She still didn’t realize he would do anything she asked. Anything.
After their shower,and round two, which was somehow even better than round one, Nina slid between the covers with Zeke. Neither of them bothered with clothes. Nina hoped it wasbecause Zeke wanted her again during the night and didn’t want to fight to get to her. That was her thought.
He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. His heartbeat was steady, solid, just like the rest of him.
Nina had never felt so safe in her life. Yeah, she knew Gwendolyn was out there. She knew everything was far from over. But Zeke had shown her at every turn that he was the man she remembered. The man she built up in her memory and dreamed of saving her. Yeah, he had changed, but he was still the same where it mattered.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked her.
She smiled and kissed his chest. “How lucky I am to know you.”
He squeezed her tight. “I feel the same, Nina.”
She ran her hands over his body, his tattoos nearly invisible in the dark room. After a week of wondering, she had to ask, “Will you tell me about your tattoos?”
He sucked in a breath. “I’ll tell you anything. What do you want to know?”
“Which one was your first?”
His arm flexed under her hand. He sat up and turned on the lamp next to the bed. He sat against the headboard and dragged her up with him, holding her in his arms again. “This one.” He pointed to the rose tattoo on his forearm. “A year after you disappeared, Mont and I went and got them. He has the same one. We were on leave and wanted to mark the day. Sounds weird, but the first year was hard. Harder than the rest, I think. We started to lose hope after a year, but we still had it when we got these.”
Nina ran her fingers over the tattoo, a rose on its side, similar to the logo for Rose Protection Agency. “Is it the rose on the door to the office?”
Zeke chuckled. “It is. When we got them, it was a reminder of you. A rose for Nina Rose. We knew we would never forget you, but we wanted to carry you with us. To always have a piece of you.” He stopped, his voice dropping to a whisper. “There was no news about you. No one knew anything. We wanted to believe you would be found, but we marked the day and vowed to carry on for you. When Mont started the agency, it was another way for us to heal from losing you. We talked about you a lot, about how things would have been different if you’d had someone. Using the same rose felt like the right thing to do. Everything we’ve done… both of us… we’ve always hoped you would come back.”
Tears slid down Nina’s cheeks. “I’m sorry I caused so much pain for you both.”
Zeke tugged her against him and brushed his fingers through her hair. “You’re back. You’re safe. We love you, and we’re going to keep you safe from now on. She will never get close to you again. I promise you, Nina Rose.”
“Thank you.” She laid against his chest and held tight to him. “Tell me more, Zeke. What do the rest mean?”
“This one was a joke. Mont picked it out one day. Said I was too serious and needed something to make people laugh.” Zeke pointed to a mermaid on the back of his forearm.
“She is pretty hot.”
Zeke snorted. “She always reminded me of you.”
Nina gasped. “That’s a compliment.”
Zeke stared at her for a long moment.
Nina wanted to know what he was thinking, ached to hear him voice the thoughts running through his head, but he just smiled, then pointed to another tattoo.
“The bird is for freedom. The wordsLa Vida Loca… We said that a lot when we were overseas. Those two I got after my first deployment.”
“How long were you deployed?”
“Six months the first time. We left just after the first year. When we got back, I got those two.”
“What are all the other roses?” Nina asked, realizing he had more than one rose.
“One for every year,” Zeke whispered.
“Zeke.”
He kissed her, soft and sweet and heartbreaking. “A dozen roses for you, Nina. I never forgot you. You’ve always been a part of me.” He pointed to the one on his chest, right over his heart. “I carried you in my heart, Nina. With me forever, angel.”
She kissed the rose, then kissed him. She climbed on top of him, his erection growing as she kissed him. Tears fell between their lips, and Nina let herself feel his love. She let herself be loved. She let herself heal, just a little, as he rolled a condom on and pushed inside her again. She let him soothe her body and soul and heart with his.
