“You,” he said. “You’re my anchor.”
“Victor—”
“No. Listen.” He needed her to understand. “My father tried to suppress Hyde. Fought him constantly. Treated him like a disease to be cured.”
“And you did the same.”
“Yes. The drugs. The exercise. Everything designed to push Hyde down and lock him away.” His jaw tightened. “But last night, when the branch crashed through and Hyde manifested—I didn’t fight it.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
“I let him come,” he continued. “Because I knew—we both knew—that he could protect you better than I could in human form.”
“A guardian,” she breathed. “Your great-grandfather called the Hyde a guardian.”
“Yes.” He’d read that journal cover to cover and studied every entry, but he finally understood what it meant. “Not a monster. Not a curse. A protector.”
“And I’m what you’re protecting.”
“You’re more than that.” His hands slid to her shoulders, her arms, mapping her through the quilts. “You’re the reason Hyde doesn’t need to fight for control. Because we both want the same thing.”
“Which is?”
“You. Safe. Happy. Loved.”
Her breath hitched. “Victor…”
“I love you.” The words came easily now. No hesitation. “Both parts of me. Human and Hyde. We love you.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I love you too. All of you.”
He kissed her, slow and deep and full of everything he’d been too afraid to say before. She melted into it, her hands coming up to thread through his hair and pull him closer despite the awkward cocoon of blankets.
When they broke apart they were both breathing hard.
“The blankets need to go,” he said.
“Bossy.”
“Practical.” He started unwrapping her. “You’re overheating and I need to feel you.”
She laughed. “Still bossy.”
But she helped, wriggling free of the layers until she was bare in the morning light.
His breath caught. Beautiful. She was so beautiful it hurt to look at her. Her curves softened by pregnancy, her skin glowing in the sunlight, and her eyes bright with love and trust.
For him. For Hyde. For both of them.
“Come here,” she said, reaching for him.
He went willingly, gathering her close, skin to skin with no barriers between them. He could feel his body responding, and he could feel Hyde stirring, but he wasn’t threatening or trying to take over. He was just… present. Aware. Wanting.
“Is this okay?” he asked. “After last night?—”
“Last night was perfect.” She kissed his jaw, his throat, the tiny kisses sending heat ricocheting through his system. “You were perfect.”
“I could transform again.”
