An electric charge shivered through her.
The way he was looking at her. The intensity in those gray-blue eyes. The question waiting there for her to answer.
It felt like the boundaries of their relationship had abruptly shifted. She felt disoriented, dizzy.
The rain fell harder, battering the roof. More thunder pealed.
The fear was there. But so was something else, something stronger.
Hannah placed her bad hand on his arm. Her fingers felt the sinewy strength of his muscles beneath the fabric of his shirt. The broadness of his chest. That rugged, handsome face.
He glanced down at her hand, looked up at her. Longing in his eyes. The same desire throbbing in her own chest reflected back at her.
Her heart leapt. A tingling warmth started in her belly and spread through her limbs.
Something released inside her. A letting go, an opening up, like a butterfly’s wings unfurling.
“Liam—”
Liam leaned forward and kissed her.
33
Liam
Day One Hundred and Ten
Liam kissed the woman he loved.
Gently at first, then deeply, fiercely. And then his hands were cupping her face, fingers tangled in her hair, drawing her close.
Liam was a soldier. A tough, battle-scarred warrior. And yet butterflies swarmed in his belly, sparks flaring beneath his skin at her touch.
Together, they had traveled two hundred miles of hostile winter terrain. They’d escaped a madman. They’d made it to Fall Creek and forged a home amid savagery and chaos.
He had cradled her in his arms. She had stripped naked and crawled into bed with him, skin to skin, the heat of her body offering his hypothermic limbs life-sustaining warmth. He’d knelt between her legs and brought her child screaming child into the world.
Nothing had felt this intimate, raw, fragile. Like if he took a wrong step or breathed too soon, the moment would shatter.
They loved each other the way hurt people loved. Cautious, stretching carefully, testing their injured souls, checking to see if their damaged hearts still beat.
He pulled back for a moment, unable to catch his breath. His heart raced, his palms damp.
She looked up at him, those green eyes glinting in the firelight, her gaze frank and steady.
“I have to say something.”
“I’m listening.”
Never had Liam been so acutely aware that tomorrow was promised to no one.
The broken world was closing in on them. Death hovering above their heads, the looming threat of a war they couldn’t win.
Tomorrow, he would take the fight to the General. He might not come back.
And yet. In this moment, none of that mattered. Nothing but Hannah.
“I’m no good at this stuff. I—I love Charlotte like she was my own flesh and blood. From the moment I laid eyes on her, I was hers. And Milo, I care for him, too. He’s smart and brave. And you…” He cleared his throat. “Hannah…”
He’d never felt so nervous and yet so sure in his life. He felt suddenly foolish, way out of his element, but he blundered forward. “I want to be with you. I want to be where you are.”
Hannah’s eyes glistened. “I want to be with you.”
In one fell swoop, she had undone him and knit him back together. She had shown him a glimpse of what a meaningful life could be—what love could be.
It was a painful thing, coming back to life. Like his frozen limbs thawing, prickling and stinging as the numbness withdrew and sharp glorious warmth pressed in.
The pain was worth it.
She was worth everything.
“I mean it.” This time, he did not hesitate. He laid himself bare. “I’m all in, Hannah. Whatever happens next, I need you to know that. You, Milo, Charlotte.” His voice choked. He struggled to continue, to get it out. It was important to say. He needed to say it. “If you will have me.”
She leaned in, her forehead touching his, her green eyes bright. “I will, Liam Coleman. I will have you.”
Just like that, he was rendered speechless. A deep, abiding joy radiated through him. He couldn’t have said anything in that moment, even if he’d wanted to.
With great tenderness, he tucked his hand beneath her chin and tipped her face to his.
Liam couldn’t help himself. He kissed her again.
Hannah’s lips parted. She kissed him back.
He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. He kissed her hungrily, deeply. He buried his hands in her hair, breathed in the scent of her. Felt her heart beating hard against his own ribs.
He wasn’t a poet or an orator or one prone to religious experiences, but he’d give anything in the world to remain in this moment forever. Here in this place, here with her. With this beautiful woman he didn’t deserve, but still loved with every beat of his heart.