Roark grinned. “Come here.”
I went to them, to my boys, and felt like a kid at Christmas as Roark shifted Noah to the side and made room for me on his lap. I crawled onto him, leaned my head on his chest and listened to his heart beating.
Roark settled Noah half on my lap, half on his chest, his strong arms keeping us both safe and warm.
“I love you, Roark.” The words burst from me and I couldn’t hold them back. This moment was the best of my entire life. And all of it was due to the man who held me, my matched mate. I’d have to thank Warden Egara when I saw her again.
“You are my heart and soul, Natalie. You and our son. A few days ago, I was a tortured, lost man. You are a miracle. You made me whole again.”
Noah finished the bottle in record time, burping like a world-class champion before settling against us and drifting back to sleep. Normally, he wanted both bottles, a few minutes of play, and then, after a couple hours, would finally settle back down for another two or three hours of sleep.
But Roark sang to him, a strange, haunting melody I’d never heard before. The words of the song were about stardust and moonlight, singing birds and sleep. I assumed it was a Trion lullaby, one I would learn.
“When are we going home?” I asked.
Roark stilled and I heard his breath catch. “You are ready to return to Trion?”
Smiling, I lifted my hand to touch Noah’s soft cheek as he slept. “Of course. You can’t stay here. Don’t you run a whole continent or something? Your people need you.”
“Your home is beautiful, Natalie. I wasn’t sure…”
It was my turn to stiffen. “Sure about what? You don’t want us to come home with you?”
“Without question.” When I did not respond, Roark continued. “Look at me.”
Predawn light filtered into the room. It was still dark, in a shadowy gray, but I could see him well enough to know his eyes had gone dark with an emotion I could not name.
“I will not leave Earth without you, mate. You are mine. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” I knew I belonged to him. My body, sore in all the right places, knew it, too.
“But we can take some time, if you prefer. I calculated the time difference as you slept. We can spend weeks here, if that would make you happy and it will only be a day or less on Trion. I left Seton in charge. He is a good and capable leader. We do not need to rush, mate. I want you to be happy, to be ready.”
“I’m ready now.” Looking around the room, I knew I spoke the truth. Nothing in this house mattered to me. My home was in Roark’s arms. I lifted my hand to his cheek and made sure my heart was in my eyes. “I go where you go, Roark. You are my home now.”
With a soft groan, he lowered his head to kiss me, our son jostled between us just enough to fidget and squirm. We both ignored him, the gentle heat of the kiss too heady, too intoxicating to hurry.
The door handle rattled and I leaned back, ending the kiss, expecting Miranda to enter the room to check on Noah.
But the man who stood in the entry was dressed head to toe in black, and the weapon in his hand was pointed at the crib, where Noah’s sweet body would have been if Roark were not here, holding us.
Before I could react, Roark rose from the chair like a monster in the dark. He turned his back to the intruder, spinning Noah and I away from the door. I stumbled, then instinctively grabbed Noah from him.
I heard gunfire with a silencer, like I’d heard a hundred times in an action movie, but it was louder than I expected and Roark jerked in pain as he was shot in the back.
I wrapped my body around Noah and kept my back to the door as Roark released us both with a bellow of rage. He spun around and rushed the door.
Two more gunshots. One must have hit Roark, for I heard him grunt in pain. The other went wide, a burst of sound to my right as the wall above Noah’s crib disintegrated where the bullet hit.
I dropped to my knees and scrambled for the open door to my bedroom. I had a handgun in my bedside drawer, right next to the small dagger Roark had given me, the gold blade that saved my life. Since the attack on Trion, knowing I had weapons nearby was the only way I could sleep at night, alone.
Noah woke and began to cry. Roark bellowed in rage and I heard his huge body crash into the attacker. The sounds of fists and snarls urged me on.
The crib in Noah’s room collapsed with a loud snapping sound.
Out of sight, I rose to my feet and ran. When I reached the other side of the bed, I placed my screaming son on the floor and pulled open the drawer. The gun was there, as was the blade. I grabbed both and ran back to the open door just as Roark threw the intruder out into the hallway.
I raised the gun, my hands shaking, but couldn’t get a clear shot around Roark’s huge frame.