I slid my hand down her back, felt the little bumps of her spine, then leaned in to murmur in her ear, so
I wasn’t overheard. “I want to take you to my shower. Wash away the filth of that meeting. You’re too good to even do shit like that.”
She shook her head, kept looking out the window. “No, I’m not. Not after all that Cam’s done to me.”
I spun her then to face me. Tipped her chin up with my fingers. “You survived, princess.”
She rolled her eyes.
“You did,” I repeated. “You think I’m the fighter? Fuck, woman. You’ve been fighting your whole life. It’s over today. Done.”
“I’ll always be dirty,” she whispered.
I slid my hand around to the back of her neck, cupped it. “Words like that piss me off. You into spankings, beautiful?”
Her eyes flared, and her mouth fell open. That cut the tension. While I’d had her a number of times, we hadn’t gotten into anything kinky. I had no idea if getting her ass spanked got her hot. I’d never done it before, but if it was something she needed, I’d give it to her.
“You want to be with me any less because of my past?” I asked. “Because of my family?”
“No, of course not.”
“Same goes for me. You were given a shitty family just like me. So we make a new family. You and me.”
This time when her eyes widened, it was because of surprise. “What?”
I couldn’t believe I had to spell it out to her. “I love you, Harper Lane.”
Her eyes welled with tears.
I ran a hand over my head. “Fuck, the first time I tell a woman I love her, and I make her cry.”
That made her laugh, and she wiped the tears away. “No. I’m not crying.”
“I’m not all that smart, but I know tears when I see them.”
“I’m not crying because I’m sad. I’m… I’m happy. I want to be your family too.”
I exhaled and smiled. “Thank fuck.”
“I love you, Reed Johnson,” she said in the softest, sweetest, most perfect voice ever.
I kissed her then. Long and hard.
She loved me.
Me. The fuck up. The fighter. The guy so broken I figured I was unredeemable. The only place I could win was in the ring.
But with Harper, I won the championship title. I had no idea how I got so lucky.
I pulled back, leaned my forehead against hers.
“When Cam comes, I don’t want you to get hurt.”
I pulled back, stroked my hand over her hair. “I think you really are itching for a spanking. I get you in bed later, and your ass is going to have my handprint on it, yeah?”
“Reed.”
“Don’t insult me, princess. I can handle Cam. I need to know he’s done. I need him to know that to get to you, he’s got to get through me. Besides, payback’s a bitch, and Randy’s going to take care of his ass. After I’m finished with him.”