Til Debt Do Us Part (Married At Midnight #4)

Chapter 27

Twenty-Seven

Dare

T he yacht's engines rumble beneath my feet as we glide across the dark waters. Dare sits opposite me, his shoulders hunched, eyes downcast. The tension between us fills the cabin like a dense fog.

I've made him bring me here for a purpose. I want to clear the air for a final time rather than spend the rest of my life bickering with Dare. And I figure that here, he's less likely to throw up so many walls that I will have to climb over.

Now that we are both here though, I find my pretty, elegant thoughts have all run away. Dare is staring at the floor like he's lost in thought.

I find myself studying him. His features are sharp and chiseled, as if they were carved from stone. His eyes are an unnervingly electric blue, and I can see the pain and regret etched in them. He's perfect, and yet so flawed.

Then again, aren't we all?

I clear my throat. "Dare, we need to talk. Really talk this time. No more sniping. We're going to have a baby soon and we need to figure out how to love each other and have each other's backs before she gets here. I won't raise my baby around conflict and shouting."

His eyes flick up to meet mine briefly before dropping again. He nods, the movement barely perceptible.

"Agreed."

My heart aches at the distance between us. I reach across the polished wood table, grasping for his hand. His fingers remain limp in mine. I swallow against the lump in my throat.

"Please, look at me," I whisper.

Finally he raises his head. The pain in his eyes pierces my soul. I grip his hand tighter.

"You and this baby are everything to me." My voice cracks. "I need to know what the real issue is. We've both got to get every single piece of baggage out on the table. We need to unzip those bandages and let the wounds breathe while we are on this boat. If we don't face the future together, it will eat us alive."

Dare searches my face.

"I have spent so many sleepless nights worrying that you are just with me for my money and prestige."

My mouth opens in surprise. "What?"

"I've been saying that for a while now."

I blink. "I didn't know you were serious about it."

It's like a dam breaks loose in Dare's heart and the deluge that floods out is the most toxic, damaging stuff that he's been keeping inside for too long.

Dare's words wash over me like a wave of cold water. He's been holding this in for so long, and it's breaking my heart to see the pain etched on his face. I reach out for him, cradling his face in my hands. His cheeks are wet with tears.

"Oh, Dare," I whisper, my voice shaking with emotion. "You don't have to worry about any of that with me. You know that you can trust me."

He looks away, struggling to find the words he needs to say.

“It feels like I'm dragged back to my younger days. Days when I dated women who weren't really interested in me. Women who were only interested in my last name and getting a ring on their finger that would make them a Morgan.”

“Oh, honey.” I kiss his knuckles. “It’s not like that between us. You know that.”

“It’s just… I've worked hard to build a life for myself. Yet you know that you could take it all away from me if we ever divorced. It makes me wonder what your motives are. And if the life I've given you tempted you into marriage, or if you truly love me. I don’t think I will be able to recover if you leave me,” he finishes softly.

Understanding dawns. I understand now why Dare has erected those walls between us. The fear of being hurt again was too much for him to bear. No wonder he was so scared of getting close to me in the first place.

"You don't have to worry about that," I tell him gently, wiping away the tears from his eyes. "I love you for you. Money doesn't factor into it at all."

After an endless moment, Dare squeezes my hand. "I want to believe that," he says, his voice rough. "But how can I trust it's really true?"

I blink back tears. "Because I love you. Only you. Not your money or your name. Just you."

The words hang between us as the boat motors onward through the night.

Dare's eyes glisten as he takes a shaky breath. "I've spent my whole life feeling used. Like people only wanted me for what I could give them. My grandfather, my father..." He trails off, looking into the distance.

My heart breaks for the lost little boy inside this powerful man. I wait silently for him to continue.

"Even Daisy," he says after a moment. "Our relationship was never real. Just for show, because it benefited us both. But I thought it was real at the time. The way it ended wrecked me."

He refocuses on me, doubt clouding his face. "So how can I believe you're any different?"

I squeeze his hand fiercely. "Because I walked away from you once. I was ready to raise this baby on my own rather than be bought. Does that sound like a gold digger to you?"

Dare blinks as my words hit home. I press on.

"I came back because I love you. Because we're a family now, the three of us." I place my free hand on my belly. "I don't need your money, Dare. I just need your heart."

Tears spill down Dare's cheeks. In a rush he pulls me into his arms. I cling to him as the boat rocks gently beneath us.

"I'm so sorry I ever doubted you," he murmurs into my hair.

"Shhh. It's okay." I stroke his back, soothing away the pain. "No more doubts. No more fear. Just us."

Dare pulls back to look at me, his eyes searching mine.

