My cheeks flush with the intensity of my embarrassment. In a moment of weakness, I confided in Kade, telling him I thought he was Parker. I've been living with that fear for years. That, by some crazy turn of events, Parker isn't really gone, and he'll come back to haunt me. And I'll never even know it's not Kade. I don't trust my judgment anymore. I don't trust myself to tell them apart anymore.
"You did that for me?" I ask softly, and Kade parts the folds of my silk robe and kisses my bare skin.
"Of course, Junebug. I'd do anything for you. Don't you know that by now?" He inhales my scent. "God, woman. You smell fucking incredible. Get in bed with me. I want to fucking devour you."
I giggle as he pulls me on top of him, and we fall back on the bed.
Suddenly, it doesn't matter what happened to Parker in Hawaii. Nothing matters but the warm embrace of my husband and the three kids asleep in their bedrooms down the hallway. The darkness is gone. It leaked out through every one of my pores, leaving my body light, happy and... free.
I'm finally free.
I kiss Kade back, muttering his name as he groans mine, knowing he'll have his way with me again, and I'll be begging for more in no time. I love this man. I love our life together. I love the children he gave me. I love every inch of him; the landscape of his body is ingrained in my memory forever. I let him have his way with me, my body burning up with desire. I remember his father's motto then.
Familia ante omnia.
I've let those words haunt me for years. They used to fill me with guilt and regret but not anymore.
Kade has always been family. When I lost it all, he was there to pick up the pieces. And now, he's built my life from the ground up. He's made me happy. He was my stepbrother first, but now he's my husband, the father of my children, and the love of my life. And now, I understand why Kade's father believed in those words so passionately because I do, too.
Family over all.
Bad apples be damned.
THE END