Chapter 23 Colt gripped the edge of the bathroom counter. He could barely breathe. His fault. This was his fucking fault. His mother had called him for help. And yeah, on a deeper level, he knew he'd never have made it in time. But she'd been scared, suffering at the hands of that piece of shit father of his, and she'd called him for help. But he hadn't answered. And Ben...the man who'd been more of a father than his own dad ever had, had been shot and was in surgery. He tore off his clothes and stepped into the shower, making the water hot. So hot it burned his skin. He'd said he wanted to kill his father so many times but never really meant it. Now though? If the man was in this very room with him, he wouldn't be able to stop himself. And he'd do it slowly. Make him hurt. Suffer the same way everyone around him suffered. He pressed his palms to the wall of the shower and tried to breathe. To draw oxygen into his lungs even though the air was too thick. The bathroom started to fill with steam. There was too much anger inside him, and he didn't have anywhere to put it. It was trying to claw its way out of him. Hurting him. Choking him. The door opened with a click, followed by the soft thud of footsteps. Colt didn't move. He couldn't even look at her. If he couldn't protect his own mother, how would he protect his wife? He felt undeserving of her. There was a creak of the glass shower door opening, then warm, familiar arms slipped around his middle and a cheek pressed to his back. He just stood there, frozen. Still barely breathing. Still angry. Still wrecked. "It's not your fault," she whispered, her words running over his skin, like cool water on the hot rage burning through him. He lowered the temperature of the water and turned. Indie's brows were tugged together, her naked skin wet from the water that had slipped from his body to hers. And her eyes, those beautiful, soulful greens, seared into him. She reached up and cupped his cheeks. "It's not your fault." She said the words slowly...firmly. Like she knew they were the only words capable of pulling him back from the edge. "I didn't answer her call." Guilt. It coated each word. "It wouldn't have changed anything if you had." He swallowed hard. "I hate him." "Me too. But only him because what he did is all on him. Do you understand? You are good. And you protect...you don't hurt." "I didn't protect either of them tonight." "Because you couldn't. And he knew that." Colt latched onto those words like they were the only things keeping his head above water. She leaned in and kissed his chest, her lips touching right over his heart. It was a heart that beat for Indie. It belonged to her. She kissed him again, but this time over a small scar that sat close to his left shoulder, one he'd had since he was eight. One his father had put there. And yeah, it took all the fucking pain away. She looked up at him. "I love you, Colt Reed. You are the best man I know. And you're everything your father isn't." He closed his eyes and gripped her hips, letting that kiss heal the broken parts of him. Letting her remind him of who he was, because she was the only one with the power to do so. She pressed another kiss to his chest, but it wasn't enough. He cupped the back of her head, tilted her chin up, and kissed her. He slipped his tongue inside and let her taste, her softness, everything she was, lift him out of the dark place where his father put him. She kissed him back, meeting him exactly where he was. He lifted her and turned, pressing her back to the tiled wall, her entire front meeting his. Fuck, he loved her. He loved everything about her with an intensity that should probably scare him. It didn't. He reached down and held the soft mound of her breast in his palm, her moans weaving inside him, finding the hollow parts and filling them. When he found her nipple, he swiped it back and forth with his thumb before rolling it in a circle. She groaned. So...fucking...beautiful. And his. This woman was his. His mouth shifted to her cheek, then her neck. When he found that spot behind her ear that made her squirm, he lowered his hand to the V between her thighs and stroked her clit. Her entire body convulsed. He did it again, loving how damn sensitive she was. Absorbing every sound. Every tightening of her fingers against his shoulders. Memorizing her. He shifted his thumb to her clit and slipped two fingers inside her. Her gasp was fucking magic. Piercing his chest, making his cock turn to stone. He moved his fingers in and out in a rhythmic motion, his thumb gliding over her clit, sending her wild in his arms. "Colt..." She reached down and grabbed his wrist. "Now." Then she gripped the back of his head and tugged his mouth back to hers, but this kiss was fast and desperate. It was fire and need and desire. He positioned himself at her entrance and slowly slid inside. Fuck, she was tight. And she fit around him so fucking perfectly. She tilted her head back and sighed before opening her green eyes and looking at him. "Loving you is one thing I never got wrong," he whispered. "You fought for us. You held us together, even when I felt like I was coming apart." "I will always fight for us." He found her lips again and kissed her. Then he began to move. Long, deep thrusts that felt like coming home every time he returned to her. It was the peace and ecstasy that so many spent their entire lives chasing. And he had it in the palm of his hands. Every inch of Indie's body was on fire. Her fingers dug into his shoulders like if she didn't hold on she'd fall or break or something equally devastating. And maybe she would. Maybe Colt was and had always been her only anchor. She barely felt the stream of water on her shoulders or the steam in the air. All she felt was Colt. He was everywhere. His body surrounded her, and his heat had slipped beneath the surface of her skin. His thrusts grew faster. Harder. So deep and powerful it felt like she was going to break. The kind of shattering her body had only ever done for Colt. She tucked her head into the nook of his neck and tried to breathe. To drag one breath in after the next. When he found her nipple and began to play with the tight bud, she gasped. He rolled it and tugged, knowing exactly what to do to drive her crazy. To make her pulse speed up and her heart beat so hard it almost hurt. She opened her mouth on his shoulder, not sure if she was kissing or biting him. Or maybe she was just stifling the screams. When his hand returned to her core, her entire body tensed. He rolled his thumb over her clit and her body pulsed. He did it again, this time firmer. She lifted her head and kissed him again, letting his tongue sweep inside her mouth. Letting him taste her. Claim her. When his mouth moved from hers, she wanted to groan. But then he nibbled at the lobe of her ear before whispering, "I love you so fucking much, Cricket." And that was it. Those deep, hushed words that whispered against her ear pushed her over the edge. She cried out, the sound a strangled scream as the orgasm hit her hard, making her entire body convulse. Colt kept pumping, prolonging the throbbing in her core. Making her writhe and arch in his arms until finally, he growled. His teeth gently latched onto her neck as he shattered along with her. Then he was just holding her, neither of them able to suck in a single full breath. When she finally had the strength to lift her head, she cupped his cheek and looked at him. Her husband. Her entire world. "Are you okay?" "I'm not sure. But you make me want to be." At least he was honest. This time she pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, letting her lips linger before whispering, "They'll be okay." "This time." "There won't be a next time." "We don't know that." She swiped a trail of water from his brow. "There's you. And Noah. And Becket. And Holden. And Jesse and his deputies. An entire army of people who'll help to bring him in. You're not alone." He leaned his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. "And there's you, keeping me sane." "And I'm not going anywhere."