that shook the bed and blasted him into the stars. Deep into her.
“Yessss! Oh, good grief, I’m… I’m…!” she moaned, whining and writhing and sweating and hissing, “Jameson, Jameson, Jamessssson!”
And once again, they were linked. Two stars joined in the sweetest cataclysmic furnace that had once created mankind. Just that quick. They were one, just one. The perfect one. One her. One him. One brand-new soul with the same shuddering heartbeat. The same heated breath.
He sighed into her face, unintentionally fanning the flames that still flickered at the base of his spine. His arms were shaking, and so was Maddie. He buried his face in the quivering hollow of her neck, so damned content and thrilled, he had to fight his tears.
Since that incident in Iraq, he’d become a damned baby. His mom believed his tender emotions were a side effect, that maybe there was some undiagnosed traumatic brain injury. But his dad explained things differently.
He believed those untapped emotions now releasing at the most inopportune times—like now—were simply Jameson’s body and soul acclimating to his new reality. That he was now more aware of the universe around him, which in turn, made him more sensitive to other living things and feelings. Other powers and energies, both good and bad.
Which was true. Jameson did perceive people and his surroundings more acutely than he ever had before the incident. He sensed good intentions, and he felt more deeply. Sometimes his lack of sight provided a virtual kind of insight. The incident had awakened an inner sixth sense that made him, well, more sensitive, damn it. And sometimes that sensitivity leaked out his eyes.
There were moments these past five years when he’d wondered if the trade had been worth it, his vision for this cutting new sensitivity to the universe, with all its pulsating depths and precarious twists. Reclaiming his confidence in his dark new world had taken time. It’d been damned hard. But now? With this panting beauty hot and sweaty in his arms and under his body, Jameson had no more doubts. He didn’t need sight to know he’d found all he’d ever wanted.
“I love you,” he told her with utmost certainty. “You’re mine, Maddie. My heart. My soul. God bless, I hope you know that.”
He heard her smile. Really. Smiles glowed with warmth, and Maddie was glowing now. Contentment purred off her like a warm, crackling fire that even the densest man on earth could’ve heard, if he’d been smart enough to listen.
She brushed her fingertips into his hair. Still purring. Still smiling. Her chest heaved. “I do know that. I didn’t hurt you, did I? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good. No worries,” he growled as he wiped the back of a hand over his eyes. “But I’ve got to warn you. I’m as emotional as a pregnant woman sometimes.”
“I like that you’re not afraid to tell me something like that. Men aren’t usually so—”
“Sensitive? Yeah, that’s me. I like fluffy puppies and dark chocolate, too.”
Maddie’s honest laughter made him smile. “Want to know how I’m sure you love me?”
He dropped his forehead to hers. “How, babe?” he breathed.
Her lips melted against his. “Because I think I’ve been looking for you for a long time,’” she whispered into his mouth. “You’re a keeper.”
“Nah, you’re the keeper. All mine.”
She giggled like the little girl she was in so many confounding ways. “Then let’s be keepers together. Let’s keep each other, just like this. Forever.”
He canted his head to make sure he’d heard right. Was that what it sounded like? Had she just proposed? Or was that her way of accepting his proposal? He tread lightly. “Do you know what went through my mind when the Black Rose exploded today? When I thought I’d never get to hear your voice again, never taste another kiss, never smell the lavender flowers in your hair?”
She stilled beneath him. “What?” she asked, her voice as soft and timid as a child’s.
He kissed the end of that perfect nose. “I thought how cruel God was, to send me an angel, then let her die while I stood just inches away, too far away to save her. For Him to take her back after letting me have everything I’d ever wanted for only a couple days. To lie to me and tell me I was finally going to be okay, then break my heart like it was all a joke. A divine dirty trick. That I really was alone in the dark.”
“Oh, Jameson…”
He didn’t care that