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“Clearly your persuasion skills need polishing up if you can't convince your woman to do what’s good for her,” Sinclair taunts.
“You losing your touch?” JJ closes the distance to me and grabs my collar. "You can’t sway your submissive to do the one thing that would save her life? You’re going to lose her, you bastard, you absolute good-for-nothing turdstain. You’re a fucking loser. A piss poor excuse for a man. A failed Dominant. An alpha who’s lost his power, you—”
Something snaps inside of me. I twist my torso, break his hold, then snap my head forward. I connect with his nose, and blood blooms from his face. I stagger back, then throw my head back and roar. “I will not let her die. I will not. Will. Not.” I turn, then crash my head into the wall again and again.
I’m grabbed by my shoulders and pulled back. This time, Sinclair and Michael half-carry, half-drag me back to my chair, which has been rightened. They thrust me into it, then stand on either side of me.
Cade takes in the blood dripping down my face and winces. “You’re not pretty anymore, I’m afraid.”
Good.It's this focus on my countenance that made me want to avenge what her brother did to me. It blinded me to the fact that I'd fallen in love with her the moment I saw her singing on the beach all those years ago. I found her again, only my ego stopped me from doing the one thing I should have done all that time ago—I should have bound her to me and never let her go. I should have told her how much I loved her. How much I cared for her. How much I want her—need her—yearn for her to be in my life. By my side. To be mine.
JJ draws in a breath, then sits back in his seat, “It’s not too late.”
69
Solene
It’s too late. I’m going to die. I’m never going to be able to sing again. I’m never going to look into his eyes and see them blaze as he says—
“Solene, I love you.”
I snap my eyes open, and his gaze holds mine. Blue, deep, intense, like I’m looking into the cold heart of hell... or the frozen tableau of a bird caught in mid-flight. I blink, and sparks of silver flare in their depths, then golden flares ignite. A tear drop squeezes out from the corner of his eyes, joining the streak of dried blood on his cheek.
“Wha—” I raise my gaze to his forehead and take in the bandage over where his scar would be. My head spins. My throat dries. “You’re hurt?” I rasp.
“I hurt you more. I deserve this, and everything they did to me.”
“They—?” I lean back and notice he’s dressed in scrubs. Another bandage peeks out from the neckline. “What happened? Did you get into a fight?”
“Something like that.” One side of his lips quirks, but his smile doesn’t meet his eyes. He squeezes my hand, and that’s when I realize he has my palm clasped between both of his.
“I love you, Solene.”
I jerk back, pull my hand from his, and to my surprise, he lets go. I study his battered countenance. “This is going to play havoc with your movie.”
“They’ll accept me the way I am. Or not.” He raises a shoulder. “I don’t fucking care.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “But this is your dream movie. You’ve worked so hard for it, and if it fails, you have so much at stake.”
“The only thing that matters to me is you, and until you’re well, I’m not leaving your side.”
My heart feels like it’s filling my chest. I’ve waited so long to hear his words and yet, now that I am, I’m not sure I believe him. He must sense my discomfort, for he rises from the chair then sits on the bed next to me. He reaches for my hand, and I let him grasp it in his much bigger palm. He raises it to his mouth and presses his lips to my knuckles. “I love you, Rabbit, and you know it.”
I flush, then turn away. “You don’t have to say that to me because you know I’m going to die.”
He freezes; his entire body seems to turn to stone. He’s so still. Has he stopped breathing? I raise my gaze to find his features wearing an expression of such anguish, my breath catches in my chest. I can’t look away, can’t unsee the desperation in his eyes, the hopelessness, the love. The love. So much love. I squeeze my eyes shut. “Don’t—” I swallow. “Please, don’t.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to overwhelm you with my declarations, but I’m desperate, baby.”
I half laugh. “First, I see you cry. Then, you turn up with your face hurt—something I know is likely career-changing for you, and I know how much your career means to you. And now you say you love me. You have to admit, it’s a lot.”
He doesn’t reply; the silence stretches. My nerve-endings crackle with the building tension. Finally, I can’t stop myself from opening my eyes again. I take in the expression on his face—this one so tender and filled with so much yearning. And love. Again. Love. Love. Love. Love. He may have said it. But seeing it on his face, in his gaze, in how he holds my hand… I know he means it.
“It’s not fair. You’re such a good actor, you’re convincing me that you’re in love with me.”
He winces, then lowers his chin, “I deserve that and more. I deserve every single name you call me and more. I deserve—”
“Us.”
