She shivered. “He’s already bitten you once. We don’t need a repeat.”
I kissed her. “I would gladly be his damn chew toy if it gave me peace of mind while sleeping beside you.” I laughed with absolute freedom, with joy at this incredible gift. “I will continue to have nightmares. That’s a part of my healing that I doubt I’ll be able to rush or ignore. I know some of those will wake me with rage and total unawareness of my surroundings. It could be years before I’m stable enough to sleep beside you—just like that damn book said. But...” I hugged her so fucking hard. “I don’t have to wait years to enjoy this. To be in your bed. To make love to you and go to sleep with you tucked in my arms. We can have this now...all because we have an alarm system. A dog that will bark if I wake in a nightmare. A creature who will happily bite me if I come anywhere near you in anything but kindness and love.”
Gem studied me before arching her head to look at Fang.
His head popped up, his tongue lolling out as if totally agreeing with me. He whined once and wagged his tail before placing his chin back on his paws.
“See?” I grinned. “He’s game if you are.”
“You’re asking if I’m okay with you getting bitten if you so much as wriggle too close to me in your sleep?”
“I think he’ll give me some leniency, but yes, that’s what I’m asking.”
“And you’ll happily get bitten instead of sleeping safely on the couch? We can buy you another bed, Kas. I’ve been thinking of redecorating one of the spare rooms back into a guest—”
“Don’t use that word.” I shivered, panic and anger flowing through me involuntarily.
Fang instantly leaped to his feet, sensing my change, most likely smelling the ripeness of fresh adrenaline and animosity.
He was like my own personal alert beacon—sensing my mood before even I did.
Voices tried to whisper through my thoughts but Fang’s intensity helped block them, keeping me present, fading my sudden panic.
I reached out and ruffled his head. “You’re a good boy. The best. So in-tune. So fucking perfect.”
He yipped, licked me, then collapsed back into a fur puddle again.
Without even knowing it, he’d just passed the ultimate test.
I didn’t even have to be asleep for him to protect Gem against me. He’d tapped into my psyche. He understood the baseline of my happiness and recognized the flush of panic through whatever sixth sense dogs possessed.
For the first time since meeting Gemma, I fully relaxed.
I let my mind go.
Truly, blissfully go.
I stopped censoring my thoughts and pre-empting whispers and memories.
I let myself be fully with her, every piece of me—the broken and the mended.
Tiredness slammed into me.
A lifetime of exhaustion—decades worth of living on the edge, twitching with wariness, and bracing against future pain—finally coming to terms that it was finally safe to rest.
Okay to surrender.
I was ready to let life happen instead of fighting it.
My body had been free for years.
But now...now my mind was too.
And it was all thanks to a dog who saw me.
A dog who would kill me if I ever laid a cruel finger on the girl I loved with all my glued-together, patched-up heart.
Turning Gemma until she faced away from me, I scooped her around the waist, pulled her into my body, and together...we fell into so much more than sleep.
We fell into our future.
A future we’d fought for, earned, and absolutely treasured.
A future of us.
EPILOGUE ONE
“EH, KAS...WHAT ARE you doing?”
Kas smiled as he ripped his blue T-shirt over his head and slipped out of his jeans. His boxer briefs were next, yanked down his legs and thrown onto the grass. “Giving you a pretty big hint.”
“A hint for...”
“Oh, I don’t know, Gem. Whatever could it be?” He narrowed his eyes at his cock. “Let me know when you figure it out.”
I fought a laugh, my heart skipping a beat. “You’re naked...in our garden.”
“I’m glad you figured out that bit at least.” He splayed his legs, his erection heavy and hard. “Figured anything else out?”
“That you should probably put some clothes on while we’re outside?”
“No one can see us.” He licked his lips. “And the wildlife don’t care. They’re naked all the time.”
Fang barked, racing from the dense forest at the bottom of the garden, living his life with absolute joy. Running around Kas’s naked legs he threw himself into the long grass, disrupting a couple of butterflies, snapping at them as they fluttered around his fluffy head. His coat had grown back in, erasing any trauma from around his neck, and he positively glittered in the sunshine with good health.
Kas grinned at his dog.
The dog grinned at Kas.
I wanted to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming—the scene was just too perfect.