Darkest Before Dawn
Page 92

Even after all of these months, he paused at the sight of their son nestled lovingly against his mother’s chest, one of her hands holding the bottle in place while the other tenderly caressed his downy curls. Her expression so achingly beautiful that it never failed to take his breath away.
She murmured in low tones to Reece, telling him how very much he was loved by his mother and father. And she spoke absolute truth. The sun rose and set at his wife and child’s feet. Every single day he awoke, Honor nestled in his arms. Every night he went to bed sated, after making love to his wife, her sleepy, “I love you” or “I need you so much, Guy” brushing over his ears. It undid him every single time and he whispered a prayer of thanks that he’d found redemption and forgiveness, another chance with the woman he loved more than life.
The few times he was away from her, he was besieged by the need to return to her as quickly as he could. He wasn’t sure he would ever get over his fear of losing them, of coming home to find them gone. He, of all people, was all too aware of the evil that walked among ordinary people on this earth, and over the years he’d accumulated too many enemies to count.
It was why they lived as the only inhabitants on this remote island, which was only accessible by boat or helicopter. He’d made a lot of money during his years as a mercenary, fighting the good fight. Money he’d never used. Never had a reason to use. No one to spend it on.
But now? He had a wife and a son to spoil shamelessly, and he did so on a regular basis, much to Honor’s chagrin. He had to call back the grin at her exasperation and the statement she always gave him. That she had all she could ever want. She didn’t need anything else. But that didn’t mean he paid her any attention. If she so much as hinted, in all her innocence, that she liked something, or he saw her expression when something caught her eye, it was hers.
Even now he was gleefully anticipating giving his first anniversary gift to her when Reece was put down for the night and enduring a sound dressing down for going overboard with his present for her. He did so love to indulge her every whim. He loved making her happy. Her smile made everything worthwhile in his life.
Sensing his presence, Honor looked up from where she was speaking in loving, low tones to their son, and she smiled, her eyes so full of love that it instilled a fierce ache in his heart. His soul swelled to near bursting if she so much as looked at him. He’d never grow tired of her love for him simmering in her eyes just as he’d always return it in kind.
“Not that I don’t love you spoiling me so, but what’s this?” she asked in a teasing tone.
He set the tray on the coffee table in front of her and then slid onto the couch next to her, leaning in to kiss her, cradling his son’s head in his large palm.
“Don’t tell me you forgot that today is our one year wedding anniversary,” he said with mock ferocity.
She grinned mischievously. “Nope. I have my own gift as well, but you’ll have to wait a bit. I’m a little busy at the moment.”
“You loving me is all the gift I’ll ever need,” he said with complete sincerity.
“Well, that’s easy enough. I do love you, Guy. I’ll always love you. That’s never going to change and I hope you feel the same. But that gift is given every day. Today? I have something extra special for you.”
“You say the dumbest things sometimes, woman,” he said, his eyes narrowing, but he knew he didn’t look in the least bit annoyed. Honor’s eyes were laughing back at his. “As if I won’t always feel the same,” he huffed. “You are my life, Honor. Without you, I have nothing. Without you, I don’t want to live.”
Suddenly she lifted her free hand to his face and caressed his clean-shaven jaw, and he couldn’t help himself. Mindful of the precious bundle still feeding, he leaned in and kissed her, tenderly exploring her mouth, absorbing her taste, something he would never grow tired of.
When he finally pulled away, her cheeks were flushed and desire reflected in her half-lidded warm brown eyes.
“How much longer before he finishes with his mother and goes down for his nap so his father can steal her for a while?” Hancock said in a voice thick with arousal.
Other parts of him were just as thick, as heavy, and as aching.
She laughed. “He only just woke up. He has a few hours yet before naptime.”
Hancock bit back a curse. If he weren’t such a paranoid, overprotective bastard, he would have taken the numerous offers from his and Honor’s families to keep Reece for an extended anniversary weekend and he would have had Honor all to himself.
But they rarely left the island. A brief black thought flickered through his mind. Did Honor feel like a prisoner? Never let out and never allowed the freedom to come and go as she pleased? Hancock was a controlling bastard. She never left the island without him. He never left her on the island alone.
Most women would feel stifled and grow to resent such restrictions, but not Honor. That fact still didn’t prevent him from worrying that one day . . . He shook off the dark thoughts. He wouldn’t go there. Honor had assured him that she loved their life. That she loved him.
“Will you burp him and then put him in his bouncer for me?”
Honor’s sweetly worded request broke through his dour thoughts, and he sprang into action, gingerly sliding his large, clumsy hands beneath Reece’s head and diapered bottom, lifting him up to his shoulder so he could pat Reece’s back. A few minutes and several impressive belches later, Hancock laughed and eased the baby into the bouncer that overlooked the sandy beach and sparkling water.
When he turned back, his wife’s eyes twinkled with merriment, and he sent her his best ferocious glare. It amused her to no end that even now he was still convinced that he was going to drop the baby or crush his tiny little body with hands that had, until now, been used as weapons. For violence, not tenderness. To inflict pain, not offer comfort.
She patted the space beside her as she repositioned herself on the couch. It was too bad, because her former pose gave him a very good view of her breasts, which were still more rounded. She reached for a plate and handed it to him and then retrieved the other and they sat side by side enjoying the breakfast Hancock had prepared.
She ate while he simply enjoyed watching her. Watching her never got old.
God, he loved this woman.
Honor studied Guy from underneath her eyelashes. Even if she couldn’t feel his heated stare, she’d know he was watching her. He always watched her. In the beginning, she gave herself away by blushing and had even asked him why he was forever staring at her.
Very seriously, he’d told her that she was the most beautiful thing in his world and that he still had a hard time believing she belonged to him. And she did belong to him in every possible way.
He’d warned her of his possessiveness. His dominance. His need to control every aspect of his life—their life. And his absolute dedication to keeping her safe at all times. As though that part of his personality would frighten her away. At times, she could feel his restraint. Could feel him holding back because of his fear of driving her away, but she was having none of that and she let him know it very forcefully. She wanted the real Guy or nothing at all.
It had taken considerable patience on her part, and at times he still needed to be convinced that things he considered faults were things she not only loved but also reveled in. She needed them. She needed him. God, how she needed and loved him with every breath in her body.