AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It’s not what I would have called alluring, but Ransom’s eyes are burning into me, the heat palpable.
All of a sudden, the small room is full of tension, and it’s climbing by the minute.
If this were weeks ago, I would have teased him a little. I would have looked forward to the touch of his fingers as he zipped me up, trying to tempt him into touching me more.
Ransom knows that, and I can see it on his face as he meets my eyes in the mirror. There’s a flare of heat there, turning the blue-green depths just a bit darker.
For a second, neither of us moves, locked in this moment, and my heart beat speeds up a bit, not with anticipation, but with something like dread.
But then Ransom clears his throat and visibly holds himself back. He swallows hard and then smiles, moving in closer to do up the zipper.
His touch is careful, not straying more than it needs to in order to get the zipper up, but it still makes goosebumps spread over my skin. Just the proximity of him in the dressing room, the small space filled suddenly with the scent of him, makes me wish things were different.
“There you go,” Ransom says, stepping back, putting distance between us. “I like the color on you, but I’m not sure about the cut of it. You’re gorgeous in anything, but this dress is kind of shapeless. What do you think?”
He pushes his hands into his pockets, and he doesn’t seem upset, just waiting for my opinion on the dress.
The way he is with me now, the patience he and his brothers have for me, it makes my heart swell. I watch him in the mirror, and the words bubble up before I can even think about them, almost as natural as breathing.
I meet his gaze in the mirror. “I love you.”
I can see the second the words hit him, and Ransom reacts immediately. His eyes flare with pleasure, and a huge grin breaks out over his handsome face. He’s shining with pure joy, so intense and happy it’s like basking in the sun to see it.
His hands come up to my shoulders, and I don’t flinch as he turns me around to face him.
“Say it again,” he says.
So I do. “I love you, Ransom.”
He takes in a deep breath, and his eyes are shining. He looks like the words have hit him right in the chest, and he even puts a hand up over where his heart is, like he’s trying to keep all his feelings from pouring out all over the place.
I watch his face, captivated by how open and full of emotion he looks right now.
Finally, he just grins, his eyes searching my face for a second. “I love you too,” he says. “This is going to sound crazy, but go with me, okay?”
“Okay,” I reply, laughing a little.
“I think a part of me loved you since the first moment I saw you. That moment we met on the street and you had been crying, remember?”
I nod, breathless with the knowledge that he remembers all that. It feels like it was so long ago. Like it happened to someone else. So much is different now, and I couldn’t have imagined back then that I would have ended up with the very handsome man who stopped to talk to me that night. Or that I’d want to. Everything about him had screamed predator, and now I know that he—and his brothers—can be dangerous when they want to be, but that there’s so much more to them than that.
Ransom grins even brighter. “I threatened to beat someone up for making you cry, and I meant it, even then. Even then I had the urge to protect you.”
“Why?” I ask him.
“Well, back then I thought you looked sweet. I thought that anyone who would make you cry deserved to get their fucking ass kicked because you didn’t deserve it. Now… now my brothers and I would do anything to protect you, Willow. Whatever it took.”
“I know,” I murmur softly. “I know you would.” They’ve more than proved that. They somehow found me when Troy had me locked away. They managed to kill him and pull me out of that hell, and I’m forever grateful to them for that and all the other rescues they’ve pulled off for me.
“I appreciate it more than I can say,” I tell him.
Ransom shakes his head. “You don’t have to say it. We know. Malice, Vic, and I are all different people. We’re brothers, but we’re not really that similar.”
I grin. “You’re telling me.”
“And somehow, you’re still our perfect match. You fit with us so well. All of us. No other woman could say the same. You’re just so perfect, Willow.”
“Even… even though I’m like this now?” I ask him, somehow needing to make sure. It’s silly, since he’s saying all this now, even after what happened to me, but I just need to hear it. “Even though I’m all broken, and you can’t even touch me?”
