"Fine." Nixon's eyes narrowed.

"And... with everything else, Mil and Chase and... all of us, I mean, are you handling things alright? Do you need..."

He lifted his hands into the air, and looked away. "Do you need to talk to someone?"

I smiled, Nixon was all hardaa.s.s, but it was funny how Trace had helped him in ways he probably didn't even realize. She hadn't made him soft, just...

sensitive to things that he normally wouldn't give a s.h.i.t about. "Nah man, I'm actually good. Luca's been helpful."

"Never thought I'd utter those words until this last year." Nixon swore.

"But I get it." He stood. "Alright, get some sleep."

I stood and started making my way to the door then paused and turned.

"Nixon?"

"Yeah?"

"Is she happy?"

"Who?"

"Mil."

Nixon slapped me on the back. "So happy I wear ear plugs at night when we stay next door to them at the hotel."

"Too many details," I grumbled.

Laughing, Nixon shrugged. "Hey, you asked."

"I'm glad."

"Me too." His face darkened.

"Because if Chase didn't latch on to someone or something soon I was going to shoot him in the face and bury his body in the lake."

"You're joking right?"

Nixon gave me a slight push out the door. "I never threaten someone unless I mean to carry it out. Goodnight, Phoenix."

The door shut in my face.

I stared at the wood, taking time for his veiled threat to sink in. He'd kill me if I did as much as stare at Trace wrong and the sad part was, I would want him to.

"So, how'd that go?" Chase said from the kitchen holding open a bag of Cheetos and devouring them like he'd been on a cleanse for the past two months.

"Awesome."

"I hate the office."

Chase shuddered. "Swear he has bodies buried under his chair, one time I asked and he laughed, didn't deny it, that should tell us something right there."

"You talk more than I remember." I eyed the Cheetos and nearly gagged. I hated anything messy. Maybe that was what happens when you die and come back to life, you have these weird quirks you never had before. I used to love junk food, now? I was more of a kale and spinach type of guy and despised anything that was made and not grown.

Yeah, I'd gone bat s.h.i.t crazy. I even hated cake.

"I talk because the sound of my voice makes your sister so d.a.m.n turned on that she can't see straight." He slid a Cheeto between his front teeth and bit down.

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d." I huffed.

"She called me that last night but I think it was all in good fun."

I clenched my fists.

"d.a.m.n." Chase shook his head. "So much control now, I'm not sure whether I should give you a high five or ask you what the h.e.l.l happened."

"I died that's what happened you a.s.s."

"White horse." Chase snapped his fingers. "Where is it?"

I crossed my arms. "Not telling."

"Dude, do you even realize how bad she wants it? I'm the dream guy I should find it."

"Nah." I went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. "I think I'll let you suffer for a bit, if you're really the dream guy you'll find it without my help."

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX.

Lips that taste of tears, they say are the best for kissing-Unknown Mo MY HEART STARTED thumping so fast I half expected Tex to start laughing or crack a joke.

"So we've graduated from one to two?" I said as I breathlessly lay across his chest, my back pressed against his stomach.

"Yeah."

"And then-"

"-I do what I have to do to protect you."

My heart twisted. "You mean you do what the son of a dead Mafia boss does... you do what a guy with a sister to protect does, right Tex?"

He sighed. "Right."

"And that leaves us?"

"With goodbye."

"So this is it then." My voice cracked. "No matter what I say? No matter what I do?"

"Two hours and then you'll never have to worry about hearing my voice on the other end of the phone, Mo."

"What if I want to?" The ceiling fan twirled around in circles ignoring each jab of pain that shot through my chest at Tex's words.

"I won't be calling Mo, not after the two hours, not ever. I won't answer your texts, I won't be available for you.

To do this, we have to separate for good."

My teeth clenched. "I'm tired of the men in my life telling me what's best for me."

"Two hours." He ran his hands up and down my arms. "Take it or leave it, but I strongly suggest you take it."

"Because you're going to blow my mind?"

His warm breath tickled my neck as he leaned up and kissed below my ear.

"Yeah, something like that."

"Two hours," I repeated and crawled off his battered body and made my way towards the door. When I flipped the lock I knew there was no going back. I would love him as much as my heart was able to love.

And I would give him my heart for safekeeping knowing I would never be able to find someone who loved me as deep and as wide as Tex did. This was it.

Most people don't get moments like the one he was offering me, usually people don't realize they had a moment until it's already gone then they're left to live off the memories.

I had both.

He was giving me both.

Two hours.

I turned just as Tex leaned up on his elbows, his stormy blue eyes beckoning me like a laser beam. Maybe if he wasn't so broken, I wouldn't be so attracted. I'd always been a sucker for wounded animals... so it made sense I'd fall for a guy like Tex, one who never fit in, one who never saw the sheer beauty of the man that he was.

It's why our love made sense.

I was the girl everyone protected from the ugly.

And he was the ugly.

Beauty and the Beast.

"One thing," Tex whispered.

I took a step towards him and paused. "What?"

He closed his eyes briefly before opening them and saying in such a clear voice I swear the universe shook around me. "I love you more than life."

"I-"

"Say it in two hours, use those words as your goodbye, Mo, they'll mean more to both of us."

Nodding, I took the next three steps to the bed and stared-drank him in as his eyes greedily scanned my body.

"Mo?"

"Yeah?"

"Let me love you."

My hands shook as I reached out for him. He tugged me back onto the bed, our mouths met in an explosion of emotion. Tex gripped my hair and pulled it free from its rubber band, digging his hands into its depths only to pull again as he tilted my head back and slid his tongue down my neck.

"Open for me," he whispered as his mouth made its way back to mine, his tongue met mine, tasting like whiskey and warmth. He spent at least ten minutes kissing every corner of my face, memorizing it... saying goodbye, and with each kiss my heart both soared and shattered.

This was my last moment with a man I should have had forever with.

My hands dug into his back as I straddled his lap. With a growl Tex threw the remaining towel across the room and unhooked my bra.

"I could worship you like this." His tongue flicked my collarbone as his mouth descended. "I could die like this."

"I will die if you stop."

"Two hours, Mo." Tex chuckled warmly against my chest. "Patience."

"Or we could just set a record?

Yeah let's do that." I wiggled in his lap.

"Stop." He braced my hips, exhaling a hiss before his eyes darkened.

"You never did take instruction well."

"I play by my own rules and all that." I winked.

"d.a.m.n, you're perfect."

I gasped when he lifted me slightly off his lap, the air hitting my stomach briefly before he slid off my remaining underwear. I expected him to lose control, I expected him to do what Tex always did-pleasure me until I cried with need and then take his own.

But this wasn't like other times.

It wasn't like anything I've ever experienced.

His callused hands moved across my hip bone, his eyes trained on my skin.