Page 65 of Darkest Kiss

Noemi doesn’t resist, but her eyes flash as she looks at me, tsking. "Rian, your arm⁠—"

"Sorry, pretty girl." I push my face into her wet hair and breathe in. The panic I’ve felt filling my chest like a balloon deflates slightly. "I need you close."

She goes still against me. Then her hand comes up to the back of my neck and stays there. I can feel her decide not to fight it.

"Dr. Bernard," she says over my shoulder. "Could you give us a minute?"

“Yep.” The door clicks shut. Smart man.

I don't let go of her. I know I should. I know I'm holding on like a man who thinks the floor might open up. Honestly, that's not far off.

I've spent my whole life being the thing other people are afraid of. Never once in that time have I been afraid of losing something the way I've been afraid these last three days. Three days I’ve spent lying in this bed doing the math on what happens now.

Because, here's the math. The Vitellis are finished. The thing I promised her is done. The day it's safe, she said. And I agreed.

Well now it's safe. She's free.

I'd rather take a third bullet than say the next part, so I say it fast, into her hair, where I don't have to watch her face. "I think I'm in love with you."

Her body stiffens in my arms, making my heart rate rise. Fuck. I don’t want to lose her. I can’t.

"I know the deal,” I say. "I know what I told you. The day it's safe, you go wherever you want. And it's safe now, so you can go. I'm not taking that back." I make myself pull back far enough to look in her eyes. "But you should know that wherever you go, I'm coming with you. That's the only part of the deal I'm renegotiating. You're free. You're just not going to be free of me."

For a second she doesn't say anything. Beast, who has been quiet for three days, stirs just enough to brace for it.

Then she murmurs, “Oh, Rian.” And she fucking kisses me. She grabs my face with both hands, mindful of the bandages and nothing else, and kisses me until I forget I'm supposed to be a dangerous man.

Fuck, how I want to be good for her.

Against my lips, she whispers, "Don't act like you were the only one falling."

"What?" I pull back, needing to see her, to understand.

"I love you, Rian." She strokes my cheek. "You learned my dead mother's recipes from my garbage. You built me a room to fall apart in before you ever met me. You're terrifying to the entire world, but not to me. You’re sweet to me. Perfect." Her eyes search mine. "I see you. The killer. The man. The voice in your head. All of it. You hear me? All of you. So you don't get to confess your big tragic love and then hand me a kitchen knife. I’m not going to cut you. I'm not going anywhere. I keep saying this, but no one hears me. You can't get rid of me that easily."

My throat closes up. My heart feels like it’s exploding. “You… you love me?”

“Yeah. You’re a freaking psycho. But you’re my psycho.”

Beast howls in my head, the sound as happy as he’s ever been.

I shake my head. "You argue with me. No fear, no backing down. You make me feel more human. Aside from Ransom, you're the only person who's ever looked at the worst of me and stayed in the room."

She makes a sound, half laugh and half sob, and presses her forehead to mine.

"We're agreed?" she asks. "Nobody's disappearing."

I inhale her essence. "Nobody's disappearing, baby."

"Good. That’s so good.” She kisses me deeply. "I do have one condition. Or maybe a thing I would love.”

“Yeah?” I tilt her head up. “Name it.”

“I'm not living in the penthouse forever, Rian. There are forty guards and twelve cameras at the freaking breakfast table. I can't breathe in there."

"Okay." This is the easiest decision I’ve ever made.

"Okay?"