between us. Flame’s hands left the safety of my face and drifted down across my back, over my hips, to land on my thighs. I could feel his hard length pressing against me as he rolled. When a long groan left his mouth, I let him guide my legs to either side of hips. Breaking my mouth from Flame’s on a breathy moan, I pressed my forehead to his, my trembling hands flush to his cheeks.

“Do it, Flame. I want to feel you inside of me again. I need to feel you inside.”

Flame’s face flashed with apprehension. “Just focus on me, Flame. No pain is needed. No fear. Just us, remember?”

Flame groaned and then shifted, one hand holding my waist. When I felt him at my entrance, he stilled, muscles tensed. I watched as his eyes squeezed shut, reliving whatever picture was holding him back. But I lowered down. Flame’s eyes snapped open as he filled me so impossibly full.

“Maddie,” he groaned as he filled me to the hilt. I sat above him, my hands holding his face, and his arms holding my waist.

We both breathed.

Then I felt it. The peace and love that Lilah told me she had experienced with Ky. And I knew nothing this precious could be wrong. I knew that nobody as caring and as loving as Flame could be a sinner. No flames ran in his blood. Just love for me, and that was enough, always enough.

Lifting my hips, I began to move. The beautiful sensation of him inside me ignited my soul. Flame began to meet my movements with his own, the pained-with-pleasure expression on his face making me burn for his touch more.

Moving my lips to his, I melded our mouths; Flame’s warm tongue immediately pushed inside. And it went on from there. Our bodies moving in perfect unison, Flame’s mouth owning me.

And before too long, tension built at the base of my spine. Flame’s mouth ripped from mine. He expelled a long moan, his warm seed heating me inside as a blinding light splintered me apart. I held onto his neck, worried I would float away if I lost his hold.

Fluttering my eyes open, I fell to his chest and breathed in the fresh scent of his skin. Flame’s hand immediately came around me, pulling me close. I felt him relax as he whispered, “I love you.”

Smiling into his chest, I replied, “And I you, Flame.”

Flame sighed and murmured, “Mine.”

And I smiled even more.

Minutes passed as we lay in the aftermath. Then something I had been thinking of came to mind. My finger traced the tattoo on Flame’s chest, when I asked, “Flame?”

“Mmm?” he replied as his hands lazily combed through my hair.

“What happened next?”

Flame stilled and I knew his silence meant he did not understand my question. Tilting my head up to look up to his face, I asked, “After your father left you, and… and your brother died… what happened next?”