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How am I supposed to stand up for myself when he says that? I feel my determination softening with every beat of my heart. Since it’s racing, I’m in trouble.
I have to remember what’s real. The flowers are gorgeous, and his words are sweet and overwhelming, but I walked away for a damn good reason. “I can’t stand all the lies and shadowy stuff. I never know if you’re telling me the truth.”
“What do you want to know?” He slides his hands into his pockets and lifts his brows. “I’ll tell you if that’s what it takes to get you back. I’m ready to talk.”
It can’t be that easy. He looks and sounds sincere, but I spent too much time in that hotel to take what he’s saying at face value.
Let’s see how honest he’s willing to be. “The hotel isn’t all about protecting people, is it?”
His lips pull together in a tight line, and again, I know he’s fighting with himself. It might not even be that he wants to lie to me. It’s a habit now. He’s been dealing in secrets for so long; lying and deflecting are as natural as breathing.
“No. Not entirely.”
“The people who need government protection. Why? I don’t need specifics. I only want to understand.”
“The hotel is a shadow government black site.”
I search my brain for any movies or books I might have heard of before but come up empty. “What does that mean?”
“It means that the hotel is run by me and my team, but we are backed by the government and all their agencies, including the FBI, CIA, and the military. We have access to all their resources, but we are not restricted by any of their laws or regulations. The people who come to the hotel are freelancers, most of them former military or retired government agents and such.”
My jaw drops. I let his words run through my head a few times, letting each sink in slowly.
“Wow. A lot of things make sense now.”
“Yeah. It’s still in the government’s best interest to keep them safe, or else they risk dangerous secrets getting out.”
“And sometimes, people need to be detained, I guess?”
“What you saw on that floor, in that room…” He lifts his shoulders in an almost defeated shrug. “That was both business and personal. I might have kept Dave around a little longer than necessary, I admit. He tried to get to me, and I think we both know what he would have done to you if nobody had stopped him.”
I can’t pretend to agree with his methods, and he must understand that because he keeps talking as he slowly crosses the living room. “When it comes to you, I’m afraid there’s no holding back. I’m never going to be able to think rationally if there’s a chance you’re in danger or if somebody hurts you. I’m going to want to hurt them back. It’s who I am. I protect what’s mine.”
“And you think I’m yours?”
The corners of his mouth twitch. “Would I be here if I didn’t?”
I’m about three seconds from melting into a puddle, but I need to know one more thing while he’s in such an honest mood and all. “Do you love me?”
“Yes.” There is no hesitation. He reaches out to take my face in his hands, and let’s face it, I never stood a chance. Not when his touch makes me feel whole for the first time since I walked out of the hotel. I was kidding myself when I thought I could spend the rest of my life without him.
He’s telling the truth. I see it in his eyes. I could drown in them—in him. “I love you, too,” I confess in a whisper. “I really do. And I missed you.”
“You never have to miss me again because I’m not letting you go. Not ever.” He presses a gentle kiss against my forehead before sighing like he’s relieved. “I know what life is like without you, and I’m not about to go through it again. I can’t.”
I’ve never been as sure of anything as I am of the love burning in my heart while Mason tips my head back and lines my mouth up with his. Anticipation makes me forget to breathe at the moment before his lips touch mine, and the world stops turning. There’s nothing in the world but the two of us, anyway. And a lot of flowers that sort of give us nowhere to go once our kiss deepens, and it’s clear kissing won’t be enough.
He’s thinking along the same lines I am. Before I know it, he literally sweeps me off my feet, and I squeal in surprise. “What are you doing?”
“Do you honestly have to ask that question?” The growl in his voice takes the heat that was already pooling in my core and turns it into a full-on blaze. By the time he lowers me onto my bed, I reach for him, stripping away one piece of clothing after another so my eyes and hands can feast on his body.
