Exposure (37 page)

She nodded frantically and winced.
Recognition dawned in her eyes. "Soreno--"

"Is dead," he assured. "He can't hurt you
anymore. Take a deep breath, baby. Calm down."

She did as he instructed and winced again,
but her monitors ceased the frenzy. "He took me from the storage
room."

"That's right." He didn't want her upset
again and didn't want her reliving this now, so he changed the
subject. "Hoan's show sold out."

A waning smile tilted the corners of her
mouth and she drifted back to sleep.

The nurse huffed and stormed out, only to
come back moments later with a doctor. Not the same one who'd given
Noah the update last night. This one was a younger woman in her
thirties with blonde hair tied back in a tight bun.

"I heard she woke up." The doctor leaned
over and lifted Raven's eyelids to shine a light in each one.

Raven grimaced and swatted her hand
away.

Good girl
. "Yes. She was lucid."

The doctor straightened. "That's excellent.
Her vitals look great, too. If she keeps this up, we can move her
out of ICU." She set a hand on Raven's shoulder. "Raven, can you
open your eyes for me?"

Her lashes fluttered and lifted.

After a series of questions, to which Raven
responded, the doctor left.

"How are you feeling, baby?"

She seemed to take stock. "A little sore,
but I'm okay." She rubbed her eyes and drew her hand back to stare
unblinking at the ring. Not one muscle so much as twitched.

"I love you."

Her gaze darted to his and softened. "I love
you, too." Her lower lip trembled and her eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't think I'd get a chance to tell you."

Scooting closer, he took her hand and kissed
her knuckles over the ring. "You're safe." He swiped her tears with
his thumb. "Scared me half to death." He looked in her eyes, heart
pounding. He wanted to pull her into his arms and squeeze, but they
had time for that, after she healed. "I wouldn't mind hearing it
again, though."

"I love you, Noah." She didn't hesitate, not
even a second.

The band around his heart loosened and he
had to clear his throat twice before responding. "Then marry
me."

***

R
aven closed her
eyes and lifted her face to the sun, basking in the glow of summer
that was too short-lived for Alaska. Brine and cut grass blended
with the lingering scent of rain to remind her how much life was
around her. Letting the warmth consume her, she tugged Aubrey
closer to her side and fought the small wave of insecurity that
sometimes still rose.

It had been four months since she'd almost
died, but she'd come a long way. The nightmares from her kidnapping
had become infrequent. Noah was always there when she woke with a
soothing voice or his solid arms enveloping her to quash the fear.
Fear didn't belong in happily ever after, and today was an ever
after day.

The ceremony had been short, with her and
Noah reciting their own vows. Only about twenty people had been
invited, and they were currently lingering on the other side of the
island. It had turned out to be such a great day, but it wasn't
about the wedding. Not to her. No, it was about all the wonderful
things that would come afterward.

"I love the house." Aubrey rested her head
on Raven's shoulder.

She opened her eyes and looked at the modern
two-story log cabin before them. Stone and wood and windows, with a
wraparound porch and balcony off the master bedroom. Not enormous
by any standard, but it was spacious with a wide open floor plan.
It was pretty perfect. Noah had been determined to have the house
on their island finished by today. It had actually been completed
last week, but they wouldn't move in until tonight. As a
family.

Along with their new home, a modest one
bedroom cabin for her mother was just down the path and within a
two-minute walking distance to the Brisbins' caretaker cabin. They
still needed to use a boat to get on and off the island, but the
bridge would be finished by winter.

"I love it, too." She kissed Aubrey's temple
and spoke against her hair. "I love you more, though, niece of
mine."

Aubrey's arms banded around Raven's waist.
In the distance, over the hum of music and the chatter of guests,
the click of a camera sounded.

Raven shook her head and smiled. "Your
uncle's up to it again. I swore I took the camera away from him
today." She wouldn't mind a minute alone with him, so she gazed
down at Aubrey. "Why don't you head back and eat another piece of
cake?"

"Don't have to ask me twice."

The girl ran off, blonde curls bouncing, and
Raven swallowed hard at the sudden emotion in her throat.
Everything was so wonderful, so happy, she didn't know what to do
with it all. Even Hoan had cut back on traveling, and Noah selling
Gallivanting Adventures to spend more time at home had bonded them
as a family even more.

Noah stepped beside her, bringing his scent
of cinnamon, and kissed her neck. He looked so sexy in a tux her
knees almost gave out.

"I think I like you in white more than I do
in red." His heated gaze slid down the length of her simple
satin-slip wedding dress. He wrapped an arm around her waist and
tugged her to his hard chest, making her girly parts zing. "Though
I like you in nothing best of all."

