Penumbra (Spook Squad 3)

“Hawks mate for life,” he said softly.

Something more than joy, something that was delirium and elation and euphoria all wrapped up in one explosive package, rushed through her, making her want to sing and dance and cry all at the same time. “Meaning you could never get rid of me now, even if you wanted to?”

“Not even if I wanted to,” he said, his gaze fierce in the fading light of the evening. “Not that I want to. Not anymore. You’re everything I thought I’d once lost, Sam. It might have taken me damnably long to realize it, and I might have been a bastard along the way, but I want you in my life, come what may—and no matter what your brother might throw at us—both now and in the future.”

She laughed then, and for the first time in a long time, that laughter was as free and as happy as she felt. Because for the first time in a long time, she had not only a past, but a future, and someone to share it with. And she didn’t have to worry about holding on to him. He was hers, now and forever.

As if to prove the thought, he kissed her. It was slow, sensuous, and, most of all, it was an affirmation of belonging.

“Why don’t we take this inside?” he said after a while. “Maybe we can explore, in greater detail, that desire of yours to kiss me senseless.”

She smiled. The explorations wouldn’t stop with just kisses, and they both knew it. “It sounds like a perfect idea.” A perfect beginning.

And it was.