"I meant what I said before," he says. "About using my wealth to lure you into marriage. That wasn't right of me."

I nod slowly. "I know your intentions were good. You wanted to provide for our child."

"Yes, but..." He trails off, conflicted. "I manipulated you with money and power. Just like my family has always done."

I cup his cheek. "The past is the past. All that matters now is that we love each other."

Dare shakes his head. "How can you be so forgiving after everything I've done?"

"Because you're a good man, Dare," I reply firmly. "You've made mistakes, but so have I. That's life."

I take his hand and press it to my belly. "This baby will learn from our example. We have to be better. For them."

Dare pulls back to look at me, his expression turning serious again. "There's one more thing we need to discuss."

I nod, steeling myself for whatever is coming next. "Okay. What is it?"

He takes a deep breath. "I know you were just joking before, but your comment about taking me for everything in a divorce...it really hurt. It made me feel like you only see me as a bank account."

My heart sinks. I never meant to make him feel that way.

"Dare, I'm so sorry," I say earnestly. "I was trying to be funny but clearly missed the mark. I don't care about your money or your family's prestige. None of that matters to me."

He starts to say something in reply, but I hold up a finger.

"One second."

I go into the cabin and return with a blank piece of paper. "We’re going to write a postnuptial agreement stating that I forfeit any claim to your assets or inheritance. You and I can sign it right now. I can get it notarized as soon as we get off this ship."

Dare examines the paper, surprise registering on his face. He seems to come to a conclusion after a moment and he sets it aside.

"Keep it," he says. "I don't need it. You've already proven your sincerity a hundred times over. I think I just needed to be reassured and reminded that we're in this together, for better or for worse."

“Are you sure? You’re about to become a dad. You’re going to be sleep deprived and stressed out. I’m going to be a hormonal zombie who is recovering from pushing a whole baby out of her body. I just… I don’t mean to be petty, but I can’t have you throwing this argument in my face again and again. I need it to be settled between us. I need harmony. I need you to be my rock, not shifting sand beneath my feet.”

He frowns and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear.

“I’m sorry that I let my insecurities get the best of me. I just… I think you’re fucking magical, darling girl. And sometimes I start to look at you and how great you are. And then I look at myself, and how fucked up I am… I guess it’s just hard to believe that you would want to be with me for any reason other than my money.”

“Look at me.” I grab his hand and kiss his knuckles, staring into his eyes. “I love you, Dare Morgan. You’re smart, cunning, strong, wise… and you fuck like a starving man falling on a piece of bread. You make me feel desired.” I rub my belly. “Even now, which is a miracle.”

Dare sinks his hand into my hair, leaning me back and kissing me like I don’t think I have ever been kissed before. His lips are savage, his kiss primal. By the time he breaks away, we are both panting. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. I want to bury myself in you and be lost forever. I want to spend every fucking hour naked. I want to keep getting you pregnant over and over again because I love the feel of this.”

He presses his hard stomach against mine, catching my hand in his and twining our fingers together. He pulls me close again. "All I need is you, Talia. Just you."

I gaze into Dare's eyes, still clinging to him. "We could walk away from all of this, you know. The money, the family business, the social obligations. We could leave it all behind. We could start fresh in a small town somewhere, get regular jobs, and live a simple life. As long as we're together, I know we'd be happy."

Dare looks thoughtful as he considers this. "You would really be willing to do that? Leave everything behind for a modest life with me?"

I nod, running my fingers through his hair. "In a heartbeat. My happiness comes from you, not your bank account."

A smile tugs at Dare's lips. He takes my hands in his and kisses them tenderly. "You never cease to surprise me, Talia. Just when I think I have you figured out, you show me another side that's even more remarkable."

He pulls me in for a lingering kiss. When we finally come up for air, our faces are flushed.

"Wherever our journey leads, I want to walk that path with you," Dare says earnestly. "But maybe we don't have to choose extremes. Maybe there's a balance we can strike between simplicity and security."

I nod and take a deep breath, knowing it's my turn to be vulnerable.

"Dare, while we're getting all our issues out on the table..."

He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. "Mhm."

I try to smile at him, but inside I feel uncertain. "I still have this nagging fear that I'll never measure up as your wife or the mother of your child. I'm terrified our baby will know right away that I'm an imposter, just pretending to fit into your world."

My voice cracks a little as I admit my deepest insecurity. Dare squeezes my hands reassuringly.

"Oh, darling girl. I know I once had misgivings about you blending into my family's elite social circles. But I was so wrong. You bring so much heart and vibrancy to everything you touch. My world was dull and monochrome before you burst into it in a blaze of brilliant technicolor."

I blink back tears at his poetic words.

