Defiant Heart (Starlight Cove Book 1)
Defiant Heart: Chapter 22

WHILE MY DAD discussed details with Harper and my mom gushed about my homemade creams with a number of the ladies she’d commandeered, I stared at the papers Harper had handed to me, my mouth still hanging open in shock. I’d read the words half a dozen times just to make sure I’d understood them correctly. But yep. No misunderstanding them.

Endangered Species Act.

These papers were this piece of land’s golden ticket. Its get out of jail free card. In Harper’s research for the maybe-article, she’d stumbled across an environmental impact study that showed not one but two endangered species living on this land, which meant it was officially protected. No matter what, Holton Group would never be able to move forward with the build here, and I was hoping, after my speech, the town would push back on any future development possibilities.

The irony of it all was that if that stack of papers had been brought to light earlier, I never would’ve had to chain myself to that tree, Brady never would’ve had to take me to the station—twice…for this particular infraction—we never would’ve struck a deal, and he and I never would’ve…

Well, we never would’ve been.

My throat went tight at the thought, the heavy ache of tears stinging my eyes. I hated how we’d left things. Hated even more that I didn’t know where he was, where we stood, and that he, apparently, thought I’d had something to do with my parents’ arrival and this whole impromptu protest. As if I’d sabotage the resort in that way.

I didn’t know what hurt worse—that I’d become less when he’d asked me to, or that I’d done it for a man who believed I’d betray his trust.

Before I could do anything ridiculous like break down sobbing right there in front of half the town, Mabel strolled up, gripped my elbow, and turned me to face her.

“That was an excellent speech, Luna,” she said with a grin. “Very moving. Really powerful.”

“Thank you.” I swallowed down my tears and offered a small smile, fake as it was. “I was flying by the seat of my pants.”

“You were doing what you do best.” She winked. “I caught it on video. You mind if I post that a couple places? There’s a new app I wanna try. Tock ticks or Ticking Clocks or…some such nonsense?”

I breathed out a laugh. “TikTok, and go for it. I’m not too worried about twenty people seeing it.”

She exhaled a relieved sigh, her shoulders relaxing. “Well, honey, I’m glad you said that, ’cause I already posted it. I was just playing the part about not knowing what the app was called—I’ve been on there for a year. I got sucked into SpicyTok. Some of those books—whew.” She fanned her face and waggled her brows. “Really spiced up things in the bedroom, if you know what I mean. Anyway, there’s a lot more than twelve people who’ve seen your video.”

“What?”

“Oh, you know, just different role-playing games, some light bondage, and—”

“Mabel, no.” I held up my hand to stop her. My God, she was as bad as my mother. “What do you mean about the video?”

“Oh, right.” She turned her phone toward me, showing me the app pulled up on her screen. It was an account titled StarlightCoveMischief with only one video posted—of me—and it currently had… Wait. That couldn’t be right.

My mouth dropped as I stared at her in shock. “Does this say a hundred and thirteen thousand views?”

“You’re damn right it does.” She shot me a smirk. “Sure beats the handful of people who usually watch my Lives, doesn’t it?”

“Holy shit,” I breathed, shaking my head. “What does this mean?”

“It means the resort’s already getting calls for reservations. Addison’s back there, scrambling to take all the forwarded calls. Bookings have gone through the roof.” Mabel pursed her lips and tapped a finger against them. “Maybe for the next video, I’ll post that one I took of Brady. Where he told his family they could all jump off a cliff for all he cared, as long as he got you.”

“He what?”

“Jesus Christ, Mabel,” a gruff voice I loved said from behind me. And then suddenly, Brady was there. Standing right next to me, his harsh gaze on the older woman. “You don’t work for a tabloid. Quit making shit up.”

“You didn’t say that, Sheriff?” Mabel asked. “Because I heard, and I quote, ‘I know you don’t agree with Luna, but she’s right. Even if she weren’t, I’d choose her.’ Now, are you trying to tell me I need a hearing aid?”

He didn’t even hesitate before he said, “That quote you got right.”

My mouth dropped open as I stared at him in shock. “You…wait. You told your family that you choose me? What does that mean?”

He turned to me, his eyes boring into mine. “It means I choose you.”

“I— But you—” I shook my head, my thoughts as much of a jumble as my words. “What?”

“Can we…” He glanced pointedly at Mabel, then me, before tipping his head to the side.

“Oh, pfft,” Mabel said, waving a hand through the air. “You’re no fun. I’m gonna see if I can talk Ford into that shirtless interview.”

