Hadley inhaled sharply and pulled away, leaving Kade rushing to reassure her and to plead his case. “Cester paid me out my severance. I had Brute buy me land. And Rahid has shown me a way to mine and make enough to support us. Cester and I have been making one of the better cottages a home; it’s not much, but—”
She pressed her lips to his, and rush of pleasure tore through him, causing his lungs to seize. His skin burned, heartrate frantic as he relished the feel of kissing her without fear of reprimand, without fear of breaking impossible rules he’d never believed in anyway.
He was his own man now. Free to go where he wanted. Free to lay claim to what he needed. And what he needed more than anything was Hadley at his side.
He tore himself away, gasping for the breath she’d stolen. Her cheeks were flushed as she gave him a shy smile. “I’ll stay. I want to help you.”
Still reeling from her kiss and the admission he needed her help, his eyes strayed to the whistle still hanging from her neck. He tugged at it, a ghost of a smile appearing as he examined it. “Would you wear this instead of a ring?”
Hadley’s fingers wrapped over his, her voice a tease as she spoke. “I don’t need a fancy diamond like Meg’s, if that’s what you mean?”
Kade used the whistle to tug her closer, his voice husky. “Give me a few months, I’ll find you enough gold to buy anything you want.”
Her nose crinkled but there was no humour in the way she smiled, her skin flushed as she leaned into him. “Well, in that case, maybe a wedding dress?”
Oh, hell. Breathe, Kade, breathe.
As Hadley’s fingers laced into his, her kisses melded into his whispered promises, and the last of Kade’s defences dissolved.
With her, he didn’t need to always be strong. He didn’t need to hide the weight of his pain, his doubt, his fear or the depth of his grief. And even if it meant showing her all the scars on his heart, along with the ones on his body, he was prepared to risk it.
Hadley’s arrival at the Stormers camp was, and always would be, the best gift Kade Dawson had been lucky enough to receive.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Addison-Fox is a New Zealand-born misfit who writes action-packed fantasy with a smattering of punch ups, mega amounts of romance and a dash of family values. She has an astonishing amount of nail polish, has all her creative writing credentials shoved in a drawer somewhere, and has a husband who, after 28 years, can still make her blush. When she’s not working on her YA fantasy romance series' she can be found binge watching Mission Impossible movies, drinking lager and eating curry.
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