"I was only living half a life before I met you, Talia. You make me feel fully alive for the first time. I want you to know that our child will feel nothing but love and belonging. How could she not, with you as their mother?"

I don't know how to answer that, so I duck my head, my cheeks flushing. "I don't know..." I say honestly.

Dare puts a finger under my chin and lifts my head, looking deeply into my eyes.

"Talia, I'm embarrassingly in love with you. Deeply, irreversibly in love. I feel desperate for you to love me in a way I've never felt before," he says, his voice thick with emotion. "I love you so much it scares me. What if you can never love me as completely as I love you? What if I'm always the one who loves more?"

My heart aches at the vulnerability in his question. I cup his handsome face in my hands.

"Dare, I love you as deeply as you love me. I promise you that with all my heart and soul."

He looks at me for a long moment, his eyes searching my face. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Gazing into his eyes is like looking into the depths of the ocean. "I love you more than anything or anyone in this world. I may not have chosen to marry you willingly, but I can't deny the feelings that have blossomed inside me. And it's not just because of our child. I love you for who you are, Dare, flaws and all."

Relief and joy wash over his features. He leans his forehead against mine.

"We've both been running scared for too long," he whispers. "We have both been so paralyzed by our fears."

I tear up at his words.

"Here and now, we have a chance to put it all aside. We can start all over again."

Dare kisses me tenderly at first, then with rising passion. He pulls back just far enough to whisper against my lips.

"Tell me that you're certain, Talia. Because there's no turning back for me after this."

I smile up at him, my hands still cradling his face.

"I could never turn back now. You've changed me forever with your love. I'm not the same woman I used to be."

Our lips meet again and again, each kiss deeper than the last. Dare's hands roam urgently over my body as my fingers tangle in his dark hair. We are consumed by a passion that's been simmering for far too long.

"I need you, Talia," Dare rasps, his breathing ragged. "Here. Now."

My pulse races at the raw desire in his voice. "Yes," I gasp. "I'm yours, my love."

In one smooth motion, Dare lifts me onto the table, scattering maps and charts. I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him against me. We shed our clothes in a frenzy until it's just skin against skin.

Dare enters me swiftly, filling me completely. I cry out, clutching his shoulders. He sets a relentless rhythm that drives me to the very brink, again and again. I have never wanted someone so much.

"Look at me, Talia," Dare commands through gritted teeth. "I need to see you."

I meet his smoldering gaze, utterly lost in the stormy blue depths. He is everything to me in this moment. My past, my present, my future.

Release crashes over us both like a wave. Dare collapses over me, his heart thundering against my chest.

"I love you," I whisper, stroking his hair. "With all that I am."

Dare lifts his head to smile tenderly at me. "As I love you. Always."

We kiss once more, a promise sealed. Dare's fingers trace delicate patterns on my skin as we lie tangled together, spent. The boat rocks gently beneath us.

"No more doubts between us," he murmurs. "You are my heart, Talia. Without you, I'm adrift."

I caress his beloved face. "We wasted so much time questioning. But no more. This is real."

Dare nods, his eyes never leaving mine. "I would face anything with you by my side. Even my family's wrath."

My heart clenches. The Morgans wield immense power and influence. Defying them is no small matter.

Sensing my unease, Dare touches his forehead to mine. "Don't be afraid. You give me courage I never knew I had."

I cling to him, my anchor in the storm. "Whatever comes, we'll weather it together."

Dare smiles, a rare unguarded smile that makes my breath catch. In this moment, with the sun on our skin and the sea breeze in our hair, nothing else matters but our love. The future feels bright with hope and promise.

I take a deep breath, savoring the salty tang of the ocean air. Dare's arms are my refuge, his heartbeat a lullaby beneath my cheek. I know that soon we must return to shore and face harsh reality once more. But not yet.

"Can we just stay like this?" I ask wistfully.

Dare's chuckle rumbles low in his chest. "I wish we could. But the world awaits, my love." He kisses the top of my head. "Don't worry. I'll be right by your side."

I cling tighter for a moment, then sit up with a sigh. The sun has begun its descent towards the shimmering horizon.

Dare brushes a windblown strand of hair from my face, his expression tender yet solemn. "It's time."

With a nod, I rise and begin dressing. Dare does the same. We move in easy synchrony, the intimate dance of lovers.

Once ready, we make our way hand in hand to the upper deck. Dare steers us smoothly back towards the marina. I stand beside him at the wheel, drinking in these last moments of solitude.

Too soon, the bustling port comes into view. Dare cuts the engine and drops anchor. For a long moment, we simply gaze at each other.

"No regrets," Dare says huskily.

"Never." I rise on tiptoe to kiss him, sweet and lingering.