With that, Mabel trotted off while Brady tugged me to the side, tucking us into a cluster of trees away from prying eyes and ears. He ran a hand through his hair, his gaze sweeping over me as if he was reminding himself of my features. As if he hadn’t just been inside me an hour before.

“Was that true?” I asked. “What Mabel said.”

“The cliff? No. Choosing you? Yes. Always.”

I breathed out a humorless laugh and shook my head, unable to believe he’d done that. The man who loved his family above everything else. Who’d chosen them day after day, week after week, year after year, since his mom had died, even above himself. And now, he’d told them he was choosing me…

“That was very sweet, but I’m afraid this is going to be a real kick in the nuts for you.” I handed him the papers and watched as he read, his brows inching higher the farther along he got.

When he was finished, he met my gaze. “Okay. What do these mean?”

“It means, all of this?” I swung an arm out to encompass all the commotion around us. “Is a moot point. All my protesting? Completely unnecessary. Redundant, superfluous… Useless. It means you did all that—told your family off and took my side—for nothing.”

He stared at me with hard eyes, his jaw clenching as he tossed the papers down on the ground. Then he reached up and cupped my face, brushing his thumbs across my cheeks. “I did it for everything. Don’t tell me otherwise. I don’t care about those papers—I mean, yes, it’s great that we have them so we can put an end to this without you chaining yourself to a tree every day and me having to arrest you on trespassing charges courtesy of Holton Group—but I’m not sorry I told my family what I did. I meant every single word.”

I gripped his forearms as he stared at me, his voice firm and unyielding. This man was so closed off, so isolated, even being the head of his family. Those five pieces of his heart were everything to him, and he’d taken a stand, supported me and my beliefs over them, even when I’d thought he’d abandoned me. I hated that it’d come to that. I didn’t ever want to come between them. But I couldn’t deny the tiny part inside that grew brighter with his support.

I also couldn’t deny that a part of me still ached over what had happened that morning. What he’d asked me to do all those weeks ago. He’d wanted me agreeable, to follow his guidelines. Which I’d done. And then he’d just tossed me aside when things got tough. When a tiny bit of color bled into his black-and-white world. And I didn’t want to go through that ever again.

I’d rather go through life with no one than with someone who didn’t want the whole me.

“Don’t cry, pretty girl.” He bent down, kissing away the two tears trailing down my cheeks. “Why’re you crying?”

“You hurt me.”

He made a gruff sound in his throat, his eyes pained as he stared down at me. “I know I did. I’m—”

“Wait. Please. First, I need you to know I didn’t ask my parents to come here. I didn’t even know they were planning on it. I can’t control what they do—my mom’s whims are worse than mine, and my dad only encourages her. And I would’ve told you that if you’d given me ten seconds of your time this morning before flying off in anger and assuming the worst.”

He closed his eyes, rested his forehead against mine, and breathed in deeply. “I know. I fucked up. I was scared and worried about my family, and I didn’t stop to think. But I promise, I won’t ever do that to you again. I won’t ever doubt you.”

“You may not doubt me, but will you try to stifle me?”

“What? I don’t—”

“The entire basis of our relationship is you trying to shave off the parts of me that didn’t allow me to fit into your little box. I don’t want that. I love me, Brady. I love every part of me, even the ones that aren’t perfect. And I can’t be me only when it’s convenient for you. You either get all of me or none of me.”

“I want all of you,” he said without hesitation, his voice firm and unyielding.

I reached up and gripped his forearms, my gaze locked with his. “Even the parts that drive you crazy?”

“All of you. Especially the parts that drive me crazy. They’re the reason I fell in love with you in the first place. I don’t want a watered-down version of you. And if I ever try it again, you can tell me to fuck off and replace less. I want every bit of you, Luna. Every infuriating, troublemaking, impulsive, unpredictable, out-of-the-box part of you.”

My eyes filled until the tears finally spilled over, running down my cheeks as Brady attempted to catch them with his thumbs.

He groaned softly. “Well, I’ve never told a woman I loved her before, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t the desired outcome. I should’ve gotten Beck’s advice on a grand gesture.”

I breathed out a laugh, more tears flowing, and shook my head. “No, this is good. This is perfect. This is you.”

“So, I’m not an ass anymore?”

“No, you’re still an ass. But don’t worry—I love every frustrating, rule-following, demanding, assy part of you.”

His lips twitched, and then a smile spread slowly across his mouth until he was beaming down at me, and sweet fancy Moses riding a bicycle, the sight nearly knocked me on my ass. Probably would’ve, too, if Brady hadn’t tugged my face to his and kissed me.

