Her eyes narrowed. Defensive now. “Do I?”
“Yeah,” I said, leaning closer, voice dropping to a rasp. Getting in her space, making her feel me, making her remember. “You think I’d fuck you like that and just walk away? You think I’d kiss you like that and mean nothing by it?”
She didn’t answer. She just stared, lips parted like she couldn’t decide whether to argue or keep quiet. I knew she was torn between the fear of believing me and the fear of me leaving.
“Say it,” I murmured. My voice going softer, more dangerous. “Say you think that’s all it was.”
“Why, so you can gloat?” She looked around wildly, wanting to run, but there was nowhere she could go.
Didn’t she know I’d given her pieces of myself I’d never given anyone?
I caught her chin, and kissed her—hard, deep, brutal. The kind of kiss that I prayed erased every question, every doubt she had. The kind of kiss that was a claim and a promise and a confession all at once. Her hands came up, trembling, pushing at my chest for half a second before she surrendered with a whimper, opening for me, taking everything I gave her.
I didn’t stop.
Didn’t want to.
Her mouth opened under mine, soft and wet and perfect, and I poured every word I hadn’t said into it. Every fear, every need, every desperate feeling I’d been trying to ignore. When I finally broke away, I rested my forehead against hers, both of usbreathing hard. “Does that feel like I’m leaving?” I rasped. “Does that feel like I don’t want you again?”
She blinked up at me, eyes dark. “Crew…”
“You’ve not said two words to me the whole drive,” I said, my voice raw with emotion I couldn’t hide anymore. “And I’ve been holding back three.”
Her lips parted. “Three?”
“Yeah.”
I grabbed her waist and hauled her across the console onto my lap. I caught her mouth again, kissing her deep until her fingers dug into my shoulders. I pulled back just enough to look at her—flushed cheeks, messy hair, the tiniest tremor in her lip. She was so beautiful it hurt. And so freaking perfect it terrified me.
“You think I’m here for Race?” I whispered against her mouth. My hands tightened on her, pulling her closer, needing her to understand. “I did come here to repay a debt, but that’s not why I’m still here. I stayed because of you.” I brushed my lips against her throat. “Stayed because I couldn’t walk away if I tried. I love you, Charlotte.”
She froze. I could see the moment it hit her—the disbelief, the shock, the flood of everything she’d been holding back since the day we met. The moment she realized I wasn’t playing. That I meant it. That this was real.
I cupped the back of her neck, forcing her to look at me. I wanted her to see the truth in my eyes, the certainty, the absolute conviction. “You hear me? I fucking love you.”
“Oh, Crew.” I saw the tears in her eyes, the trembling of her lips and I knew I needed to convince her some more.
“I love you,” I said again, slower this time, each word sinking in deep. “You’re mine, Charlotte. You’re mine, and I’m done pretending I don’t need you. I’m done running. I’m done hiding.I’m done being afraid. You’re mine, and I’m yours, and that’s how it’s going to be.”
Her hands trembled as she cupped my face. Her touch gentle like she couldn’t quite believe this was real.
I growled low in my chest, dragged her down, and kissed her until there wasn’t a breath left between us. Outside, the snow kept falling, heavy and endless, blanketing the world in silence. Inside the truck, all I could hear was her heartbeat against my chest. All I could feel was her in my arms, exactly where she belonged. All I could think was mine, mine, mine.
I rested my hand on the back of her neck, thumb tracing slow circles against her skin. Soothing, claiming, anchoring us both. “You still think I’m leaving?”
She smiled faintly, voice soft. Still a little shaky, still a little disbelieving, but with hope shining through. “Not anymore.”
“Good,” I said, kissing her again. Softer this time, sweeter, full of promise. “Because I’m not letting you go.”
And this time, she didn’t argue. Just wrapped her arms around my neck, pressed her face against my throat, and whispered three words back that made my entire world shift on its axis.
“I love you.”
I held her tighter, my chest tight with emotion I’d spent years running from. With feelings I’d thought I’d never be capable of again. With a future I hadn’t dared to dream about.
EPILOGUE
Charlotte
