Sean was absolutely right. But this had stopped being about Thorpe’s ego and started being about his heart. And about Callie’s. Clearly, Sean felt the same or he wouldn’t be here.

“You’re right,” Thorpe said.

“We’ve already been through some really hard times. As long as we stood together, it made us stronger. No reason to think we couldn’t grow with time.”

“I don’t think I know how to love.” That realization made Thorpe feel inadequate—something both deeply unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

“I’m not an expert, either.” Sean shrugged. “I’ve never really tried until Callie. But I think you’ve been loving her for the last four years. Maybe it doesn’t look like a relationship in a movie, but I don’t think it has to. It just has to be honest and make us all happy.”

Thorpe grunted, but he couldn’t look Sean in the eye. “You make love sound easy.”

“Maybe you’re overcomplicating it. Put her first. Be honest. Don’t let fear stop you from getting what you want.”

Sean was right. So simply right that he just stared. He’d been letting fear stop him for far too long.

“I don’t deserve another chance, but I want one,” Thorpe murmured, then finally met the other man’s gaze. “If you’ll give it to me.”

“Can you tell her that you love her? Look her right in the eye and swear she’s the most important woman in the world to you?”

Thorpe closed his eyes and focused on every emotion he’d been trying to dam behind a wall of numbness. He pictured releasing it and just feeling whatever came. And it did. God, it was a massive flood of biblical proportions—a wave bittersweet, poignant, and painful. It robbed his breath. He gasped. Then relief came.

And he was finally able to take a deep breath without agony for the first time in weeks.

He wasn’t going to be the pussy Logan accused him of being any longer. And he refused to allow Nara’s indifference or his father’s contempt to break him. He was going to embrace life and love. He was going to settle down, grow old with Callie, be a good friend and partner to Sean, and enjoy every moment they had together.

“I don’t think I could stop myself,” he admitted.

Sean smiled. “Good. The rest is up to her.”

“Yeah.” He sucked in a breath. “Thank you. You’ve always been the bigger man when it came to Callie. If she’ll have me, I’ll at least meet you halfway from now on. That’s a promise.”

Sean held out his hand. “I’ll hold you to it.”

Thorpe shook it, then brought the man in for a brotherly hug. He still had so many thoughts pouring through his head that he couldn’t process them all, but as Sean slapped his back, he felt certain this was right.

Finally, they backed away, and Thorpe had to work to keep it together. Another stiff breath, a long pause, then he was finally able to carry on. “What’s next?”

“Let me catch you up on a few things. We’ve intentionally kept Callie in the spotlight so the mercenaries who tried to kill her will shy away from finishing the job. We can’t say it on the air, and it’s classified so don’t make me shoot you, but the FBI is running down the identities of those assholes. James Whitney is part of a homegrown separatist group, run by ex-military malcontents, calling themselves LOSS, or the League of Secessionist Soldiers. We’re trying to figure out who’s funding them. The NSA is getting involved. It seems they’ve been working this case from another angle. But Whitney and some of his counterparts have slipped into Mexico. They’ll be caught; it’s just a matter of time. The most important thing now is that Callie no longer appears to be a target.”

“That’s good news. I think we’d be wise to remain cautious.”

“Absolutely,” Sean confirmed. “The bureau has kept me on the case, so I’m up on the latest. I also have some answers to the questions I didn’t have when they first sent me to watch over her. According to my boss, the bureau knew about Aslanov’s genetic research and knew the later findings had disappeared. Eventually, they figured out that Daniel Howe probably had them, but before they could reach him, LOSS did. Though the Chicago PD botched things by labeling her a suspect early on, everyone in the loop here hoped Callie had important information, even if it was something she knew unconsciously. These genetic experiments are still going on, and Uncle Sam isn’t excited about the idea of an army of superior soldiers under the control of people who want to overthrow our government. Hence, all the secrecy. Since Callie had proven ridiculously slippery over the years to bring in, they sent me to her, hoping I could find out what she knew before she ran again. Of course, the bureau wishes Callie would have kept some of the details in her father’s notes to herself, and if my boss had given me more information about my mission, I might have been able to facilitate that, but mission accomplished. Everyone is happy.”

Well, almost. Thorpe nodded. “All the douche bags who’ve chased her over the years, who sent them?”

