Page 118 of Tempest’s Torment

Then she says my name. "Kai."

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

My hand stops. For a second, I'm sure I've heard her wrong. She lifts her head and looks at me.

"What did you say?"

Her eyes fill again, but this time she smiles. "I love you."

Jesus fucking Christ.

I stare at her, this woman sitting half in my lap with a split lip, bruises covering her face, and dried blood in her hair, and she's looking at me like she hasn't just knocked the fucking air out of my lungs.

"I should've told you this morning," she says. "I almost did."

"You did?"

She nods. "Then you left and everything happened, and I kept thinking about all the things I hadn't said."

My chest tightens. "Lilah."

"I don't want to leave things unsaid anymore." Her hand comes up and rests against my jaw. "I love you, Kai."

I turn my face and kiss her palm. "Fuck, baby."

She laughs softly. "That's all I get?"

"No."

I look at her, and for once, I don't have to think about the words, don't have to work out what I'm supposed to say or whether it's too soon, because somewhere between her driving me fucking insane over a game of rummy and waking up with her wrapped around me this morning, it happened.

"I fucking love you too." Her face crumples. "Don't cry."

"I'm not."

"You definitely fucking are."

"So are you."

I blink and feel the wetness on my cheek. Fuck. "Yeah, well, I've had a shit day."

She laughs through her tears and I pull her closer, pressing my forehead carefully against hers.

"I love you," I tell her again. "So fucking much."

"I love you too."

I kiss her, careful of her split lip, and she holds my face while I do it. When I pull back, she doesn't let go. There's something in her expression now, something that wasn't there a second ago.

"What?"

She hesitates. "Kai, there's something else."

My stomach tightens. "What?"

"Evan heard us."