“What kind is that?”
“Gritty, tomboy, take no prisoners. The person I witnessed at the junkyard is not standing before me either. Nor was she in that conference when your boss thought he had my case sewn up.”
I snorted. “Agent Howard is a good agent and a good man.”
“I don’t give a shit about your boss. I want to know if you’re happy. You got everything you wanted.”
My eyebrows drew down. “Did you call me here to act like an asshole?”
“I want to see the woman I fell in love with,” he said. “I want to see Joy. The person I see right now is different.”
“This is a test?” I asked. “I’m not any different. Joy was just a name. Maybe I was acting on some occasions, but I never acted when we made love. That was real for me. I didn’t lie when we were in the gym that first morning. I did want to fuck you. I did want us to get past the sexual tension. The way we kissed wasn’t fake either. I was falling each time you kissed me. We aren’t any different, Duke.”
His gaze roamed wild and free, and he didn’t say anything for a few beats. “Yeah. How’s that?”
“I had a job to do, and so did you. Nothing would’ve stopped you from saving your sister or finding those guns. You tucked your feelings away and did what you had to do. I did the same, although that night I was about to tell you how I felt. But you never gave me the chance.”
“Here we are,” he said, not showing any sign of emotion. “I’m all ears.”
“You know what?” I ground my back teeth. “I’m out.” I started for the elevator, holding in the scream that was stuck in my throat.
In three strides, he was grabbing me by the arm then spinning me around. “We’re not done yet.”
I let out a strangled laugh. “I think we are.”
“We won’t work,” he said.
“Says who? You can’t help who you love. I’m in love with you, Duke Hart.”
He moved hair off my face. “You can’t be.”
“Stop fighting this.” I wanted to stomp my foot. “What are you afraid of?”
“Never seeing you again,” he said quickly and emotionally. “Never being able to touch you, like I’m doing now. Never breathing in your scent. Never seeing your smile. Never having another chance to make love to you.”
I seated my hands on his waist. “You don’t know that will happen.”
“Regardless, if I go to prison or not, I need space. I need time to think, time to find who I really am.”
“You still want me? I might be sending you to prison.”
He swiped a finger over my lips. “No one is responsible for what I’ve done except me. And by no means should you take credit if I’m incarcerated. Let’s be real.” He sighed. “You didn’t have any evidence on me. Sure, you overheard shit, but that wouldn’t hold up in court. I made the decision and planned to save my sister. If the guns had been there, then I would’ve taken the heat. My actions leading up to this moment were all me.”
“Who are you, Duke Hart?”
He smirked, sexy and dangerous. “I’m the man who’s in love withyou.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “I’m the man who would never ask you to compromise your morals for me. I’m the man who has never said ‘I love you’ to a woman in my life.”
Between his confession and his scent, I was having a difficult time concentrating on my own feelings. But I didn’t have to. The way my heart was ramming against my chest, the sweat on my palms, the dryness in my throat, the unshed tears, and everything else coursing through me at breakneck speed was evidence enough that I was so deeply in love with him that it hurt. The pain was greater because we might not be free to be together for five or even ten years, if my superiors got their way.
I was done thinking. I was done waging war on whether we would make a good match. Love wasn’t perfect. Love was messy, and I wanted to be his mess.
I started to rise up on my toes but didn’t have to as he lowered his head and cupped my face. “I’m so in love with you, Fallyn Williams. Whatever happens from here, know that you have my heart and soul.”
I blinked away tears, melting in his arms as our lips locked—soft, gentle, slow, and sweet.
“I love you,” I said between breaths. “I’m yours, Duke. I’ve never loved this hard before. I never felt elated and pained all at the same time. I need you.”
I was crying as I thought about him going to prison. It gutted me to think it could be years before I would again get the chance to feel his arms around me, see the way he looked at me when I walked into a room, or experience all the other things he did that made me love him.
