“And somehow, itworks.”
Addy’s pulse jumped in her throat, my gaze drawn to the smooth skin of her neck. Before I could stop it, my hand moved and wrapped around her waist, pulling her just a fraction closer.
Her breath hitched again, her lips parting as she stared up at me.
“I was trying so hard to keep you out of all this.”
“I don’t want to be kept in the dark.” The passion burning in her eyes was electrifying. “I want to stand next to you.”
My grip tightened. Her hands came up and fisted lightly in my shirt — not to push me away, but to hold on.
“I’m not fragile. And I’m not something you can just lock away when things get complicated.”
“You could have died,” I repeated.
“So could you.” Addy’s eyes held mine. “All of us could die, every single day.”
Sliding my hand from her waist to her jaw, I tilted her face up and held it there.
“You’re the one thing in my life I cannot predict,” I admitted quietly. “The one thing I can’t control.”
Her lips parted again and she sighed. “I don’t want to be controlled. I want to be the one you choose to stand by you … no matter what we face.”
It felt like someone had punched all the air out of my lungs.
“I love you.”
The words came out low, rough and utterly unstoppable.
Addy’s grip on my shirt tightened, her nails digging into my chest.
“I love you,” I repeated, slower this time, my forehead nearly touching hers now. “And that makes you as precious as it makes you dangerous.”
Her expression visibly softened as her eyes searched mine.
“You think I don’t love you?” she whispered.
Her hand slid up to my jaw, mirroring me.
Holding me there.
Grounding me.
“I love you … which means I don’t stand behind you.” Her face was so close now I could feel her breath. “I stand next to you.”
Silence settled between us, thick and charged.
“You’re impossible,” I murmured.
Her lips curved slightly. “You love it.”
I did. Way too fucking much. The space between us had finally disappeared, not just physically. It was as if everything had fallen into place.
“If you ever disappear on me again,” I said quietly, my voice rough against her skin, “I won’t be this controlled about it.”
Addy huffed in amusement. “Okay, I’ll try to remember that next time I’m kidnapped.”
“How considerate of you.”