He held me close, tasting my lips and tongue, and every time our mouths separated for the briefest of moments, he whispered, “Love you,” and I melted into him a little more.

A FEW DAYS LATER, before my parents headed back to Maryland, we had them over for dinner at Brady’s house. It was…an experience. Mom spent the entire time sending me not so subtle winks and thumbs up whenever Brady so much as glanced in my direction. She nearly fainted at the table when he pulled my chair out for me, placed a hand on my back, or refilled my wineglass.

Dad and Brady hit it off better than I thought they would, except when Dad got distracted with an email and slipped into work mode while I’d been talking to him. The scowl Brady had sent his way had been potent enough to peel paint. Dad had been oblivious, but I sure as hell hadn’t been.

He was always trying to protect me, always looking out for me, even in something as simple as that.

I’d been worried after he’d told me everything at the impromptu protest. Concerned he’d go back on his word or decide that he couldn’t handle all of me when it came down to it. But he’d proven every word he said to be true. And I didn’t hold back.

He didn’t blink when I smoke cleansed him after a particularly rough day dealing with multiple domestic dispute calls. He didn’t bat an eye when I promised Mabel and her cronies I would be happy to teach them how to pole dance, if only they found me a studio that had a stripper pole to use. And he’d agreed immediately when I said my parents wanted to have dinner and had only greeted my mother’s eccentricities with acceptance.

It was then, after she’d talked about his aura for fifteen minutes straight, that it really sank in. If he could accept my mother at her absolute brightest, not a lumen of her dimmed, then he’d do the same for me.

I glanced up from where I stood at the bathroom vanity, brushing my teeth, to see Brady in the mirror. He leaned one shoulder against the doorjamb, his arms crossed over his bare chest and his eyes on me.

I raised my brows, bending over to spit out the toothpaste before giving my mouth a quick rinse. Standing back up, I turned around to face him. “Am I in trouble, Sheriff?”

“Yes, you are.” He pushed off the jamb and took the two steps to me, gripping my hips and setting me on the counter. He slid his hands along the outsides of my thighs, running them up and down along my bare skin. “I just realized I never got my massage or my other yoga class. And since your mom was talking about you going home next week, I figured we better get on that.”

“Oh, you just realized, did you?” I bit my lip in an attempt to stop my smile from spreading, but it was no use. Seeing it only made him scowl harder, which, in turn, only made me burst out laughing, though that obviously didn’t help the situation.

“I don’t know what the hell is so funny,” he grumbled, hands frozen on my hips.

“I’m sorry,” I said through giggles. “I shouldn’t laugh. But you really thought you were being smooth, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“No?” I tipped my head to the side as I stared up at him. “So that wasn’t you digging for information in a roundabout way rather than just asking me outright if I’m planning on staying?”

His only answer was a tick of his jaw. “So what if it was?”

I rolled my lips in, trying in vain to hide my smile, but it eventually burst free. “I don’t plan anything.”

“I’m aware,” he said with frustration, but his words were laced with nothing but love.

“You know what that means?” I asked, wrapping my arms around his neck and sliding my fingers into his hair.

“What?”

“It means I’m not planning on leaving anytime soon.”

He stared down at me, brow furrowed. “I’d prefer ever.”

“Don’t get greedy. Or bossy. You know I don’t like that.”

He leaned down, not stopping until our noses brushed. “What I know is you soak my cock when I get bossy with you, so forgive me if I don’t believe you.”

I gasped. “Rude. And untrue.”

Now it was time for him to smile, and it swept over his mouth slow as molasses, the sight of it warming my insides. Then he slid me off the counter and gripped my ass as he walked us into the bedroom. He tossed me on my side of the bed—yes, I had a side, though I spent my nights wrapped around him like a koala—and braced his hands on either side of my head.

“If you needed me to fuck the lies out of you, lawbreaker, you could’ve just asked. Now, strip.”

I could’ve pushed back, continued on with my little facade—that we both knew wasn’t true—or I could strip and have some fun. So, I did what any woman in my shoes would’ve done when faced with a shirtless Brady, ready to kill her with orgasms. I yanked off my shirt, tossed it aside, and then hooked my leg around his hip, dragging him into me.

“Oh no, Sheriff. What an awful punishment. Next thing I know, you’ll be pulling out the cuffs and spanking me.”

Brady’s answering grin was the last thing I saw before he kissed me. And then he kept kissing me…everywhere, all night long.