Descent (Black Heart Romance)

If she left, she’s left without anything I can track, and I’ll have to scour the whole goddamn city for her.

I ease the bedroom door open, my mind only half in the moment. The other half is inventorying every place I can think of that she might be, making plans of attack to knock the legs out from under her and get her little ass right back where it belongs.

But I don’t have to worry because when the door opens enough for the hall light to stream in, I see that she already is.

The tension eases at the sight of Hallie all snug in our bed, one arm pushed beneath the underside of the blanket. She’s facing my side. Maybe she was missing me.

I turn off the hall light and close the bedroom door. It’s dark, but that’s how I like it.

Quietly, I unpack her snack so that it’s ready when she opens her eyes.

She hears me though, or maybe she just senses me. Whatever alerts her that she needs to wake up, I hear a soft, lilting moan as she rolls over and opens her eyes.

“Hello, sweetheart.”

She smiles as I caress her face, probably sleepy enough to forget where I was tonight. “Hello, lunatic.”

I crack a smile.

Okay, maybe she didn’t forget.

“I brought you food.”

“Ooh.” She looks over at the bedside table with interest, but her gaze doesn’t linger long before returning to me. Her soft sleepy happiness fades and she asks, “How did it go with Charity?”

“Very well,” I assure her.

“Yeah?” She’s skeptical.

“Even better than expected. You don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“Mm.” Her big eyes lock on mine, a soberness in her gaze that belies how comfy and angelic she looks right now. “You’re always fixing my problems, aren’t you?”

“When I’m not creating them, yes.”

She smiles wryly, then pushes herself up in the bed. “What’s this I heard about a snack?” I grab it off the nightstand for her, but before I hand it to her, she says, “Can you get me the captive girlfriend tray to put it on? I don’t want to risk dumping tomato sauce all over your bed.”

I correct her. “Our bed.”

Hallie rolls her eyes. “Fine, our bed.”

“I might be able to get you the tray, if you use the magic word.”

I stand, preparing to go get the tray for her, but I look expectantly at Hallie first, expecting her to say please.

“I love you,” she says instead.

I freeze.

Her teeth sink into her lower lip a bit self-consciously. “I thought about what you said, and—not for that reason, but—I… I think you’re right. I think I love you.”

For once, I don’t know what to say. A few seconds pass, then I say dryly, “I was really only looking for please.”

She smiles faintly. “I know. I just wanted to tell you.”

I sit down on the edge of the bed and cradle her face in my hand. “I love you, too, Hallie. Very much.”

Her smile turns sweeter. So sweet I yearn to taste it. I start to lean in, and she leans a little too. But then, before our lips can touch, she says, “Now, about that tray…”

I shove her mischievous little ass back on the bed and she laughs with delight. “I’ll show you a goddamn tray,” I mutter, smiling as I straddle her and she wraps her arms around my back.

It’s silly and ridiculous, and I had no hopes of smiling tonight, but that’s what Hallie does, what she has done consistently since the moment her smile put her on my radar and brightened my dark, lonely life.

She makes every part of life unexpectedly better.

And I can’t wait to spend the rest of it with her.

Epilogue

Hallie

As I close the storybook, I gaze down at the peaceful face of my beautiful sleeping daughter.

Ariella Isis Cutler. (She was conceived in an Egyptian temple intended for the goddess, so it only seemed right we incorporate Isis into her name somehow.) So much has changed since she came into my life.

The first copy of my book came today. It’s a proof, not the real thing, but it only seemed right that my daughter should be the first one to enjoy the story.

Well, she enjoyed it for a couple of pages, then she started batting at her mobile—just out of reach, but she has her daddy’s determination and was certain if she just reached high enough, she could grab the moon and all the stars and yank them right down into her tiny little grasp.

I hope it’s not a sign of things to come. I’m not sure I can handle two of them.

I smile fondly despite the thought. Oh, who am I kidding? I could juggle a whole house full of those troublemakers.

I take the book with me as I sneak out into the hallway, then I pull Ariella’s door closed, but leave it open a crack.