My entire body jumps from the bed when Birdie gasps next to me. Turning my head, I look over at her. Her eyes are open and her chest is rising and falling rapidly as she attempts to catch her breath and calm herself.
“I saw them,” she whispers.
I don’t say anything immediately, instead, I wait for her to speak first. She presses her lips together, her eyes searching mine. Staying silent, I continue to take her in, waiting for her to explain exactly what she saw.
“They were still back at the brothel, in the room with the floral walls. They said that they were waiting for a letter from Logan before they headed toward us. Apparently, he was supposed to send a missive that would be their signal. Then they are coming here to take over, including Bessie being added as a member of the Assembly and Daisy taking my place, the man she does that with not being of any importance. You, Logan, or some stranger, she doesn’t care as long as she’s the woman in charge.”
Nodding my head, I gather her in my arms and pull her against my side. Lifting my hand, I run my fingers through her soft hair. Her breathing starts out in short shallow pants, then as we continue to just lie with one another, she inhales a deep breath and lets it out on an exhale before she tips her head back to look up at me.
“I’m afraid of what will happen when Logan doesn’t send a letter,” she whispers.
“There is nothing that will happen, darlin’. They have no power and this is their attempt to grasp control, but they will fail. They already have.”
Dipping my chin, I touch my mouth to hers. Rolling over, I place my hips between her thighs and groan at the feel of her warm heat against my hard length. Birdie arches her neck, her legs widening and allowing me even more room to move.
Shifting my hips, I align myself with her center and sink inside to the root. With a growl, I look into her eyes as I begin to move inside of her.
A blue glow starts to surround us. I try to ignore it, but it’s bright and swirls around us as we begin to enjoy one another’s bodies and climb higher and higher toward our release.
“Colt,” she breathes.
I hum, unable to speak as I thrust my hips harder and faster with each pump. I can’t look away from her gaze, her eyes have me completely transfixed.
I don’t know what the future has in store for us, but I do know that as long as we are together, with the gods on our side, we will prevail in all things.
BIRDIE
Standing in front of the window, I look down at the city below as I listen to the man in the bed beside me breathe as he sleeps. Pressing my lips together, I cross my arms over my chest and let out a sigh.
“You are thinking loudly,” Jeremiah rumbles.
Turning my head, I look over to him. He’s sitting up slightly in the bed, his back against the headboard as he watches me.
“Did I wake you? Do you need anything?” I ask, my words coming out in a rush.
Jeremiah shakes his head a couple of times. “No, Birdie. The only thing I need is for you to stop worrying over me. I am healing and I will be okay.”
Nodding my head once, I take a step toward him, sinking down in the chair next to his bedside. “I feel guilty,” I admit.
He hums. “You should not. This is my job. My career. I chose to protect you with my life and I would do it again without hesitation.”
Guilt swims throughout my body, I can’t help it. He almost died protecting me. The other men did too, but Jeremiah was bleeding on the floor. I will never get the image out of my head for as long as I live.
I want him to be well, to live and be prosperous, to fall in love and get married, to make children—to live. It would ease my guilt a bit, because right now it’s at an all-time high.
“Okay,” I whisper.
He shakes his head a couple of times, chuckling when he does. He opens his mouth to say something, but a throat clears at the doorway. Turning my head, I look over my shoulder at Colt who is standing there, his gaze flicking between us.
“You’re not trying to woo my bride, are you?” he asks gruffly.
Jeremiah snorts, then moans at the move. “You know that I’m not. She hovers,” he grumbles. “Her guilt is too much. She has decided she must mother me.”
I open my mouth to protest when Colt lets out a bark of laughter. “We leave for home tomorrow, you’ll be able to make the trip,” Colt announces.
We’ve already had the grand ball with the remaining Assembly members and Colt has had a dozen meetings with them over what is going to happen in the future. It was decided that the Assembly would be completely disbanded and Colt would have toleration powers with the remaining Assembly members as advisors only.
“What happens when we’re home?” I ask.
He shrugs a shoulder. “We live our lives, and deal with Bessie, Daisy, and Florence. Then I attempt to get the railroad plan back on track.”
“Do our positions change?” Jeremiah asks from the bed.
Colt shakes his head. “I rather appreciate you, Markus, Samuel, and Thatcher as Birdie’s guard. I can’t deny that I appreciate the fact that all four of you were willing to sacrifice your lives for her and our child’s safety.”
“Though she can take care of herself,” Jeremiah announces. “She is probably the most powerful woman I have ever encountered.”
Colt snorts. “Indeed, she is,” he murmurs.
The men stare at one another for a long moment and I open my mouth to break the
