“That got your attention,” he grumbles, then he squeezes my hands harder. “If you let me talk, you would let me say that you fuckin’ changed me. I have never loved anyone in my life, but you, fuck…you changed that. I’m not goin’ to get all sappy on you, ‘coz we both know I don’t do that shit, but I will tell you this, you’re the fuckin’ meaning of breathing for me. You’re the reason I get out of bed each day and fuck, if that’s love, I am gonna hang onto it and never let it go. So, will you marry me?”

I am crying now, but I laugh through my tears. “If you let me talk,” I rasp. “You would have let me tell you that I love you too, you stupid, stubborn-ass biker!”

He stares at me, then he roars with laughter and pulls me into his arms.

“Fuck, sugar, here you go makin’ me the happiest man alive.”

“I won’t tell anyone you said that,” I choke between tears.

He chuckles again, and pulls back. He reaches into his jeans pocket, and pulls out a ring, no box, just a ring. Who needs a box anyway; real beauty should never be covered. Cade grips my hand, sliding it onto my finger. Perfect fit. I meet his gaze, and for a long moment, we just lock eyes. Happy. Content. That’s what we are right now. He picked up my pieces and put me back together, even when I thought no glue would hold. Turns out Cade was my glue, and in a sense, I think I am his.

“Well, sugar,” he murmurs. “You sure made it difficult to save you, but you know, I got there in the end.”

I smile, and nestle in closer to him. “You know why? I didn’t want to be saved before, but with you, that all changed. For once, I wanted to see what was on the other side.”

“And was it worth steppin’ over the line?”

I pull back, grip his face, press my lips down over his and kiss deeply. He responds, kissing me with everything he has. When he pulls back, I tangle both my hands into his hair and say, “Oh, hell yeah!” And I mean it, with every part that is me.

I mean it because the battle with Cade has changed my world.

I mean it because fighting to find love was so much more rewarding than fighting to survive.

I mean it because my whole world was in tatters, but little by little, Cade has helped me put it back together again.

Finally, I believed that I was good enough to be saved.

And who knew he would be the one to save me.

That’s life for you – you never know which way it’s going to go – you just have to trust it.

THE END