Page 163 of Missile Strike

“Your job scares me,” she continued.

The ache beneath his sternum deepened.

“But I love you.” She leaned in. Held his stare. “You didn’t just protect me. You gave me the skills to protect myself—and I did. And I refuse to play it safe if it means giving you up.”

Her golden eyes darkened to amber, and her tongue peeked out to swipe her bottom lip—a gesture that threatened to send his dick half-mast if not for the morphine haze. “And there have been times with you where being without control has been very rewarding.” She grinned before leaning in to give him a soft kiss.

He groaned as visions of Bella, blindfolded, restrained, and naked, played in his head.

An alarm blared from the machine monitoring his heart rate. “Damn, woman.” He breathed through his nose and tried to calm his racing pulse.

Bella loved him.

He needed to reward her with some honesty of his own.

“I’ve lived my entire life looking for…something.” He lifted his shoulder as heat crept into his cheeks. “Always moving, always chasing the chaos. Stability was boring. I never let anyone into my life long enough to even contemplate settling down.”

He breathed deep and opened his soul. “I love you, Bella. Hell, I think I loved you when we were teenagers and I threatened every guy at school to stay away from you. When Jaynie died, you were the only one I wanted to share my pain with. I choose you. Wherever I go, I’m always coming home to you.” He lifted his hand and caressed her cheek. “You’re stuck with me.”

Her eyes filled with tears, but warmth softened her expression. “Fair warning. Just because I’m willing to accept some chaos in my life doesn’t mean you can leave your dirty socks and underwear all over my floor.”

He grinned. “I promise, I’m not Trip—I know how to pick up after myself. But just because I’m willing to accept some stability in my life doesn’t mean I’m giving up my avant-garde fashion aesthetic.”

She laughed. “Avant-garde? You mean the tropical shirt with taco-eating dinosaurs on it? Or the pink flamingos? Or the ones with penguins doing the hula?” She arched a brow.

A knock on the door interrupted them. Nathan popped his head into the room. “Is it safe to enter?”

Isabella whispered, “I think your entire company is out there. They were banned to the cafeteria earlier.”

Her parents were also out there somewhere, waiting to see Danny. To thank him for saving their daughter.

Nathan appeared, and behind him Lachlan, Caleb, and Tavari. Nathan held out his phone to Danny. “Someone wants to cuss you out for not waiting for backup, but he can’t because he did the same damn thing when his lady was kidnapped.”

Danny took the phone. Ryder’s face was on the screen from his home in London, and behind him, his fiancée, Nathalie. “Mate, good to see you’re alive.” Ryder’s mouth quirked. “I guess now would be a good time to approve the leave you’ve been asking me for.”

“At least a month, and then I want to base out of Charlotte when I return.” The words fell out of Danny’s mouth. He looked up to see Isabella’s mouth forming an O.

Bad timing, but now that it was out, he forged ahead. “Caleb’s making it work from Arizona. Charlotte’s a day’s drive from DC, plus it’s got a major airport—”

“Christ, here we go,” Lachlan muttered. “Why do we even pay for office space?”

“Think of the frequent flyer miles the guys will rack up,” Nathan said.

“—and I’ll keep my apartment. Dìleas can use it as temporary quarters whenever guys are in town on business.”

Ryder rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. “I’ll approve it if Lachlan and Nathan sign off.” Through the screen, Nathalie smiled and nodded.

Danny looked expectantly at his other bosses.

“I’m okay with it,” Nathan said.

Lachlan threw up his hands. “As if I have any say in my own bloody company.” He scowled at Danny. “Now that I know you’re going to live, I’m going home to my wife.”

Nathan fist-bumped Danny. “Where he goes, I go. Emily sends her love. We’ll be in touch.”

Caleb’s lips quirked. “At least I was smart enough to wear a vest when I went after Lopez.”

Danny grinned back. “Fuck you, asshole. I was in a hurry.”