Page 169 of Angel

The icy wall around my heart shattered.

I stared at this magnetic, handsome man weeping by the water, hollowed out by his devotion to me.

I could no longer keep my soul and my love from him.

I stepped into the clearing, leaves crackling under my feet.

He knifed up on the bench at the sound of my approach, his palms wiping at his damp eyes as he spun around.

‘Babe, you OK?’

Always with the care. This man.

I rounded him and sank onto the cedar seat next to him.

Setting the jacket aside, I turned and cradled his face with one hand, the other sliding through his hair.

‘I believe that in every person’s life, there comes a time when we have to lay everything on the line to fight for what we want,’ I whispered.

His hazel eyes locked on mine, bloodshot and dilated with shock.

‘Fuck, you heard the call.’

‘I did, and you need to know, Angel, that I love you,’ I said, the words rushing out of me like a river. ‘I’ve never loved anyone more in all my life than you, for over twenty-five years, honey.’

He swallowed hard, shuddering, more tears spilling down his sculpted cheeks.

‘After a long struggle to forgive you, I have,’ I continued, framing his face with my palms and leaning closer, my nose to his, until our breath mingled. ‘I’m no longer scared to lay it out on the line and pour myself out for you. This is it. I’ve never felt more passionate about anything, and I’m not giving up on us.’

A growl escaped his throat, his sinewy hands coming up to cover mine as I slid them to his nape and chest.

‘Roxy,’ he groaned, the sound tortured and drawn out.

‘In recent weeks, you’ve given me unbelievable happiness despite the nausea,’ I whispered. ‘You’ve cherished me with a care that I could have never imagined.’

I kissed his damp cheek, tasting the salt, my chest aching with a fierce, possessive need for him.

‘There’s no simple way to describe how much you mean to me,’ I murmured. ‘Even I don’t understand it sometimes. I can’t help it, and I won’t argue with it anymore.’

‘Things happened between us that I’d give anything to take back, but I can’t,’ Angel rasped, his timbre a gravelly ruin. ‘The only thing I can do is say I’m so sorry. I’ve been so selfish. I trampled on you with my words and my actions. I put my energy into saving the unsaveable when I should’ve loved you.’

I smiled through my tears, pressing my forehead against his.

‘It’s all in the past now, honey. Over the last few weeks, the negative emotions that clouded my feelings are gone. They revealed a devotion for you that I never thought existed. Angel, I love you so much. I don’t want to live the rest of my life without you.’

‘You mean that?’ he breathed, his grip tightening on my wrists.

‘With all my heart.’

‘Hell yeah.’

The relief in his delivery was palpable as he cradled my face, his thumbs wiping away my lingering tears, and then his mouth found mine.

The kiss began with a desperate, trembling yearning.

My heart threatened to burst as emotion ratcheted up.

I pulled him closer, my fingers tangling in the collar of his shirt.