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“I lied to you,” I whispered.
“I forgive you,” he whispered back.
“I’m damaged goods.”
He shook his head once. “You’re a warrior finally home from battle.”
Emotion swelled inside me like a tidal wave, nearly drowning me from the inside out. It took all my strength to ride the upsurge, and if I wasn’t a swimmer, I might not have made it to the surface.
“Are you still my home?”
Humming, he lowered his face, drawing me into a gentle kiss, lips silken against my chapped ones, the soft tickle of his breath the promise of spring on a winter’s day. I swayed when he lifted his mouth, hands tilting my head so he could kiss the swollen edges of my battered eye, then peppering light kisses across my nose, and finally, one last brief brush against the corner of my lips.
“I want to be if you’ll let me.”
I whimpered, practically climbing up his body, only pausing when he winced.
“I’m sorry,” I said, yanking back to reach for the gown hiding his stitches.
“I’m not. Get over here,” he growled, pulling me back into his arms and lifting me. I hooked my legs around his hips, trying my damnedest to not touch the sore spot again.
This time, I winced, and he stilled. “Fuck,” he spat, gingerly setting me down. “You can’t let me maul you, sweetheart.”
My face flamed at the newest term of endearment. “I like it.”
“You test my patience.” He huffed. “In every way.”
I chewed my lower lip. “Are you mad?”
His eyes cut to me, the muscle in his jaw jumping. “I’m not mad at you. I just wish you would have told me. I could have—”
Frustrated, I cut him off. “Could have what? Protected me? Swooped in and saved the dude in distress,”
“You’ve been hanging out with Jamie too much,” he muttered.
I made a rude sound. “News flash, that’s howyoutalk.”
“I’m a clever guy.”
“It’s not your job to save me.”
“I could have been there for you.”
I glanced up, his words catching me off guard.
His eyes closed. “I could have been there.” When they reopened, the naked pain reflecting in the depths cut deep. “You spent all night like this.Alone. How many nights have you spent like this alone?”
More than I would ever admit. More than I even wanted to count. He didn’t need to bear the weight of that. “If it’s a choice between you and me… I will always choose you,” I said.
“There is no you and me anymore, Lars. There’s just us.”
I swallowed, his declaration knocking me off balance.
Taking my hand, he laid it on his chest right above the steady beating of his heart. “There is no me without you.”
I moved into his arms, unable to verbally reply to his confession, just needing to fuse our bodies into the us he said we made.
We stayed like that, holding each other until the door opened, and I tried to become smaller against him, wondering what fresh hell I’d be subjected to next.
