Page 31 of Stryker's Ruin
“What he’ll do is start an all-out war. I’m pretty sure Nico isn’t any smarter. Doesn’t matter what either of them has planned. They’ll lose.”
He puts his cup on the counter and rounds the end. Swiveling my stool so I’m facing him. He cups my face. “You’re mine. To love, honor, marry and protect. No one can stop me except you. Only you can tell me you don’t feel the same.”
CHAPTER 19
Stryker
I can’t breathe waiting for her to answer. My heart pounds in my chest. Hell, I’ve been in war zones where I was less afraid. Damn, what if I told her too much and now, she’s afraid of me?
I can’t lose her. In this short time, she’s become my everything. The balm to my inner anger. The light to my dark side. She’s the humanity I lost on the battlefield. For her I’ll be a better man. With her I want it all. White picket fence, babies in our arms, Sunday dinners with my brothers.
Shit, now I get why so many of the guys have settled down. It’s not the ‘when’ life feels complete, it’s the ‘who’ that completes you.
She leans forward and kisses the pulse point on my neck.
“Are you afraid of me now that you know about my family?” I ask, terrified of the answer.
“No. Never. I know I’m safe with you.”
“I’ll never cheat on you. And I’ll never let anyone hurt you again. If—if I have to go on dangerous missions, I’ll make sure one of my buddies is always looking after you. I think you’ll likethe team. Some of the guys are married and there’s kids, and dogs. It’s like one big family.”
“What about your father and mother?”
“Well, this is their get-away house and I’m pretty sure that’s my mother’s cooking in the oven. They are my family but I’m not ‘in the family’ per se. We interact outside of the clan. Like I said, the McLean’s have gone legit. They’re white-collar businessmen now. But…”
“But what?”
“Family is always family. My father is on standby if we need him.”
“So he knows about me?”
“Yes. I told him I’m marrying you as soon as you turn eighteen. That is if you’ll have me.”
“Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you but how? It’s not my birthday yet.”
“My father agreed to help. He has a judge who’s a friend who will meet us here to marry us. He’s taking care of getting the paperwork completed. We’ll be holed up here until then. Thanks to my father, there are more guards than you see. We’re safe here and I have back up I trust.”
“I don’t want to put your family in danger.”
“You aren’t. It’s the two young fools and the weak heads of their families that can’t control them.”
Her stomach growls. “Did you eat anything at the restaurant?”
“I couldn’t. I was too nervous.”
“Then you best prepare yourself for the best meal of your life.”
After dinner I send her to the shower while I finish clean-up then check in with outside security and the house security system. Walking down the hall I’m telling myself I’m going to be a gentleman and leave her alone until our wedding night. But when I go to grab a change of clothes, I see she’s turned the bed down and centered the two pillows against each other. Life is short. Shit happens. Neither one of us wants to wait.
Stripping to my briefs, I go to the bathroom and knock on the door. “Ruin, can I come in?”
Something thumps. I wait, heart pounding, afraid she’s changing her mind.
“Yes, please.”
She’s standing in front of the shower spray, holding two of the bottles that she must have knocked off the shelf. Her hair is splayed over half her face.
She looks so fucking adorable.