The Guardian Trilogy: The Complete Collection - Guardian, Allegiant & Reborn
Page 88
Dane smiles. “I love this. I’m the only one who gets to see it.”
“You’re also the only one who knows what it means. You’re the inspiration. That’s why,” I hunch over a little to trace my finger deliberately over the swirls, “your name is right here.”
He does a double take and focuses on the pattern. Woven into the design are his initials DRW.
Instantly, he’s on his feet. One hand wraps around the back of my neck while the other wraps around my arm, pulling my whole body forward and crushing my mouth to his. He spends a minute there then moves, kissing the corner of my mouth, then my cheek, then my temple. He finds my ear. “I can’t believe my name is forever on your body. Why would you do something like that?”
I lean back a bit. “I wanted to show you I’m yours.”
“I told you I’d propose one day.”
“A ring can be taken off.” I trace his bottom lip with my thumb. “This way you’re permanently a part of me. Not that you weren’t already, but this makes it visible.”
He searches my face. “What if…God forbid…anything happens? How will you explain my initials to someone else?”
I cover his mouth with my hand and give him a stern look. “Don’t ever say that again.”
He kisses my palm and I remove my hand, placing it against his chest. “What did I ever do to deserve you?” he asks.
“Gee, let me think.” I overly exaggerate my eye roll. “You stood by me last summer without question. You saved me from a psycho. You abandoned your life to take me to the Caribbean. You forced a bracelet on my wrist that saved me from death, and you never gave up on me throughout my memory loss. Did I leave anything out?”
“Only one thing,” he whispers in my ear. “I’m madly in love with you.”
“I figured.” I smile. “You put my name on a boat.”
“You put my name on your body.” His lips find my neck; they leave a hot trail down one side and up the other. “Now what happens?” he asks suggestively.
“Now you tell me you can never top my gift.”
“I’ll never be able to outdo this gift.” He leans in close. “But, I’ll never stop trying.”
“I hoped you would say something like that,” I tease, but then turn serious. “I love you. Thank you for accepting me, imperfections and all.”
He shakes his head. “You chose me. I’m the one who’s honored.” He steps back and his eyes rake over my body from head to toe. “Plus, I see no imperfections here.” He takes a moment to brush his fingertips over my tattoo. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of looking at this. You may have to stay naked the entire trip.”
I laugh. “I don’t think Captain Travis would appreciate that.”
“He’d appreciate it too much, I think.” Dane’s expression turns dark as he steps to me again. “Can I show you how much I love you now or should we talk some more?”
My heart pounds. “What’s left to say?”
He wraps me in his arms and everything around us evaporates into oblivion. The reason we’re here, the fancy yacht, past choices, everything. It’s just him and me and our future. I don’t have all the answers to what it holds, but that’s the amazing part. If I’ve learned anything over the past year it’s that nothing is guaranteed. The best laid plans change. People change. Sometimes they change for the worse, sometimes for the better, but there’s a method to the madness. All I know for certain is that, whatever comes our way, Dane and I will face it together.
And it’s going to be fantastic.
The End
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I cannot believe I wrote a trilogy. A trilogy! Me! Where the heck did that come from? Talk about a hobby spiraling wildly out of control! What started out as simple fun to entertain friends has quickly grown into something I could never have imagined. With that said, there are a few people I feel the need to publicly thank (and possibly embarrass):
My Beta Readers. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: to Koz, Aubs, Bree, and Abbie Gale. Thank you for living in my fictional world. Without you, these books would not exist. You know it’s the truth, so stop blushing.
My Family & Friends. I kept the secret that I was writing until I pushed the “publish” button on Amazon. For some misconstrued reason, I thought they would think I was devoting too much time to a simple hobby. Well, I was wrong. So wrong. From my husband shooing the kids out of the bedroom so “mom can write,” to my parents, in-laws, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, co-workers, fellow hockey moms, and mothers of my kids’ friends; even my brother (hint – that scene where Mike proposes to Kate? Yeah, he needs to get on that), it makes my heart want to burst with how much encouragement they have for me. To hear my kids tell their teachers that “my mom wrote a book” makes me think I’m doing something right and showing them that they can accomplish big things. I want everyone to know their enthusiasm feeds mine. Especially my Aunt Gloria’s. If you ever run into a lady handing out random Guardian promo cards at Home Depot, that’s her.
The Indie Author Community. Holy wow. And I mean, HOLY WOW. I count myself lucky to have connected with so many truly supportive self-published authors and bloggers. I wanted to list everyone and their blogs, and I started to, but the length was getting obnoxious, so I’ll cut it short and say this – y’all know who you are because I talk with you just about every single day. Thank you so much for your support and promotion. I have to call out one blogger in particular - yes, Ms. Tara, I’m talking to you! Thank you for being the first blogger to take a chance and review Guardian. Your love for James nearly made me rewrite my story. Almost.
My Readers. I have a hard time calling you “mine” because I know I have to share you with so many other great writers. Thank you for reading an unknown author’s work, and thank you for continuing to support writers like me. Your reviews, emails, and messages on Facebook make me smile – like big, stupid, dorky, idiot smiles. There’s no better high than knowing others love the world I’ve created just as much as I do.
About the Author
Sara Mack is a Michigan native who grew up with her nose in books. She is a wife and a hockey mom on top of being trapped in an office – which now has a window! – forty hours a week. Her spare time is spent one-clicking on Amazon and devouring books on her Kindle, cleaning up after her kids and two elderly cats, attempting to keep her flower garden alive, and, of course, writing. She has an unnatural affinity for dark chocolate, iced tea, and bacon.
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Blog and Email:
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smackwrites@gmail.com
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