I leaned over the sink and splashed cold water on my face.
The reflection staring back didn’t look like the woman I had been two weeks before.The woman looking back at me now was loved and safe.
She wasn’t always in flight mode, ready for the world to crumble around her.
Sure, things with this psycho were nowhere near being solved, but she knew that Prime and the club were doing everything they could to keep them all safe.
That was all anyone could ask for.
I wiped my face with a towel and stepped back into the bedroom.
Prime was awake now, propped on one elbow, and watched the doorway like he’d been switched on by instinct the moment I walked away.His hair was a mess, jaw shadowed, his eyes still warm with sleep but sharp the second they met mine.
“You okay?”he asked, voice low and rough.
I nodded, climbing back into bed.“Yeah.Just… thinking.”
He pulled the blanket aside for me, and I slid in, letting the warmth of him wrap around me again.The second I settled, he hooked an arm under me and pulled me into his chest.
“You were worried,” I whispered.
“You walked more than six feet away from me,” he murmured into my hair.“Yeah, I was worried.”
My laugh came out soft.“Well, I’m glad you miss me even when I just go to the bathroom.”
“I told you,” he said and brushed his thumb along my shoulder.“I like it better when you stay with me.I don’t have to worry as much.”
“I like it, too,” I confessed.“I love… you.”The word was out of my mouth, and I didn’t regret it.Why should I not admit it?
Prime’s hand stilled.He tilted my face up with two fingers until I met his eyes.
“Good,” he said simply.“I love you, too.”
The words hit me like warmth spreading under my ribs.
We lay there for a moment, quiet with everything hovering between us.
Finally, I whispered, “Prime… you love me.”
He raised a brow.“Have for a bit.”
“Same,” I admitted.
For the first time in days, I felt something like hope settle inside me.
“Whatever comes next,” he said, “you’re not facing it alone.You’ve got me and the club protecting you.”He pressed a kiss to my lips.“Forever.”
My eyes closed, a soft breath escaping.
“Okay,” I whispered.“Then I can handle this.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Prime
The clubhouse was buzzing by the time we walked into the main room.
Lost was drinking coffee like it had personally offended him.Skull and Vin were hunched over the dining table, arguing about some timeline on the dry-erase board.Push leaned against the wall by the hallway door, arms crossed, and his eyes watched everything at once.
