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“Where are we?” I asked and sat down next to him.
He was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together. “Our apartment.” His voice was low, and I knew that he was still pissed off.
Ours? As in mine and his, or his and his family’s? I didn’t want to ask because something told me we were about to get into a big fight.
His back was completely tense, and when I reached over to touch him, he turned suddenly and grabbed my wrist. “Do you have any idea how stupid that was, Nova? You could have gotten yourself killed. You know that, right? Answer me.”
I flinched back from him and tried to pull my wrist away, but he wouldn’t let me.
“This isn’t a game. If they’d found you, you would be dead right now. Fucking dead. Don’t you get it?” His voice rose with each word. He was more than just angry. He was scared.
“But I got the video. I got the evidence, Cian. That’s what matters.”
“It doesn’t fucking matter. It was stupid. Reckless. Use your head.” He dropped my wrist and stood, grabbing the bottle of Jack Daniels from the bar.
“Of course it matters!” I threw my hands in the air. “Now he’s going to pay, Cian. Ryzen’s getting everything he deserves. So my plan, although risky, was the right thing to do.” I stood and placed my hands on my hips.
“It was foolish. Don’t ever do something like that again.” Cian’s chest heaved up and down, his eyes drilling into me.
“I don’t understand why you’re so upset. This is what we wanted.” I was pleading with him to understand. “Revenge. We both want it, and now I have the video that’s going to get it for us.”
He clenched his jaw and stalked over to me. I took a step back, the back of my knees hitting the couch. I couldn’t decipher the look on his face, and the knot in my stomach grew. “Fuck revenge, Nova.” He reached up and wrapped his hand in my hair, tugging my head back. “If anything happens to you because of this, I will hunt each and every single one of them down and kill them. I will burn the whole damn world down to keep you safe, do you understand?”
“Yes,” I whispered, my lips trembling.
“I am nothing without you. You are my everything, and I can’t lose you over this. I won’t let that happen. You’re mine, my beautiful bright star. Forever.”
It was like all the air in the room had been sucked away, the intense look in his eyes making my whole body tremble. His words were sinking in, the pain on his face evident. I darted my tongue out to moisten my lips, my mouth suddenly dry.
He loved me.
I was his, and he was mine.
And I never wanted to see the pained look on his face again.
I lifted my hand up, placing it on his chest. His heart was beating so fast, and I hated that I was the reason for it. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t think.”
He grabbed my hand, brought it up to his mouth and kissed my knuckles. “I love you, Nova.” His voice was hoarse, and my heart squeezed in my chest at his words. “I fucking love you so much. Don’t ever, ever do that to me again.”
“I love you too, Cian,” I whispered, lowering my eyes.
“Look at me.” He tugged my hair gently. “Say it again.”
“I love you.”
His mouth crashed into mine, taking my breath away. I let myself get lost in him as I had so many times before. But it was different this time. I had finally said the one thing I was scared of saying, terrified of showing him, because I hadn’t wanted to get my heart broken again. But it didn’t matter. It would all be worth it. Just for this moment, in this room with him. With the man I loved. The man I would do anything for.
He wrapped me in his arms, his lips never leaving mine, and took the stairs two at a time. He tossed me on the bed, and I leaned up on my elbows, watching him as he ripped his shirt off, his scars slashing across his body.
I would do anything to take his pain away. Pain his parents had caused, Ryzen had caused. I would take it all into myself if I could. Now I understood what he had meant before—that he would hurt anyone who hurt me—because I would do the same for him. If anyone ever hurt this man again, they would have hell to pay.
He leaned down, kissing me gently, and there was no other place I would have rather been at that moment than in his arms.
Chapter Eleven
We stayed in bed for hours making love. It was different this time, maybe because I had finally taken down the wall around my heart and let myself feel free with him. I explored every inch of his body, from his muscular calves, up to his stomach where my favorite tattoo of his was, up and over his scars across his chest and back, to his neck. I was familiar with every inch of his flesh, as he was with mine.
I lost track of how many orgasms he gave me. At one point, I had to beg him to stop, but he still wouldn’t listen. If I had learned anything, it was that Cian was more than a giver—he was a giver until you couldn’t take any more. And I loved every second of it.