She brushed away a few strands of his blond
hair that had blown over his forehead and cupped his jaw. Delight
and adoration lit his blue eyes, more cerulean in the sunlight than
glacier. Never knowing love could be like this, her chest swelled
for the hundredth time today. "I promise to wear nothing all night
long but, for now, we have guests."

His eyes narrowed. "Not soon enough."

She eyed the camera in his free hand. "I
thought we agreed you wouldn't take pictures today. What's the
point in hiring a photographer if you're going to sneak your camera
anyway?" Even as she chided, her grin remained. God, did she love
him. So much.

He didn't even try to look guilty. "Nobody
captures my baby like I do. Besides, you'll only wear this dress
once."

"True." She rose on her toes to kiss
him.

He dropped his forehead to hers. "So tell
me, bride, why are you over here all by yourself?"

She'd needed a minute to herself, to take
everything in, but didn't want to tell him that because he'd worry.
Besides, it wasn't as if anything was wrong. Just the opposite.
"Well, husband, I was looking at our amazing new house and found
two things wrong with it."

His brows knit and he turned to glance over
his shoulder. "What?" He looked back at her. "Tell me."

"First, I'm afraid not all the rooms have
been…christened."

A slow grin spread over his face and her
heart tripped. His hands slid from her lower back to her ass.
"That's a problem we'll have fixed by morning. Next?"

She bit her lip and held his gaze, even as
nerves pinged in her belly. "The extra bedroom next to Aubrey's is
going to need renovation." She paused. "To accommodate a crib." At
the widening of his eyes, she carried on. "A rocking chair, too,
for late night feedings and snuggling."

The look on his face…Oh, mercy. His
expression was priceless and erased any fleeting doubt. A small
wrinkle formed between his brows as his breath hitched. His lips
parted in awe, his eyes tender as they searched hers. Like she'd
just handed him the moon.

He shook his head as if to clear it. "Are
you…" He cleared his throat. "Ah, God, baby. Really? You're
pregnant?"

She nodded. Between the hospital stay and
recovery afterward, it seemed she'd forgotten to take her birth
control. And once her body had healed, she and Noah had made up for
lost time. Hourly.

A strangled sound escaped him and he cupped
her nape to draw her into his kiss. Soft and giving, his mouth
slanted over hers. Mutual regret and pain were forgotten when he
deepened the kiss, telling her, like he'd always tried to do, that
she mattered, that he couldn't go on without her. She sent her
sentiments right back, because she wasn't going anywhere. Not
without him.

The past would always be there, haunting and
tragic in parts, but they'd worked too hard to move beyond it to
let it swallow them again.

Sweet, and not a little desperate, he broke
away and dropped to his knees. Clutching her waist, he pressed a
kiss to her belly and rested his forehead there. "Ah, baby. It
doesn't…" When he looked up, his eyes were wet. "It doesn't seem
real."

For a man who'd had his whole family wiped
away, all but a little girl he gave up everything to protect, the
thought of building a new family, of having that within reach,
would be surreal. She'd spend her life showing him it wasn't a
dream.

A warm, humid breeze skated across her skin.
Dandelion seeds floated in the air, reminding her of that long ago
journal entry.

I remain someone of little consequence, as
if nothing more than dandelion fluff caught on a breeze.

Thanks to Noah, she wasn't that person
anymore. She'd gone from being a no one to being someone's
everything.

"I love you." She cupped the back of his
head and wove her fingers through his hair.

"I'll never tire of hearing that. I love
you." He dropped his forehead to her belly again, his hand just
below with his fingers splayed. "And you, too," he whispered.

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Check out these other great romances by
Kelly Moran!

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All of
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Phantoms
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Single Titles

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About the Author:

Kelly Moran is a best-selling &
award-winning romance author of enchanting ever-afters. She won the
2013 Catherine Award, is a Readers' Choice Finalist, and a 2014
Award of Excellence Finalist through RWA, plus she earned one of
the 10 Best Reads by USA TODAY's HEA. Kelly's been known to say she
gets her ideas from everyone and everything around her and there's
always a book playing out in her head. No one who knows her bats an
eyelash when she talks to herself. Her interests include: sappy
movies, MLB, NFL, driving others insane, and sleeping when she can.
She is a closet caffeine junkie and chocoholic, but don't tell
anyone. She resides in Wisconsin with her husband, three sons, and
her black lab. Most of her family lives in the Carolinas, so she
spends a lot of time there as well. She loves connecting with her
readers.

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