“The bureau is disavowing knowledge of any bounty hunters, but personally I think they’re full of shit. It might have been the NSA or some other player of Uncle Sam’s who hasn’t shown his cards yet. Who knows? Either way, now that the secret about the research and Daniel Howe’s murder is out, Callie knows nothing else of value to make anyone want to kill her. I’m guessing the assassins were sent by LOSS. We’re still running that down.” Sean shrugged. “There’s not much else on that front.”

“Well, then, we should talk about Callie. I’m making a huge assumption that she’ll actually have me back.” Thorpe held his breath.

If she wouldn’t, he had no one to blame but himself.

“I can’t speak for her, but I can say that she hasn’t been the same without you.”

“During her last interview, she looked . . . I don’t know, sad. Not quite complete.”

Sean nodded. “She was determined not to bother you if you didn’t want her, no matter how much it was hurting her.”

Thorpe grunted his disbelief. “I wish she had ‘bothered’ me. This is probably the only time I’ll ever be tempted to turn her over my knee for following my directions.”

“She’d like that.” Sean grinned.

“I would, too.” After he kissed her, held her tight, told her that he loved her and would never let her go. “This isn’t a fling for me. It’s the rest of my life.”

“It better be.”

“But . . . you know I’m getting old. Callie is still so young.”

“What, are you Old Yeller now? You think I should take you out back and shoot you? Stop. It’s going to work out if you let it. Don’t think about anything except that we love her and she loves us.”

“You’re damn smart, Mackenzie.” Thorpe shook his head wryly.

“I’ll remind you of that next time you think about calling me a dumbass.”

Despite the moment being cloaked with laughter, Thorpe knew that he and Sean had forged a friendship with respect.

“Where is she?” Thorpe asked. “I want to see her.” Desperately. Right now.

“At home. I didn’t want to bring her here or get her hopes up unless I knew that . . .”

“I’d pulled my head out of my ass?”

“Something like that,” Sean admitted. “For now, we’ve rented a quiet little house near Highland Park. She’s there now, probably in bed reading. She likes that.”

“She always has.” Thorpe smiled fondly. Then worry set in. “Where does she think you are?”

“Work. I rushed out the door after I got a few calls.”

“From Axel?”

“The first one came from Logan to ask if I’d come. Axel rang next with details. Luc called to ask what you like to eat. Jack called to ask me a series of questions that told me he’s a scary-smart bastard. You have some interesting friends.”

Thorpe smiled. He did. He’d have to thank them, too. Eating crow would suck, but they’d been right.

Now that he was determined to be with Callie, a vital question stomped across his brain. “I have to know, have you already put a ring on her finger?”

“No. It’s been a whirlwind for weeks, running from one interview to the next, dealing with her estate, moving into a new place. We’re finally home for a few days, so . . .” Sean shrugged.

Which meant that Sean intended to propose.

“What if . . . I married her?” When Sean opened his mouth, Thorpe’s stomach tightened. “Just hear me out.” He paced for a silent moment, then turned back. “You’ve already collared her. That’s sacred. I would never try to impede on that bond. But since you’ve got that claim on her, I have no other way to call her mine.”

Sean said nothing for a very long minute. “Are you thinking of not sharing in her submission?”

The idea was like a stab in the gut. He would take Callie however he got her, but he was a Dominant through and through. Never having her kneel or call him her Sir, not really having the authority to punish or praise her except in the most vanilla ways . . . “I want her submission more than anything.”

“That’s what I suspected. Have you ever thought about claiming her before?”

Sean was so unflinchingly honest and unafraid. Thorpe knew he had to be the same. “A little more than two years ago, before I knew who she really was, I was mad for her. Completely smitten. I bought this.”

He turned away to his bedroom, gesturing for Sean to follow. Inside his closet, he shoved clothes aside to reveal a safe. A few turns of the dial and he was holding a black velvet box. He handed it to Sean. “Open it.”

The lid opened in soft silence. Sean’s eyes fell to the contents and widened. “It’s beautiful. It suits her.”

“That’s why I bought it. I have a jeweler friend, and when I told her I’d been looking for the right something for Callie, she showed this to me. I couldn’t not buy it.” He sighed. “I realized Callie’s identity two weeks later and tried to tell myself it was for the best.”